Session T2A EPICS: DOCUMENTING SERVICE-LEARNING TO MEET EC 2000 Leah H. Jamieson1, William C. Oakes2, Edward J. Coyle3
Abstract - Engineering Projects in Community Service — EPICS — is a service-learning program that was initiated at Purdue University in the Fall of 1995. Under this program, undergraduate students in engineering earn academic credit for long-term team projects that solve technology-based problems for local community service organizations. The program has grown to include 20 project teams with approximately 300 students participating each semester during the 2000-01 academic year. With its emphasis on start-to-finish design of significant projects that will be deployed by the community customers, EPICS addresses many of the program outcomes mandated for ABET accreditation. In this paper, we outline the procedures and documentation that have been developed to assess and track student outcomes in the EPICS courses. Index Terms ABET documentation, multidisciplinary design, service-learning, vertically integrated teams.
INTRODUCTION The importance of significant design experiences to prepare undergraduate engineering students for engineering careers has been well-documented [1,2]. These experiences should emphasize the application of the technical skills in the classroom as well as the “softer” skills such as communication, working as a team, and customer interaction [3-5]. The need for such experiences has spawned many innovative approaches to capstone senior design courses [6,7] as well as design experiences for freshman, sophomores and juniors [8-11]. The most common model for these courses has been a one-semester experience intended to give the students an intense exposure to the design process. The model that guided the creation of the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) curriculum was to engage each student for several semesters or even years on the same long-term project, so that each student can experience varying roles over the course of the project. The emphasis on long-term projects was combined with a goal of undertaking projects that would ultimately be deployed by the customer. This led to the choice of local not-for-profit organizations as customers. Community service agencies are facing an increasing dependence on technology for the delivery, coordination, accounting, and improvement of the
services they provide. However, they often possess neither the expertise to use nor the budget to design and acquire a technological solution that is suited to their mission. They have therefore proven a rich source of challenging projects. Moreover, the community service agencies will ultimately deploy the teams’ systems – an important final step that few commercial partners will take. In developing products for community agencies, the students gain experience that aligns with ABET program outcomes. They also become more aware of the community needs and how their professional expertise can be used to meet those needs. This awareness of the community is a natural byproduct of fully understanding their customer, a critical piece of the design process.
THE EPICS PROGRAM EPICS was initiated in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University in Fall 1995, with 40 students participating on five project teams. The program has grown steadily at Purdue both in size and breadth. In the 2000-01 academic year, 400 students participated on 20 teams, addressing problems ranging from data management for social services to mitigation of agricultural pollution and from designing learning centers for local museums to developing custom play environments for children with disabilities [12]. EPICS spans engineering disciplines at Purdue and includes students from over 20 university departments. By 1997, EPICS programs were under way at the University of Notre Dame and Iowa State University; in 2000-01, programs were initiated at the University of WisconsinMadison, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Case Western Reserve University. Each EPICS project involves a team of eight to 20 undergraduates, a not-for-profit community partner – e.g., a community service agency, museum or school, or government agency – and a faculty or industry advisor. A pool of graduate teaching assistants provides technical guidance and administrative assistance. Each team is vertically integrated, consisting of a mix of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Each team is constituted for several years, from initial project definition through final deployment. Each student may earn academic credit for several semesters, registering for the course for 1 or 2 credits each semester. The credit
1
Leah Jamieson, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 1285 EE Building, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1285, mailto:
[email protected] William Oakes, Department of Freshman Engineering, Purdue University, 1286 ENAD., West Lafayette, IN 47907-1286,
[email protected] 3 Edward Coyle, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 1285 EE Building, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1285, mailto:
[email protected] 2
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Session T2A structure is designed to encourage long-term participation and allows the teams to tackle multi-year projects of significant scope and impact. Over time, each project has five phases: Finding Project Partners, Assembling a Project Team, Project Proposal, System Design and Development, and System Deployment and Support. Each student in the EPICS Program attends a weekly two-hour meeting (lab) of his/her team. During this lab time the team takes care of administrative business, does project planning and tracking, and works on their project. All students also attend a common one-hour lecture each week. A majority of the lectures are by guest experts, and have covered a wide range of topics related to engineering design, communication, team effectiveness, project planning, and community service.
SAMPLE EPICS PROJECTS The EPICS program had 20 project teams in the 2000-01 academic year, with four new teams planned for Fall 2001. Each team is paired with a community agency or organization. We give summary examples of six of these teams. Descriptions of all of the teams, including the web pages maintained by each team, are on the EPCIS web site at http://epics.ecn.purdue.edu. 1.
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Project Title: Speech-Language and Audiology Clinics. Project Partner: The M. D. Steer Audiology and Speech-Language Center. Tasks: Integrate a speech recognition system with computer graphics and games to encourage language development. Automate calculation of speaking rate in clinical sessions. Develop a highly directional hearing aid. Impact: New services for the clinic’s clients; improved feedback to speech clients. Facts: Began fall 1995. Disciplines: EE, CmpE, CS, ME, IE, Audiology. Project Title: Wabash Center Children’s Services (2 projects). Partner: The Wabash Center Children’s Clinic. Tasks: Develop electro-mechanical toys and computer-based play environments for children with physical disabilities. Impact: Expanded capabilities and control of their environment for children with physical disabilities. Facts: Began fall 1995. Disciplines: EE, CmpE, CS, ME, IE, Child Development, Graphics Design. Project Title: Happy Hollow School. Partner: Happy Hollow Middle School. Tasks: Develop projects to aid in science, mathematics, and technology education; develop an interactive science museum. Impact: Improved educational resources for the community. Facts: Began fall 1997. Disciplines: EE, CmpE, ME, MSE, IE, Aero, CS, Education. Project Title: Lafayette Adult Reading Academy. Partner: Lafayette Adult Reading Academy. Tasks: Design software and hardware systems to help non-
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native English speaking adults become acquainted with the community and gain job-related English skills. Impact: Improved opportunities for newcomers to the community. Facts: Began fall 1998. Disciplines: CmpE, EE, CS, IE, ME, Edu. Project Title: Columbian Park Zoo. Partner: Columbian Park Zoo. Tasks: Develop and construct a multimedia education center for the local zoo. Impact: Improved educational resources for the community. Facts: Began fall 1999. Disciplines: ME, EE, CmpE, CS, Biology, Animal Science. Project Title: Judicial Database Systems. Partner: Tippecanoe County Probation Department. Tasks: Develop secure, web-accessible database systems. Impact: Improved case management. Facts: Began spring 2000. Disciplines: CmpE, CS, EE, Child Development, Pre-Law..
EPICS AND ABET EC 2000 ABET EC 2000 has focused attention on the design process and on many of the “real-world” skills that students will need to embark on successful engineering careers. Together, EC 2000, Criterion 3 and Criterion 4 [13] emphasize not only the technical abilities that a student must have, but also a broad understanding of “engineering in context” the “soft skills” that an engineer will need in the workplace. The very nature of EPICS projects provides many opportunities for students to demonstrate that they have achieved the EC 2000 outcomes. The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University offers EPICS as an option for fulfilling the Senior Design requirement. While students at all levels, from freshman to seniors, may elect to enroll in EPICS, only students who have completed a core set of courses (through the junior level) are eligible to take EPICS for Senior Design credit. Two successive semesters (3 or 4 credit hours in total) with the same team are needed to satisfy the Senior Design requirement. The faculty fulfills the BSEE and BSCmpE Educational Objectives by defining specific Program Outcomes to be achieved by the curriculum. The current program outcomes correspond exactly to the program outcomes specified by ABET EC 2000 Criterion 3. The relationship between these program outcomes and the Purdue BSEE/BSCmpE program educational objectives is shown in Table I. Central to all EPICS projects are outcomes (4c) and (6d). In their role as engineering consultants, the teams must design a system, component, and/or a process to meet the needs of their project partners (4c). The EPICS teams are always multi-disciplinary in composition (6d), either involving students from different disciplines (not only within engineering, but also outside engineering) or students within the same discipline who have different areas of specialization within the discipline. The
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Session T2A TABLE I 1. 2. 3. 4.
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7.
PROGRAM OUTCOMES AND THE PURDUE BSEE/BSCMPE PROGRAM EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES Program Outcomes Program Objectives A Strong Foundation in the Core Electrical/Computer a. An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and Engineering Fundamentals engineering A Firm Foundation in the Mathematics and the Basic a. An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and Sciences engineering Knowledge of Relevant Technologies j. A knowledge of contemporary issues k. An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice Problem Solving and Design Capability a. An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering b. An ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data c. An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs e. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems k. An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice Creativity and Enthusiasm for Life-Long Learning a. An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering i. A recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in, lifelong learning Schooling in Professional Attributes d. An ability to function on a multidisciplinary team f. An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility. g. An ability to communicate effectively i. A recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in, lifelong learning Breadth of Knowledge (non-technical) f. An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility h. the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context j. A knowledge of contemporary issues
opportunity to apply engineering design within a multidisciplinary context is therefore a key feature of the EPICS program. EPICS teams must work with their project partners to identify engineering problems, establish project objectives and formulate design criteria (4e), apply their knowledge of science, mathematics, and to achieve their objectives (2a), design and conduct experiments to test their solutions (4b), and employ many of the techniques, skills, and tools of modern engineering practice in the course of completing their projects (4k). In addition, since these projects are solutions to real world problems that are ultimately implemented for use by the project partners, they must be economically viable solutions that are safe, reliable, usable, and aesthetically acceptable - issues that relate to professional and ethical responsibility (6f). Projects and their impact must be understood and be acceptable in a societal context (7h), which can only be accomplished though a knowledge of the pertinent contemporary issues (7j). While teams employ skills and knowledge already acquired, projects typically require researching additional subjects in depth and learning and applying new skills (6i). Further, effective communication (6g) is essential to the success of the projects - between team members, with the project partner and team advisors, and to the general public. This communication takes the form of interpersonal
communication, project proposals, progress reports, laboratory notebooks, oral presentations, and other forms of documentation such as user’s manuals. From the above, it is not surprising that EPICS is ideally suited to fulfill the requirements of EC 2000 Criterion 4, in that it provides a major design experience based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier coursework and incorporates engineering standards and realistic constraints that include most of the following considerations: economic; environmental; sustainability; manufacturability; ethical; health and safety; social; and political. While the nature of EPICS is very well matched with the ABET criteria, the variability of work between teams and individual students creates significant challenges to documenting outcomes for specific students. The rest of this paper will focus on how EPICS has implemented procedures to effectively assess, track, and document the outcomes for those students taking the course for senior design credit in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
DOCUMENTING SENIOR DESIGN OUTCOMES A significant challenge in documenting the outcomes for the senior design students is the fact that the experiences of EPICS students depends on their project team, major, class standing, expertise, and role on the team. The variability of experience provides a richness to their
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Session T2A design experience as they undertake different aspects of the design process as well as multiple roles on their multidisciplinary team. For most of the students in EPICS who take the course as a technical or design elective, this variability is not an issue and is, in fact, a strength of the program. However, for the senior design st,dents, the requirements are more stringent. As a result, specific outcomes have been established for those students taking EPICS for senior design. Specifically, a student who successfully fulfills the course requirements associated with at least 3 credits of EPICS taken over 2 or more semesters will have demonstrated the following outcomes (numbers and letters in parentheses refer to Purdue’s BSEE and BSCmpE Program Objectives and Outcomes listed in Table I): i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii.
an ability to apply technical material from their discipline to the design of engineering products (1, 3, 4, 5, 7, a, b, c, i, k); an understanding of design as a start-to-finish process (3, 4, b, c, e, k); an ability to identify and acquire new knowledge as a part of the problem-solving/design process (1, 3, 4, 5, a, b, c, e, i, k); an awareness of the customer in engineering design (6, 7, c, f, g, h, j); an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams and an appreciation for the contributions from individuals from other disciplines (6, d, f, g, h); an ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences (6, d, g); demonstrates an awareness of engineering ethics and professional responsibility (6, 7, f); an appreciation of the role that engineering can play in social contexts (3, 6, 7, f, h, j).
The challenge is to manage the students' experiences to ensure they meet the senior design outcomes. For example, a student may be the team leader of a team of 20 students with four projects being accomplished simultaneously for their community partner. This student would have to devote a considerable amount of time to administrative and leadership issues. While this is incredibly valuable and will serve the student well after graduation, the student’s experience may not meet the technical aspects of the senior design outcomes. To address this concern, procedures have been implemented both to manage and to assess the senior design students. The first step in the process is identification of the students. The team lists that are supplied to the team members, advisors and teaching assistants include fields that identify students as in their first or second semester of senior design. The team leaders, advisors and teaching assistants are made aware that there are different criteria for these students that must
be taken into account as they are assigned to projects and roles for that project. The second step in this process is the certification of the actual projects on which the teams are working. Because of the customer-driven, multidisciplinary nature of the program, some projects may not be appropriate for BSEE or BSCmpE senior design credit. For example, a team may be working on a mechanical engineering project in which there are minimal EE or CmpE design elements. While these projects may be well suited for a student seeking a technical elective experience that broadens his or her technical scope, they are not suited for the senior design students. Therefore, each semester, the senior design students complete a project description summary, shown in Figure I. These summaries are reviewed by the team’s advisor, the EPICS administrators, and then by the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s design committee for assurance that they meet the standards established by the school. The third step in the process is a monitoring of the individual students. Because the students are required to take EPICS for two semesters to fulfill senior design, a tracking form has been developed to ensure the outcomes are met. This is shown in Figure II. The Outcomes form is completed in several phases: by the students themselves at the middle of each of their senior design semesters, by the teaching assistants as a part of mid-semester evaluation of student’s design notebooks, and by the advisor and TA together at the middle and end of each semester. In addition to certifying outcomes, the early assessments are used to flag potential problems and to redirect a student’s effort if it appears that s/he will not satisfy the requirements. The final approval by the advisor certifies that the student has, in his/her opinion, satisfied the senior design outcomes. Expected means of documenting these outcomes are summarized in Table II and described below. • Deliverables: The team’s delivered projects are evidence of the technical work accomplished, and of the design process. • Design Notebook Evaluation: Design notebooks are required by all EPICS students. They are evaluated three times per semester (weeks 4, 8, 15) by the TAs. • Design Reviewers' Checksheet: Each team schedules an external design review each semester. The Checksheet is completed by members of the design review team. May be used in semester-end assessment of team and project progress. • Reports: Each team submits a formal report at midsemester and at the end of each semester. Reports can document specific technical achievements, the team’s design approach, customer and community awareness, and professionalism, as well as
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Session T2A ECE Senior Design EPICS Project Description Form This form is to be completed for each EPICS project on which there are one or more students using senior-year EPICS registration to fulfill the BSEE or BSCmpE senior design requirement. Senior design students on the project should work together to complete the form. Submit one form per project. If an EPICS team has several projects involving senior design students, submit a separate form for each project. A new form is to be completed each semester.
sem sem Outcomes: 1 2 i. applies technical material from their discipline to the design of engineering products ii. demonstrates an understanding of design as a start-to-finish process iii. an ability to identify and acquire new knowledge as a part of the problemsolving/design process
Semester Course Number and Title
iv. demonstrates an awareness of the customer in engineering design
EE 490 Senior Participation in Engineering Projects in Community Service (Senior Design)
v. demonstrates an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams and an appreciation for the contributions from individuals from other disciplines
EPICS Team Name(s) of Advisor(s)
vi. demonstrates an ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences
Project Title Senior Design Students:
vii. demonstrates an awareness of engineering ethics and professional responsibility
Graduation Date Name
Project Description: Provide a brief technical description of the design project, including the following: a) a summary of the project, including customer, purpose, specifications, and a summary of the approach; b) a description of how the project built upon knowledge and skills acquired in earlier ECE coursework; c) a description of what new technical knowledge and skills, if any, were acquired in doing the project; d) how the engineering design process is incorporated into the project; e) a description of the multidisciplinary nature of the project; f) a summary of how realistic design constraints are being incorporated into the project. As appropriate, include economic, environmental, ethical, health & safety, social, and political constraints, and considerations related to sustainability, manufacturability. Team Composition: Provide the information below for each member of the project team. Include all project team members, not just those in ECE or those enrolled for senior design. Name
How documented:
Major
Area of Expertise
Expected Graduation Date
viii. demonstrates an appreciation of the role that engineering can play in social contexts
FIGURE II OUTCOMES DOCUMENTATION FORM.
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•
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• FIGURE I PROJECT DESCRIPTION FORM FOR CERTIFYING EPICS PROJECTS FOR ECE SENIOR DESIGN SUITABILITY
demonstrating competence in written communications. The report is submitted by the team, but can be used to credit individual students with meeting outcomes when the individual contributions are clearly identified. The reports also documents communication skills. Presentations: Each team makes at least three presentations, of varying degrees of formality, during the semester. These can be used to document students’ activities as well as their communication skills. Weekly Reports: Each student submits an electronic summary of activities each week. These are reviewed weekly by the team’s advisor. The collection of weekly reports, presenting a picture of the student’s activities over the course of the semester, is reviewed as a part of the grading process. Feedback from the team’s customer: The team’s community partner provides feedback on how well the students communicate with them, on the team’s customer awareness, and on the project itself. Peer Evaluation: Form Completed electronically by students at mid-semester and at the end of the semester. Students evaluate the performance of all team members (including themselves) along key dimensions.
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Session T2A •
Self Assessment Form: Completed in lab by students at mid-semester and at the end of the semester. Students assess their major achievements in key areas and advisors add their comments. Used in grading and ABET outcomes assessment. The semester-end forms are to be turned in to the EPICS Coordinator with the final grades. TABLE II
MEANS OF DOCUMENTING OUTCOMES. ROMAN NUMERALS REFER TO THE OUTCOMES IN FIGURE II. Outcomes Means Deliverables i, ii, iii, iv Design Notebooks i, ii, iii, iv, vi, vii, viii Design Reviews i, ii, iii, vi, vii, viii Reports i, ii, iii, iv, vi, viii Presentations i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, viii Weekly reports i, iii, iv, viii Feedback from project partner/customer iv, iv, vi, vii, viii Peer evaluations i, iv, v, vi Course evaluations and self assessment ii, iii, iv, viii
Collectively, the forms are also used as part of the continuous improvement process, to monitor the course itself. The Project Description Forms plus the Outcomes Forms provide information on the extent to which EPICS is providing students with appropriate opportunities to fulfill the outcomes. The Outcomes Forms also allow us to assess the efficacy of the course milestones and documentation procedures in capturing information about students’ performance.
experiences. The procedures that have been put into place for the students taking EPICS for senior design credit have allowed effective documentation of the senior design outcomes and tracking of those students.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT The EPICS Program has been supported by grants from the U.S. Dept. of Education’s FIPSE grant P116F50129, NSF Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement grants DUE96-50771 and DUE98-51200, Corporation for National Service Learn and Serve America Higher Education Program grants 97LHEIN025 and 00LHEIN025, NSF Action Agenda for Engineering Curriculum Innovation Program grant EEC00-02638, and by grants and donations from numerous companies, including Microsoft Research, Hewlett-Packard, 3M, AMD, Eli Lilly, General Motors, ADC, United Technologies, Rea Magnet Wire Co., MDBS, Great Lakes Chemical, and Alcoa.
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CONCLUSION The Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) Program has added a new dimension to the educational design experience for engineering undergraduates at Purdue University. It represents the first program at Purdue that formally integrates service-learning into the engineering curriculum. It has proven successful in the several areas of engineering design including Electrical, Computer, Mechanical and Civil Engineering. Key features of the program include vertically-integrated, multidisciplinary teams and multi-year participation. From the academic side, this structure provides students with the opportunity to be involved in all phases of the design process, from project definition through deployment, on projects that are large in scale. Moreover, the structure encourages an extended service-learning experience, with emphasis on providing a model of how engineers can use their technical skills to benefit the community while learning engineering design. On the community side, the EPICS structure fosters a long-term relationship between project teams and the community service agency partners, and enables ambitious projects that can have a significant impact. The student experience in the EPICS program is very well suited to meet the ABET EC 2000 requirements related to design
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