2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

A Program to Engage Undergraduate and High School Students in Community-Based Research

Presented at Community Engagement Division 1 - Empowering Students and Strengthening Community Relationships

Community-based research (CBR) is a practice that engages researchers in collaborative, change-oriented, and inclusive projects in the community. One common example of CBR is university-community collaboration in which students and researchers come up with ideas, perspectives, and knowledge at each stage of the project with the goal to address community needs. The community is mainly involved in identifying the research questions for the projects and making decisions about how the results of the research-focused projects will be implemented. This paper presents a replication of a model focused on university-community collaboration, student engagement and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) attraction and retention using three research-focused projects addressing community needs. The three projects are (1) empathic design project aimed at improving quality greenspaces and pedestrian streetscape experience, (2) food justice project to study the disparities in food access between local regions, and (3) analyzing water quality in a local creek. The projects provided a unique opportunity for students to directly experience and contribute to the research process. In addition, students worked closely with their academic peers and community partners who served as collaborators and mentors. The study reports on the impact of the program on student learning and tendency to stay back in the community. The program's collaborative nature and its effect on students' satisfaction while working on specific projects are also examined. Furthermore, the program helped develop and sustain university-community partnerships. The community stakeholders participating in focus groups were satisfied with the process of identifying community projects and also expressed their satisfaction with the students’ work.

Authors

Khalid Oladeji Bello University of Louisville [biography]

Khalid is a Ph.D. student in Industrial Engineering at the University of Louisville. He received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Production Engineering at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His research interest lies in the application of simulation, optimization, and machine learning techniques for healthcare, supply chain, and manufacturing systems. Khalid is also interested in sensor-based virtual reality and engineering education research..
Dr. Faisal Aqlan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0695-5364 University of Louisville [biography]

Dr. Faisal Aqlan is an Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering at The University of Louisville. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering form The State University of New York at Binghamton.
Danielle Wood University of Notre Dame [biography]

Associate Director for Research, Center for Civic Innovation

Dr. Wood received her M.S.and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds her B.S. from Purdue University. She is a transdisciplinary researcher, with research interests including community engagement, evaluation in complex settings, and translational work at the socio-technical nexus.
Dr. Jay B. Brockman University of Notre Dame [biography]

Dr. Jay Brockman is the Associate Dean of Engineering for Experiential Learning and Community Engagement. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and previously worked for Intel Corporation. He is also a founder of
Dr. Hazel Marie Youngstown State University [biography]

Hazel Marie, Ph.D., P.E. received her B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas in Austin, her M.S. from Youngstown State University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Akron. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
Dr. Kerry Meyers University of Notre Dame [biography]

Dr. Kerry Meyers holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education (B.S. & M.S. Mechanical Engineering) and is specifically focused on programs that influence studentâ€™s experience, affect retention rates, and the factors that determine the overall long term succes
Daniel Lapsley University of Notre Dame

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