Work in Progress - Project-Based Service Learning in Engineering: Investigating Partner Relationships Julia Thompson School of Engineering Education Purdue.

Work in Progress - Project-Based Work in Progress - Project-Based Service Learning in Engineering: Service Learning in Engineering:

Investigating Partner RelationshipsInvestigating Partner Relationships

Julia ThompsonJulia ThompsonSchool of Engineering EducationSchool of Engineering Education

Purdue UniversityPurdue [email protected]@purdue.edu

Prof. Brent JesiekProf. Brent JesiekSchool of Engineering EducationSchool of Engineering Education

School of Electrical and Computer EngineeringSchool of Electrical and Computer EngineeringPurdue UniversityPurdue University

Introduction: What is PBSL?

Project Based Learning - a style of pedagogy involving authentic, contextualized problems without simple solutions

Service learning – an active learning approach where students learn while meeting various community needs

Examples of PBSL in engineering

• developing a educational exhibit of a local zoo

• designing and implementing a water sanitation project for a remote village

Previous Research onPBSL in Engineering

Increased motivation of students [1,2]

Higher interest among underrepresented groups [2,3]

Description of service to the communities [4]

Studies of learning outcomes [5]

Assessment tools [6]

Ethical concerns [7,8]

What does the community think?

Service Learning: Partnership

A 2000 call in the Michigan Online Journal of Service Learning has sparked interest in partnerships and community perspective. [9]

SOFAR framework [11]

A Framework for Development of Campus-Community Partnerships [10]

Service Learning: Community Perspective

How Community Partners Define the Service Learning Relationship [12]:

1. a commitment to students’ education

2. benefits outweigh challenges;

3. the quality of the relationship with the organization and the university is important

4. service learning positively impacts the image of the university in the eyes of the community.

Findings of a transformative experience [13]

Research Questions

Why do organizations maintain long-term partnerships with the EPICS program?

What is the experience of the organizations working with EPICS program and its student teams, including perceived benefits and challenges?

EPICS was started in 1995 and currently has over 30 student teams and has grown to 388 students

The teams work to develop projects to meet the needs of the organizations, including campus organizations, non-profit and governmental

There is a faculty advisor, a TA, and at least one liaison of the organization on each team that assists with the project.

EPICS History and Partnerships

Methods

Semi-structured interviews

13 interviews total (10 completed so far)

5 liaisons from organizations having long term relationships with EPICS

2 teaching assistants

3 EPICS team advisors (faculty, etc.)

2 EPICS administrators

1 EPICS alumna and design reviewer

Methods

Interviews will be transcribed

An inductive analysis strategy will be applied to the data to identify relevant themes, using an open coding approach

To improve the generalizability of our study, we will evaluate each theme’s relevance to EPICS, other PBSL programs in engineering, and/or service learning more broadly.

Preliminary Results RQ1:Motivations

Organization partners see the EPICS as a way to:

Give back to the community

Assist students’ learning

Meet the needs of their organizations

“One of our philosophy in our department is, is to give, give back to the community, [we] inherently are not paid a whole lot, so we are not inclined to give a way our money, but we do like to give time, which I think is more valuable than money anyways, and we always take interns … and we give them a community education, what takes place in [our work place] and [EPICS] is kind of our way, of kind of following up with that at Purdue.”

“We provide them with a real worldview of what can be done and what cant be done… and they have given us a quality product.”

"The first [project] did not work out at all, and although that stunk for them, I think that was a great teaching tool, and I think that is one of the requirements that we should have as a partner with EPICS is to make this an opportunity for educational advancement”

“Being an organization that is on campus but separate.... its a great way to show that we are good partners with the University"

Students’ Strengths and Weaknesses

“Strengths are… ahh, thinking outside the box and weakness are thinking outside the box.”

“Their strengths are their intellectual curiosity in who they are. They are pretty well vetted by the time they get into Purdue… the intellectual capacity and the interest in [the projects]

“Sometimes they are not good listeners. You know, I can say this is not what I want, and the product will be exactly what I didn’t want, and I have to be kind and take it anyway.”

PBSL: Opportunities

Opportunities for further research and next steps

Seek more ways to engage the community residence and partners in the design process

Create an advanced EPICS team to approach higher level challenges with a faster turn around.

Further exploration of PBSL as a form of faculty development and personal transformation

References [1] Vanasupa, L., Stolk, J., Savage, R., Harding, T., Blair, L., and Hughes, W., “Converting traditional materials labs to

project-based learning experiences: Aiding students' development of higher-order cognitive skills,” Forum on Materials Science and Engineering Education for 2020, Vol. 1046E, November 26, 2007, 2007.

[2] Duffy, J., Barry, C., Barrington, L., and Heredia, M., “Service-Learning in Engineering Science Courses: Does It Work?,” in American Society for Engineering Education, Austin, TX, 2009.

[3] Barrington, L., and Duffy, J., “Attracting Underrepresented Groups to Engineering with Service-Learning.” in American Society for Engineering Education, Honolulu, HI, 2007.

[4] Duffy, J., “Village Empowerment: Service-Learning with Continuity,” International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2008, pp. 1-17.

[5] Swan, C., Paterson, K., and Bielefeldt, A., "Panel - Measuring the Impacts of Project-Based Service Learning in Engineering Education," in Frontiers in Education Conference, San Antonio, TX, 2009.

[6] Bielefeldt, A., Paterson, K., and Swan, C., “Measuring The Impacts of Project-Based Service Learning,” in American Society for Engineering Education, Austin, TX, 2009.

[7] Lucena, J., and Schneider, J., “Engineers, development, and engineering education: From national to sustainable community development,” European Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 33, No. 3, 2008, pp. 247-257.

[8] Baillie, C., and Catalano, G., Engineering and society: Working towards social justice, Part III: Windows on society, 2009.

[9] Cruz, N., and Giles, J., “Where's the Community in Service-Learning Research?,” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, Fall 2000, pp. 28-34.

[10] Enos, S., & Morton, K. (2003). Developing a theory and practice of campus community partnerships. In B. Jacoby & Associates (Eds.). Building partnerships for service-learning (pp. 20-41). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

[11] Bringle, R. G., Clayton, P. H., & Price, M. (2009). Partnerships in service learning and civic engagement. Partnerships: A Journal of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement, 1(1), 1-20.

[14] Worrall, L., “Asking the Community: A case Stucy of Community Partner Perspectives,” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, Vol. 14, No. 1, 2007, pp. 5-17.

[15] d’Arlach, L., Sánchez, B., and Feuer, B., “Voices from the Community: A Case for Reciprocity in Service-Learning,” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning Vol. 16, No. 1, 2009, pp. 5-16,.

Work in Progress - Project-Based Work in Progress - Project-Based Service Learning in Engineering: Service Learning in Engineering:

Investigating Partner RelationshipsInvestigating Partner Relationships

Julia ThompsonJulia ThompsonSchool of Engineering EducationSchool of Engineering Education

Purdue UniversityPurdue [email protected]@purdue.edu

Prof. Brent JesiekProf. Brent JesiekSchool of Engineering EducationSchool of Engineering Education

School of Electrical and Computer EngineeringSchool of Electrical and Computer EngineeringPurdue UniversityPurdue University