Email: EngineeringELP@iastate.edu

Address:
312 Marston
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011

 

Service Learning

 

Many students participate in community service activities, but how many students stop to reflect on their experiences and lessons learned so they may apply their new knowledge about team work, project management, fundraising and leadership to their everyday lives?  This is what the Engineering Leadership Program calls service learning.

 

Service learning is more than just planning and completing a service project.  Service learning is a teaching and learning strategy which integrates a passion for community service with structured project management and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.

 

 Within the first year of participating in the Engineering Leadership Program the students are required to select, develop, plan, and complete a service learning project as a group.  Each student has the opportunity to derive an idea and the group as a whole selects the project that will be completed.  There is no specified type of project.  The only stipulation is that the project must address a current community issue.

 

The development of their project follows a modified version of the Six Sigma five phase process called the DMAIC process.  There is a Gate Review process at the end of each phase which the scholars must pass before proceeding to the next phase.  The five phases of the DMAIC process are: 

 

D: Define

Scholars define a project in the greater community that they would like to address.  Each scholar proposes a project and presents it to the group during the weekly ELP Seminar. 

 M: Measure

As a team, the ELP scholars identify main aspects of the selected project from all sides.  The measurement phase of the DMAIC process is used to break down the project into key components.

 A: Analyze

After the team creates a set of smaller objectives which allows the larger goal to be achieved, the team goes about developing an action plan to accomplish those objectives.  Each objective is further broken down into several action items.  Each action item is assigned to a team member or members and tasks are put into a project schedule.  The proposed project budget is also created.

 I: Improve

Each team member or group of team members follow through with their set action plan while continually looking for ways to improve the process.

 C: Control

It is the responsibility of the team to ensure the sustainability of their project on the whole.  The team needs to develop a service or maintenance plan to ensure continued usefulness of the project.

 

 

3M DONATES $500,000 TO ENGINEERING PROGRAM
4/11/2008

ISU STUDENT NAMED TO ALL-USA ACADEMIC SECOND TEAM BY USA TODAY
2/14/2008

ELP SCHOLARS FEATURED IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING NEWS
1/05/2008

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING E-NEWS
1/05/2008

GIFT LAUNCHES SPECIALIZED ENGINEERING INSTITUTE AT IOWA STATE
9/26/2007

 

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