Open AccessCOMMUNITY FINDING AS LEARNING: IMPACTS OF A NOVEL MODEL FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGED, PROJECT BASED LEARNING IN ENGINEERING
Author(s) -
Alan Chong,
Robert Irish,
Jason Foster
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
proceedings of the ... ceea conference
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2371-5243
DOI - 10.24908/pceea.vi0.13836
Subject(s) - preference , community engagement , stakeholder , investment (military) , community design , stakeholder engagement , psychology , pedagogy , knowledge management , public relations , computer science , political science , politics , law , economics , microeconomics , operating system
This paper explores the impact of a specific implementation of community engaged engineering design pedagogy. By asking students about their experience in choosing, engaging with, and researching a community to develop an understanding of and clearly articulating a design problem in a Requests for Proposals, we seek to understand how student initiated community engaged learning (CEL) can contribute to learning about design.
Results of the survey show that students did pick up skills and experiences that reflected course and activity learning objectives. Students engaged and relied on – sometimes to their detriment – personal contact and communication with stakeholder communities for information. They expressed an awareness of the importance of personal investment in the community, even if that investment was limited in their own projects. Not unexpectedly, students also reported a preference for and greater perceived learning in a more conventional design education experience. However, the act of community finding and engagement did impact their understanding of engineering design, particularly around often neglected aspects, and helped them to see design more holistically.