scholarly journals 5-Year Evaluation of a Course Model for Student-Initiated Engineering Service Learning

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather N. Bischel ◽  
Eric R. Sundstrom
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Underserved Populations ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
International Service ◽  
Unit Design ◽  
Service Projects

Student-initiated projects in engineering service learning represent an opportunity to educate engineering students on topics of sustainability, motivate new engineers to work on humanitarian focused projects, and provide impact on projects for underserved populations in partnership with community organizations. Based on iterations of an engineering design course operated by student participants of Engineers for a Sustainable World at Stanford University, we provide an analysis and discussion of the structural and operational components of a student-initiated engineering design course created to support international service projects. Course ratings demonstrate overall improvement through time in student satisfaction, indicating continued improvement of the course structure and execution despite yearly turnover in personnel. The current two-part course model consists of a one-unit lecture series followed by a three-unit design course, with classroom components complemented by opportunities for international service including project and community assessments and a summer internship program. Overall, course evaluation results were comparable to or better than faculty-led engineering design courses in mechanical, civil and environmental engineering at Stanford. While concerns over consistency persist, overall performance demonstrates successful integration of student-initiated design into the engineering curriculum.

scholarly journals Creating Learning through Service Opportunities for Engineering Students: Lessons Learned from a Primarily Undergraduate Liberal Arts Institution

2014 ◽  
pp. 240-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew T Siniawski ◽  
Jose A Saez ◽  
Jeremy S Pal ◽  
Sandra G Luca
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
International Service ◽  
Undergraduate Institutions ◽  
Liberal Arts Institution ◽  
Service Projects ◽  
University Support ◽  
Service Oriented

The challenge of creating impactful and long-lasting service opportunities for engineering students lies in how to best implement programs in the unique setting of each academic institution. This paper presents a critical reflection of two different models of learning through service opportunities for engineering students that have evolved over the past six years at Loyola Marymount University. In particular, we highlight the history and lessons learned from four different case studies involving both extra-curricular international service projects and course-based service-learning opportunities for engineering students. Overall lessons learned that emerged from our experience include: 1) Students should receive course credit for participating in engineering-oriented service projects; 2) Opportunities for student participation should be vertically integrated throughout the curriculum; 3) Develop and sustain long-lasting relationships with your community partners; 4) Obtain university support for long-term success; 5) Start to conduct assessment of your stakeholders; and 6) Utilize the resources at your institution in order to promote cooperation. We hope that our lessons learned can be used to help guide other primarily undergraduate institutions in implementing service-oriented engineering projects.

scholarly journals TEAM FORMATION IN ENGINEERING DESIGN COURSES

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Galaleldin ◽  
Justine Boudreau ◽  
Hanan Anis
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Team Composition ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Great Opportunity ◽  
Project Outcome ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Engineering design courses often include a team-based project. Project-based learning offers a great opportunity for engineering students to learn about teamwork and collaboration. It also gives students a chance to learn about themselves and improve their conflict management skills. Choosing the right team members for a specific project is not trivial, as the choice of the team often affects the project outcome and the students’ experience in the course. Moreover, there is a debate among engineering educators as to whether it is better to force team composition or not. In this paper, we investigate the impact of team composition and formation on project outcomes and student satisfaction in a second-year engineering design course at the University of Ottawa. The course is open to all engineering students and has an accessibility theme. Students work in teams with a client that has a specific accessibility need. Students meet the client three times during the semester and deliver a physical prototype by the end of the semester. For this study, students in the design course were divided into two groups. Students in the first group were allowed to pick their teams, while the instructor created the teams in the second group based on multidisciplinary composition and year of study. Both groups had the same instructor and the same course material, labs, project choices, etc. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a few teams in each group.

scholarly journals Global Engineering Leadership – Design and Implementation of Local and International Service Learning Curriculum for Senior Engineering Students

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Croft ◽  
Paul Winkelman ◽  
Alaya Boisvert ◽  
Kristin Patten
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Leadership Capacity ◽  
Leadership Education ◽  
Global Awareness ◽  
International Service Learning ◽  
International Service ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Global Engineering ◽  
Elective Course

Engineering students are typically well- prepared with technical knowledge and skills that are prerequisite to solving problems. However, recent changes to the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board recognize that contributions made by engineers to our society also depend upon proficiency in key non- technical areas, including teamwork and leadership capacity, service, and global awareness. In this paper, we argue that service-learning pedagogy addresses many desired graduate attributes required for accreditation. We then discuss the design and implementation of a new service-learning elective course series aimed at providing students with leadership education and service experiences that address these attributes in both local and global contexts. Finally, we reflect on the short term, qualitative outcomes of the course series that has run in pilot form for the past two years with approximately 20 students per year, and has recently been approved as an ongoing part of the UBC engineering curriculum.

Electric Vehicle Technology — A Timely Course for Electrical Engineering Students

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. T. Chau ◽  
C. C. Chan
Keyword(s):  
Electric Vehicle ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Reference Materials ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
Course Work ◽  
Comprehensive Knowledge ◽  
Vehicle Technology

A new optional course, Electric Vehicle Technology, for final-year electrical engineering undergraduate students is presented. The purpose is to provide the students with up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge on electric vehicle technology. This paper outlines the rationale of the course, as well as describing the course structure, reference materials, field demonstrations, course work and course evaluation.

scholarly journals The Challenge of Including Customer Satisfaction into the Assessment Criteria of Overseas Service-Learning Projects

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille George ◽  
Ashley Shams
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Assessment Criteria ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
International Service Learning ◽  
International Service ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Learning Projects

There has been a dramatic increase of student groups participating in international service learning projects. For engineering students it is not difficult to identify meaningful educational objectives. The students improve their analytical and problem solving skills. They design and build something that fulfils a list of engineering specifications; they execute a solution to some problem. However, these projects have a human dimension. Service-learning involves changes in peoples’ beliefs, attitudes and values; impacting both the students and the recipient community. It is important for the academic community to develop assessment criteria that includes perspectives from all stakeholders engaged in the experience. It is imperative to assess not only the technical success but also the sustainability of the project and its larger effect. In courses involving service-learning, assessment needs to occur on three levels: the traditional evaluation of the student’s knowledge of the technical content, the assessment of the experiences impact on the students’ broader more humanistic “soft skills”, and the customer’s satisfaction. The paper examines the obstacles and opportunities in assessing project success from multiple international service-learning programs, and compiles insights and reflections that could serve to inform future projects.

scholarly journals Villanova Engineering Service Learning

2014 ◽  
pp. 334-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Ermilio ◽  
Garrett Clayton ◽  
Mahmoud Kabalan
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Service Projects ◽  
History Of ◽  
Large Water ◽  
College Of Engineering ◽  
The University ◽  
Villanova University

The College of Engineering at Villanova University has a long history of providing technical services to support humanitarian initiatives. For over twenty years, engineering faculty and students have been participating in engineering outreach activities, which are commonly referred to as Engineering Service Learning. In 1991, a small group of engineering students and faculty traveled to work with the Cheypo-Bayano Mission in Panama. Students who graduate were excited to return to Panama to see their projects through to completion, which included a large water supply distribution system and a bridge for a small remote community in the region. At that time, the concept of service-learning did not exist, but due to the Augustinian Heritage at Villanova University, these types of activities have been strongly encouraged. In fact, the idea of ministry has been a strategic part of the university’ mission since 1979, and at the present time, there are an estimated 800 students and advisors who travel annually to over 40 locations globally (including the US) to volunteer on service projects. These projects include engineering and non-engineering activities, but the success of the engineering service learning program has been significantly influenced by the culture of service that exists at Villanova University and the Augustinian values which are routed in service to society.

scholarly journals Interdisciplinary, Collaborative International Service Learning: Developing Engineering Students as Global Citizens

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony D. Songer ◽  
Karen R. Breitkreuz
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Formal Approach ◽  
Global Citizens ◽  
International Service Learning ◽  
International Service ◽  
The Village

Recent calls to reform engineering education place emphasis on applied math and science within the broader context of globalization, economics, the environment, and society. This broad and complex challenge necessitates the investigation of new interdisciplinary education approaches for engineering education. This paper presents a formal approach for developing engineering students as global citizens. The 360 Degree Model for Educating Socially Responsible Global Citizens (360 Global Ed model) presented herein includes a framework for foundational theory, educational environment, academic coursework, and outcomes. At the core of the emerging model is an international service learning experience called the Village Network. The Village Network provides an interdisciplinary educational program that combines classroom learning with authentic international field experiences. The program responds to the demands for integrating technical and social domains in a multi-disciplined, globally sensitive paradigm. The multi-disciplined team approached addresses both internal outcomes of self mastery and motivation that propel individuals to engage as socially responsible global citizens and external outcomes of technical and social knowledge and skills to include sustainability, teaming, and leadership. This paper establishes the need for a global imperative for engineering education and provides a background on globalization, social responsibility and service learning. It describes the 360 degree model for educating socially responsible global citizens and provides pilot assessment results through a mixed methods approach.

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