Project-based Sustainability Courses Provide Practical Educational Experience for Students while Advancing Sustainability within the Local Community

The implementation of project based learning and subsequent collaborations between the University, local utilities and area businesses, originally aimed at giving senior level engineering students experience in real world problem solving within the area of sustainability have resulted in a successful model for community engagement. Sustainable Energy Systems, taught in the Mechanical Engineering (ME) Department, focuses on renewable energy technologies, such as photovoltaics, wind energy and solar thermal systems. Sustainable Design and Construction, taught in the Civil Engineering (CE) Department, considers the environmental, economic and societal impacts of sustainable materials, methods and technologies used in building construction. Semester-long projects involved pairing student groups from each class with a local business interested in incorporating sustainable technologies into their organization. Teams from the ME department focused primarily on feasibility studies for solar thermal, solar PV and other heat reclamation technologies. Teams from the CE department analyzed existing buildings for the potential of earning green construction and design certifications and made recommendations for the implementation of other energy and material saving technologies. Each project involved meetings with the owners, a site visit, energy assessment by the local electric utility and required the students to hone their professional communication skills. These projects represent a unique opportunity to provide a practical educational experience for students while advancing sustainability within the community. At the close of the semester, one company moved forward with their project, and actually installed a solar thermal system. Introduction This paper describes the implementation of project based learning into two sustainability-themed classes in the Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering departments with the goal of giving senior level engineering students experience in real world problem solving within the area of sustainability. Sustainable Energy Systems is an upper division advanced technical elective offered to mechanical and chemical engineering students. The course historically included an overview of the following sustainable energy technologies: solar thermal and solar photovoltaics, wind energy, geothermal, fuel cells, solar stirling engines and nuclear energy. Sustainable Design and Construction is a senior level technical elective in the Civil Engineering department. The course was originally designed as an introductory course to sustainable building design and construction practices and followed the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) guidelines with the goal of preparing students to take the LEED Green Associate exam following the end of the course. Prior to the Spring of 2014, both of the courses mentioned were primarily lecture based and included weekly homework, exams and final projects exploring a technology of choice by the students. Since the course content included so many different topics and technologies, a technically intensive, in-depth look at each technology was not feasible. This resulted in the class seeming technically shallow and not very intellectually challenging. To address these issues and in an effort to increase active learning and the development of student professional skills, the courses have transformed to a project-based format with traditional lectures and guest lectures covering the original content sprinkled in. Teams of students were paired with local business owners interested in conducting feasibility studies focused on increasing the energy efficiency of their organization and implementing renewable energy technologies. Throughout the semester, each team completed an energy audit with their businesses, gave several professional presentations to their business owners and completed final reports that included a recommendation for moving forward based both on the technical understanding and an economic analysis of the proposed system. Through these collaborations, strong partnerships were developed with a local nonprofit focused on energy efficiency and community resiliency, the local city government, local electric utility and local businesses in the area. It became evident through this successful collaboration that developing these partnerships between the university and the community can have a great impact on advancing the knowledge and implementation of sustainable measures within the community. This paper summarizes the known benefits of project-based learning, the role of community collaboration, an overview of the timeline and milestones for the semester-long projects, a couple of examples of projects and a list of lessons learned. Background Motivation for the implementation of these semester-long projects came from a desire to provide students with real-world experiences in problem solving and a place for them to develop and hone their professional skills. It is commonly known by anyone that has ever stood in front of a class, that bored students do not learn as well as engaged students. It has been shown that project based learning promotes buy-in from students and helps them to feel engaged in the material they are learning. A project based learning environment provides students with the opportunity to explore and investigate problems and scenarios similar to those they will find after graduation. Project based learning in one form or another has been around for many years. In 1959, John Dewey came out with one of the first formal articles discussing project-based learning. In it he explained how he taught students in his laboratory through a process of inquiry, where he gave them real-world scenarios and problems to solve. When the students felt engaged and invested in a real, legitimate project, Dewey observed that the students gained greater understanding of the material. Today it is commonly accepted that project based learning environments possess five main components: a driving question, exploration of the driving question through authentic, situated inquiry, a community of collaboration that includes students, teachers and community members aimed at engaging the students, scaffolding of concepts that are outside of what they already know, and a tangible outcome directly related to the original driving question. Coming up with projects that not only include the five components listed above but also interest the students and make them excited to learn and participate over the course of an entire semester can be difficult. Projects centered around sustainability themes usually track well in terms of gaining and keeping students’ attention and many educators around the globe have had success with incorporating project-based learning into engineering courses focused on sustainability. Students learn what drives sustainable changes to happen, how these changes happen, and about the important role that they can and will play as they enter the professional world and become members of a community. The level of engagement observed in the students during the semesterlong projects in the Spring of 2014 was a testament to the power of project-based learning. One somewhat unexpected outcome of incorporating these projects into the sustainability courses was the development of a strong relationship between the University and the community and the realization of the power such a collaboration has in moving sustainability forward on a city-wide scale. The city is quickly becoming a leader in the area of sustainability and resiliency. The city is currently competing for $5M in a national contest called the Georgetown Energy Competition, which aims at reducing electrical and natural gas use within the city over the next two years. A Department of Energy (DOE) grant was also recently awarded to facilitate the installation of the first MW of solar photovoltaics in the community. In 2017, the District Heating Plant in downtown will be converted from an inefficient steam system to hot water. Along with these efforts by the city, the local sanitary district is making great strides toward becoming more sustainable through the installation of biogas digesters, with future plans for a combined heat and power system on site. The University has also been heavily involved in the sustainability movement and has been actively pursuing sustainability goals for some time. The Chancellor has demonstrated their commitment to energy sustainability through the development of Campus Goal 6 of the Strategic Plan, which challenges the university to “utilize the University’s infrastructure; technologies; and information, human and financial resources to support the campus in a sustainable manner.” In 2008, the University signed on to the President’s Climate Commitment to reduce greenhouse gases by 25% by 2020; so far the University has maintained a constant carbon footprint, which is impressive when considering that campus square footage has increased by 40% since that time. Solar photovoltaics, small wind and LEED certified buildings have already been installed in an attempt to decrease our carbon footprint. Furthermore, efforts are continuing through the development of two campus-wide Sustainability Committees directed around Operations and Education. In order for the University to reach the Climate Commitment goal and contribute to the energy transition the City is currently undergoing, it is necessary to look outside the University and collaborate with the community. With all that is happening in the community, there has never been a better time for the University to join in this movement and contribute to the rapid transition that is occurring in the city toward a more sustainable future. Community Collaboration The success of these projects was made possible through close collaboration with many individuals and organizations within the community. The key players