The K 12 Engineering Outreach Corps: A Service Learning Technical Elective

The service-learning educational method actively engages students in community service as an integral component of coursework, fostering both civic responsibility and leadership. Research has shown that the use of service-learning pedagogy has significant positive effects on students’ academic performance (GPA, writing skills, critical thinking skills) and development of civic values (commitment to continued civic participation). 1 Service-learning courses are emerging in engineering colleges as a mechanism to provide engineering students with meaningful community-based learning experiences through which they develop the values and skills of citizenship and leadership, while maturing their own communications skills and strengthening their commitment to the engineering profession.