Purdue News
Purdue News
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February 20, 2004 Service-learning projects expand at PurdueWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – From providing homework help to Spanish-speaking students to designing structures for Habitat for Humanity, more Purdue University students than ever are weaving volunteerism into the classroom experience through service-learning. More than 700 Purdue students are enrolled in service-learning classes. One of the newest is the Freshman Engineering Learning Community Projects course, through which approximately 220 students living in Earhart Hall will use their skills to make a difference in the Lafayette and West Lafayette area. William C. Oakes, assistant professor of engineering and co-director of Engineering Projects in Community Service, will talk about various service-learning programs at 3:30 p.m. Thursday (2/26) in the West Faculty Lounge of the Purdue Memorial Union. His lecture is free and open to the public. Oakes also will offer tips for starting or expanding service-learning projects across other disciplines. The Boiler Volunteer Network, for example, often can direct professors to social service agencies that can benefit from student assistance. Oakes points to projects at the Trinity Mission and Imagination Station as examples of successful efforts by freshmen engineering students. At Trinity Mission, teams showed staff how to repair computer and electrical appliances donated to its thrift store. Students also produced training manuals to help Trinity Mission staff continue their efforts after the students completed their project. Teams at Imagination Station designed displays and curricula for the museum's science programs. "The students get to do something that will really be used if they do it right, and this provides motivation," Oakes says. "The connection to the community also provides a broader view of engineering that can help students see how their future profession can make a positive impact on society, which can help their motivation for continuing to pursue a specific career path." Oakes says students also reap additional benefits from service work, making them better students. "Learning benefits come from putting the work into a context they can understand," Oakes says. "The experiential learning environment of service-learning allows for a wider diversity of learning styles compared to a traditional classroom. Students then find it easier to recall the information that is taught in the classroom." Another Purdue service-learning initiative, Engineering Projects in Community Service, will expand to 15 universities across the country this fall. One project links students at Purdue, the University of Wisconsin and Notre Dame with work needed by Habitat for Humanity. For another project, students produced a homelessness management information system, which is used in Lafayette-West Lafayette and in two other counties. Other students developed an 80-foot by 800-foot wetland to remove agricultural runoff from stream water. Service-learning projects also have taken root in the Purdue School of Liberal Arts. One project links Spanish-language students with Hispanic students for homework help at Glen Acres Elementary School in Lafayette. Another project involves students completing 10 hours of community service work for a history of feminist thought class. Oakes says he would like to see even more professors explore service-learning. At his presentation, he will discuss various sources of funding, which range from $500 grants from the Office of Engagement to $1 million grants from the National Science Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service. Don K. Gentry, vice provost for engagement, says service-learning is an important component of Purdue's mission to be responsive to the needs of the community. "We have a responsibility to be good citizens," Gentry says. "Putting the knowledge gained at Purdue to use in the community is not only a wise thing to do, it is the right thing to do. That's why our office encourages student groups to apply for our grants." Oakes says, "The money is there. When experience outside of the classroom enhances retention, motivation and learning and makes a real-world difference, it's a winning scenario for everybody. One student wrote on an evaluation that service-learning 'opened his heart' as well as his mind. Ultimately, that's what it's all about." Writer: Marydell Forbes, (765) 496-7704, mforbes@purdue.edu Sources: William Oakes, (765) 494-3892, oakes@purdue.edu Don K. Gentry (765) 494-9095, dkgentry@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu Related news releases: Volunteerism goes to school at universities nationwide NSF helps Purdue engineers expand service-learning nationally
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