Transcript EPICS Carla Zoltowski Education Administrator Natalie Kubat National Coordinator June 16, 2007 http://epicsnational.ecn.purdue.edu http://epics.ecn.purdue.edu Introduction and Overview: Outline  Motivation  Context: engineering design, service learning  Projects in four areas Human.

EPICS
Carla Zoltowski
Education Administrator
Natalie Kubat
National Coordinator
June 16, 2007
http://epicsnational.ecn.purdue.edu
http://epics.ecn.purdue.edu
Introduction and Overview: Outline
 Motivation
 Context: engineering
design, service learning
 Projects in four areas
Human services
Access and abilities
Education and outreach
The environment
 EPICS in the curriculum
 EPICS Programs
 Impact/Meeting needs
Calls to Action
 National Academy of
Engineering Studies:
 The Engineer of 2020:
Visions of Engineering
in
the New Century
 Educating the Engineer
of 2020: Adapting
Engineering Education
to the New Century
 Rising Above the
Gathering Storm
 How People Learn
Motivation
 Pace of technological innovations will continue
to be rapid.
 World in which technology will be deployed will
be intensely globally interconnected.
 Population of individuals who are involved in or
affected by technology will be increasing
diverse and multidisciplinary.
 Social, cultural, political, and economic forces
will continue to shape and affect the success of
technology innovation.
 Presence of technology in our everyday lives
will be seamless, transparent, and more
significant than ever.
The EPICS Partnership
Purdue
University
Greater Lafayette
Community
Service-Learning!
EPICS Projects
Access & Abilities
Education & Outreach
Human Services
Environment
EPICS Projects: Social Services
 Design chemical sensing
equipment to help and protect local
law enforcement in their work to
inhibit drug making laboratories.
 Develop database system to assist
the Tippecanoe and Jasper County
Probation Departments to track and
supervise offenders.
 Develop scheduling software to
assist local crisis center to
schedule volunteers 24/7.
 Complete analysis of sustainability
and energy efficiency techniques
for HFH homes.
EPICS Projects: Environment
 Constructed Wetland:
Developed an 80 x 800 ft2
wetland to remove
agricultural chemicals from
stream water
Designed and created new
weir boxes for Purdue’s
constructed water-treatment
wetland to improve its
function.
 Monitor and improve local
water quality.
 Work with home owners
organization to improve
aesthetics and prevent erosion
by planting native vegetation in
retention pond.
EPICS Projects: Access & Abilities
 Interactive play
environments for young
children with disabilities:
cause & effect, multisensory stimulation
 Chin-activated switch
 Walking swing
 Remote controlled bowling
ramp
 Develop devices to
increase safety and
efficiency of employees
with disabilities
 Develop assistive
technology/devices for PU
students
EPICS Projects: Education
 K-12 outreach projects
Lego scanning probe
microscope
Pharmaceutical
 Partnerships with local
K-12 schools
 Technology-assisted job
training
 Projects with local
museums:
Columbian Park Zoo
Hands-on exhibits for
Imagination Station
Context: Learning Pedagogies
Experiential education
Active learning, problem-based learning,
inquiry-guided learning
Design education
Service learning
Engagement in the community
Tied to academic learning outcomes
Reciprocity
Reflection
Why Community Projects?
 Real projects: start-to-finish design –
problem definition, specifications,
version control, sustainability,
design/coding standards,
rigorous testing, reliability,
maintainability, safety,
satisfying a customer,
accountability, pride
 A different view of
engineering and
computing
 The university as citizen
EPICS Characteristics
 Long term projects:
Long-term partnerships with community organizations
Vertically-integrated teams: freshmen - seniors
Extended design experience
Large-team experience: teams of 8-18 students
 Broadly multidisciplinary teams:
 20 disciplines at Purdue
 Open-ended design:
define-design-build-test-deploy-support
EPICS teams can tackle projects of
significant size, scope, and impact
Time Scales: Traditional Courses
 Student learning and project development
are tied to academic calendar
Semester/Quarter
Student Learning
Academic Calendar
Project
EPICS Decouples Time Scales
Student Learning
Semester/Quarter
Semester/Quarter
Project
Semester/Quarter
EPICS Decouples Timescales
Student Learning
Student Learning
Semester/Quarter
Semester/Quarter
Project
Semester/Quarter
Project
Community Receives Long-Term Support They Need
Learning Design
 Design is messy
Involving people
 The Design Process as a full cycle
Phase are often skipped in traditional courses
 EPICS provides an opportunity for
start-to-finish design
Problem definition
Design for x-ability
Working designs for fielded projects
Support for fielded projects
Redesign for second
generation systems
Design
Process
Student-led, Faculty-advised
TA
Team Leader
Advisor
Project Leader
Project Leader
Project Leader
Team members
Team members
Team members
Team members
Team members
Team members
Team members
Team members
Team members
Team members
Meetings Students’ Needs
A genuine
define-design-buildtest-deploy-support
experience
 Communication Skills
 Multidisciplinary
teamwork
 Project/coursework
integration
 Entrepreneurship
 Planning
 Leadership
 Professionalism
 Mentoring
 Community
Involvement
Integrating the Curriculum
T
I
M
E
innovation
problem solving
design
analysis
resourcefulness
engineering
fundamentals
ethics
science
teamwork
mathematics
communication
C
O
N
T
E
X
T
EPICS has the
potential to
realize new
efficiencies in the
engineering
curriculum
The EPICS Consortium
 EPICS programs at 18 universities
 Purdue, Notre Dame, Wisconsin-Madison, Georgia Tech, Penn State,
Butler, Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, Columbia, WPI, San Jose State,
California-San Diego, California-Merced, Illinois Institute of Technology,
Dayton, Dartmouth, Auckland, New Zealand, Virginia, Princeton
Core Values
 Academic credit for
 Long-term, team-based design projects
 Solving technology-based problems in the community
 Multi-year partnerships with not-for-profit community
organizations to fulfill mutual needs:
 Significant design experiences for students
 Providing community organizations with access to technologybased solutions
 Community partners who assist the student teams
 Understand community needs
 Provide a meaningful context for design
 Work with the teams through definition, development, and
deployment
 With no remuneration to the EPICS program
The EPICS High School Program
 EPICS programs at 18 High Schools in Five State
 One established in Bedford, Indiana
 17 starting in 2007 with funding from Learn & Serve America
EPICS Programs
EPICS Curriculum Provides
Service- Design
Project
Learning Education Management
Community
Partnerships
Disciplinary
Knowledge
from
Departments
Projects and
Problems
from Local
Community
Institutional
Curriculum
and Culture
EPICS Programs
Partnerships
Communities
Universities
High Schools
Corporations/Societies
Impact: Meeting Students’ Needs
 15 semesters
of data, 2385
responses
 Impact of
EPICS on
your Topic
 % of students
giving “A” or
“B” rating
Topic
ability to work on a team
communication skills
awareness of the customer
understanding of design process
resourcefulness
organizational skills
awareness of the community
technical skills
awareness of ethical issues
OVERALL EVALUATION
%A+B
88%
83%
81%
80%
79%
77%
73%
71%
68%
84%
Impact: Meeting Students’ Needs
“What are the 3 most valuable things you have
learned from being a part of the EPICS program”:
Responses from 9 semesters, 2044 respondents
Objectives
# responses
Teamwork
1751
Communication Skills
1008
Organizational Skills
793
Technical Skills
754
Leadership Skills
534
Impact: Student Evaluations
Quotes:
“Other engineering courses only directly
benefit me.
EPICS benefits everyone involved.”
“Working on this project has helped me guide
the rest of my course work and ideas for a
future profession.”
“It made me understand how every aspect of
engineering (design, implementation, team
work, documentation) come together.”
“No longer is engineering just a bunch of
equations,
now I see it as a means to help mankind.”
“Opened my heart.”
Impact: Student Evaluations
Quotes, continued:
“My experience in the EPICS program was
one of the best that I had while I was at
Purdue and was really responsible for making
me interested in electrical engineering
again. Now that I have some experience
under my belt, I have decided to go back to
school for a graduate degree: Hopefully at
Purdue. If someone would have told my
during my Sophomore year that I'd be applying
for graduate school in electrical engineering,
I'd never have believed them.”
EPICS and Women
 Research on science education
suggests that “context” is
important to women students.
 “Image” is increasingly being
cited as a deterrent to
attracting women.
 NAE Engineering Message
report: “Because dreams need
doing…”
 20% of ECE & ME EPICS
students are women,
compared to 11% of ECE & ME
students overall
 33% of CS EPICS students vs.
11.5% in CS overall
EPICS: Meeting Mutual Needs
Engineering will be central
to addressing global
grand challenges
Students need more than
theoretical knowledge to succeed:
teamwork, communication,
customer-awareness,
project management,
leadership, ethics,
professionalism
Both local and global
communities need access
to technical expertise that is
normally prohibitively expensive:
improved, enhanced, new capabilities
Universities will
be engaged in their
communities and
in the world