ERIC Number: EJ1076066
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1941-1766
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Service-Learning Integrated throughout a College of Engineering (SLICE)
Duffy, John; Barrington, Linda; West, Cheryl; Heredia, Manuel; Barry, Carol
Advances in Engineering Education, v2 n4 Sum 2011
In the fall of 2004 a college began a program to integrate service-learning (S-L) projects into required engineering courses throughout the curriculum, so that students would be exposed to S-L in at least one course in each of eight semesters. The ultimate goal is to graduate better engineers and more engaged citizens and to improve communities, i.e., to engineer the common good. Four of the degree programs have achieved on average one course each semester, with an actual coverage of 103 out of 128 semester courses, or 80% coverage. Of the 32 required courses in the academic year that had an average of 753 students each semester doing S-L projects related to the subject matter of the course, 19 of the courses (60%) were considered engineering science, that is, not explicitly design or first-year introduction courses. More than fifty courses having S-L components have been offered under the program. Over two-thirds of the students and faculty members expressed agreement with the basic idea of SLICE, with about 15% opposed. Twenty-three percent of entering students cite S-L as one of the reasons for enrolling in engineering at UML, and more than two-thirds of the students reported that S-L helped keep them in engineering. The program represents perhaps the largest experiment with S-L in mainstream engineering courses in terms of courses, students, and faculty. This approach included an inquiry addressing a number of programmatic and research questions, which are posited and "tested" with quantitative and qualitative data.
Descriptors: Service Learning, Engineering Education, College Students, Qualitative Research, Statistical Analysis, Teaching Methods, Surveys, College Faculty, Undergraduate Students, Teacher Attitudes, Student Attitudes, Questionnaires, Interviews, Focus Groups, Likert Scales, Student Recruitment, Student Motivation, Teamwork, Communication Skills, Instructional Effectiveness
American Society for Engineering Education. 1818 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 412-624-6815; Fax: 412-624-1108; Web site: http://advances.asee.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Massachusetts
Grant or Contract Numbers: EEC-0431925; EEC-0530632
Author Affiliations: N/A