Service-learning vs. learning service in first-year engineering: If we cannot conduct first-hand service projects, is it still of value?

Abstract

The literature and 10 to 15 years of practice at many universities have clearly demonstrated that Service Learning provides benefits to both the community and the students' learning with increased levels of social responsibility. In the College of Engineering at Northeastern University, the integration of service-learning projects in a first-year Introduction to Engineering Design course has been considered for a number of years. Implementation by first-year faculty would require coordination and development of nearly 160 projects involving multiple community partners providing a wide range of services. Before embarking on this major undertaking of first-hand service learning, the faculty developed major design projects with service and humanitarian foci -referred to as service-oriented projects- for students to work on in teams. The research analyzes the change in students' attitudes, and reveals that learning service through selected project types has an impact similar to that of service learning. Results show that there are some changes in attitudes and future planned activities after participation in these projects, similar to those seen in hands-on service-learning environments. In addition, comparisons of students on non-service focused projects to those on actual service-learning or service-oriented projects show they are significantly less affected in terms of concern for social problems or that non-profit work is a true venue for engineering work. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education.