Experiential Learning in the Civil Engineering Curriculum: Collaborations between Community Colleges, Research I Universities and National Laboratories

The next generation of engineering professionals must be prepared to solve complex and multidisciplinary problems in a sustainable and global context. However, based on the authors’ perceptions, many universityand community college-educated engineers do not feel prepared to address these challenges because they are not introduced to these concepts during their engineering education. Faculty collaboration between Arizona State University and Mesa Community College faculty as well as Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory researchers and Laney College faculty are piloting the development of learning modules for incorporation into courses where sustainability research themes and/or active learning are not typically present. The learning modules employ active, experiential learning through team-based activities that bring contextualized experience into the classroom, allowing students at the different institutions to deepen their "real-world understanding." This paper examines the expansion of a peer network of engineering educators that facilitate the collaborative development of module sets, making it easy for faculty at research I (research extensive) universities, community colleges and national laboratories to incorporate challenges and experiential learning into higher education classrooms. The expansion of the peer network revealed that experiential learning modules and the transformation of higher education is generally met with enthusiasm and passion to create institutions that are committed to excellence.