Conducting Mixed Method Research: An Interdisciplinary Service Learning Approach

This research will qualitatively and quantitatively assess team-member experiences and attitudes towards the interdisciplinary service learning seminar Chemical engineering (ChE) 4975, Hydrogen Sustainability. It is important because ChE 4975 is a pilot program that encompasses service learning, interdisciplinary teams and the combination of high school, college and graduate students. The researchers will (1) examine team-members experiences in this course to determine if and how the course design can be improved and (2) quantify high school students’ perceptions of college, specifically the University of Utah and the College of Engineering. ChE is a pilot interdisciplinary service-learning seminar on hydrogen sustainability. It includes 12 University f Utah college students (six from Chemical Engineering and six from other disciplines) and 12 advanced high school students who will be taking the course for college credit. The “pilot” nature of this course requires that research be conducted to assess the impact of the course. Currently, the seminar will be evaluated for both fostering cognitive development in students and their impressions of service learning experiences. This research is designed to supplement existing research on the evaluation of the service learning experience. A combination of qualitative and quantitative data will be utilized. Specifically qualitative research will include ethnographic observation of the classroom experience and data analysis of Web-CT student postings. Quantitative pre-tests and post-tests will assess change in students’ perceptions of college, this particular course and the College of Engineering. Further, the quantitative surveys will also assess communicative aspects, service learning and benefits of teamwork in a multi-leveled course. Course Description Chemical Engineering 4975 (hydrogen sustainability) is an interdisciplinary service-learning seminar on hydrogen sustainability. The class will be limited to no more than 24 students. 12 University students and 12 advanced high school students who will be taking this course for college credit. Of the12 university students, approximately 6 will be chemical engineering students. One primary objective will be to design and build a photoelectrochemical hydrogen production prototype for a national competition in Washington DC next year. Another primary objective will be to investigate implementing this prototype into the community at a much larger scale, say for hydrogen-powered P ge 10340.1 vehicles that maintain a clean airshed in our valley. This would include environmental impacts, safety and economic considerations, marketability, social implications and political ramifications. University and high school students will work individually and in teams to accomplish these tasks. 1 The course meets two semesters (fall 2004/Spring2005) and culminates with the presentation of the final product in Washington DC in the summer of 2005. Introduction/Review of Literature College students from multiple disciplines are working to both learn and conduct service in their respective communities. College courses designed to encourage service learning are one way to systemize the process. This research will explore a pilot service learning course on hydrogen sustainability. Specifically, it will (1) examine team-members experiences in this course to determine if and how the course design can be improved; and (2) explain a procedure to quantify high school students’ perceptions of college, specifically the University of Utah and the College of Engineering. These questions are particularly important to address due to the unique (encompassing service learning, interdisciplinary and multi-leveled students) and pilot nature of this course. In this particular course service learning is defined as “An experienced based form of pedagogy in which students, faculty, and community partners work together to integrate and apply empirically-grounded knowledge in authentic settings to address the needs of the community and meet instructional objectives using action and critical reflection to prepare students for careers and to become meaning members of a just and democratic society”. 2 The interdisciplinary aspect of the course is carefully planned out. There are 12 college students in the course. Six of these students are from Chemical engineering, and the others are from multiple disciplines such as biology, communication, geology and geophysics. The multi-leveled nature of the course is due to the partnership of the Academy of Math, science and Engineering (AMES) and the 12 high school students who attend the class for college credit. AMES draws students from grades 9-12 from two different school districts. It is aligned with the state of Utah’s Early College High School Initiative. As the first of six specialized high schools across the state, AMES focuses on a rigorous pre-engineering curriculum that connects traditionally underserved students both to the Utah Core Curriculum in preparation for a high school diploma as well as the rigors of college as a partner with the University of Utah. 3 There is also a mixture of undergraduate and graduate students taking the course. The researchers hope that this research will glean insight into how high school students experience college, how interdisciplinary students communicate in teams and how scientific tasks are accomplished in relation to the process of teamwork. Answers to these questions might also show how universities can design a similar course and how engineering departments might begin to view multi-leveled interdisciplinary courses as a potential recruitment tool for talented and diverse high school students. There is currently a global need for reliable, renewable sources of energy. Conventional energy sources are derived primarily from fossil fuels, which are nonrenewable, emit pollution and greenhouse gases, and are largely imported. Hydrogen could be a low-emission, renewable source of domestically-produced energy, but infrastructure P ge 10340.2 necessary to produce, transport and store hydrogen is currently lacking and its current cost of manufacture is not competitive with nonrenewable oil or natural gas resources. 3 ChE 4975, hydrogen sustainability, is designed to examine and actively engage a solution to the development of alternative fuel sources by developing a working prototype of a photo electrochemical cell (PEC) that uses solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. It will produce hydrogen for laboratory gas chromatography applications and for fuel cells that are portable sources of energy fro sustainable vehicles to showcase the role of hydrogen engineering in a sustainable economy in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. 3 The ultimate and long term goal of research of this sort is that the development of an alternative fuel source would aid in the sustainability of people, prosperity and the planet. The technical challenge is to optimize the efficiency of the process and to design a more economical system. The process challenge is to bring multi-disciplinary, multi-level students together to accomplish this task while educating them on the processes of teamwork, service and communication. Students are often placed in teams to develop technical expertise and yet not given the skills and information necessary to engage teamwork in a professional and competent manner. The technological task is placed as the forefront of importance while the process of engaging technology as a team is backgrounded. “Engineering work is increasingly oriented toward boundary-crossing, multidisciplinary team activity. The potential and need to improve engineering training and education regarding team soft skills such as team dynamics and communication are widely recognized. 4 Teamwork is an essential, but not widely emphasized concept in the engineering discipline. 4 Wu and Chang found that teamwork in the classroom resulted in increased problem-solving abilities and the development of teamwork strategies necessary for success in the engineering profession. 5 Students in this class will each be a member of one of six teams. Each team consists of one chemical engineering student, one college student from a different discipline and two high school students. The teams are each meant to take one portion of the project and work together to solve a specific problem. Each team is also expected to communicate with each of the other teams to ensure that every portion of the overall project will come together. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to measure teamwork not only among students in general, but teamwork between students at different educational levels and academic foci to determine how this influences students’ problem solving abilities and communication competence with respect to teams. Communication is an essential competency area for an engineer. New engineering graduates will have an advantage in the workforce if they can exhibit strong communication skills such as listening, providing feedback, working on a team and communicating across multiple disciplines. “Industry has recognized the need for a different type of engineer. Engineering education musts be broadened to include the following: team skills, communication skills, leadership, a systems perspective, an understanding and appreciation for diversity, a multi-disciplinary perspective”. 6 Engineering students in this course will not only have the opportunity to work on teams and participate in a multi-disciplinary project with their peers, they will also receive indepth training on communication skills; specifically, skills for communicating in a team. The engineering field has frequently recognized the need for interdisciplinary work. Katzenback and Smith note that interdisciplinary work, conducted when participants have complementary skills, can enhance a project. 7 This course is interdisciplinary both in P ge 10340.