Introducing Community Service Learning Pedagogy Into Two Engineering Curriculums At California State University, Northridge

Academic service learning is a pedagogical model through which students learn, develop, and apply academic knowledge to address the real life needs of their local communities. It is becoming increasingly important in higher education. More recently, it has been used as an effective pedagogy for engineering education. Thus, in the spring of 2001, community servicelearning concept was introduced into two Manufacturing Systems Engineering senior courses at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). In the first community service-learning project, students shared their knowledge and skills gained in a senior level course, Facilities Planning and Design, with a small company located within a federal enterprise zone. The second community service-learning project integrated a senior design class with a local high school as part of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics organization. Engineering students mentored Granada Hills High School (GHHS) senior students in building a robot to compete in both regional and national FIRST robotics events. Through these projects, engineering students not only applied the knowledge and skills gained through academic study to real-world problem solving, but also appreciated the connections made between their academic work and real-world activities. The experience and motivation of the instructors in incorporating service-learning are discussed in this paper.