Integrating Service Learning into Mechanical Engineering Pedagogy at MIT

麻省理工学院的机械工程系正计划制定策略，将服务学习整合到他们的核心技术课程中。其他院校的工程服务学习通常侧重于选修课和顶点课程；美国国家科学基金会的这项计划拨款将使麻省理工学院的机械工程系能够制定将服务学习整合到核心技术课程中的策略。本提案的具体目标是：1)为机械工程二年级、三年级和高年级的服务学习课程开发；2)开发工程中广泛适用的服务学习模式；3)提高教师对服务学习教学法的认识和理解。4)制定评估和研究策略，使麻省理工学院能够为本科工程教育和服务学习的研究做出贡献。该项目将证明SL是否可以更广泛地应用于工程课程，其结果将引起其他考虑SL计划的人的相当大的兴趣。结果将产生更大的影响，因为项目工作和评估计划是全面和高质量的。该项目还将对项目所服务的社区产生双向影响。社区将受益于聪明的工程本科生为他们的需求开发的产品和服务，学生将受益于与他们所服务的社区的直接接触和了解。

The mechanical engineering department at MIT is planning to develop strategies for integrating service learning into their core technical curriculum. Engineering service learning at other institutions is typically focused on elective and capstone classes; This planning grant from NSF would enable the mechanical engineering department at MIT to develop strategies for integrating service learning into the core technical curriculum as well. The specific objectives of this proposal are 1) to develop curriculum for mechanical engineering service learning classes at the sophomore, junior, and senior levels, 2) to develop widely applicable models of service learning in engineering, 3) to promote faculty awareness and understanding of service learning pedagogy, and 4) to create assessment and research strategies that will enable MIT to contribute to the research on undergraduate engineering education and service learning. The project will demonstrate whether SL can be applied more broadly in the engineering curriculum and the results will be of considerable interest to others considering an SL program. The results will have even more impact because the project work and assessment plans are comprehensive and high quality. The project will also have 2-way impact in the communities served by the projects. The communities will benefit by the products and services being developed by bright engineering undergraduates for their needs and the students will benefit by direct contact with and understanding of the communities they are serving.