“High Schools Improving Lives with Engineering Projects in Community Service-Learning”
Design
Explore
Grow
Prepare
Succeed
Serve
http://epics-high.ecn.purdue.edu/
Pamela Turner
EPICS National High School Program Coordinator
Purdue University
An Introduction to
EPICS High
Outline
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Motivation and Partnerships
Background
Projects in four areas
 Human services
 Access & abilities
 Education & outreach
 The environment
The EPICS Model
Impact/Meeting
needs
Status
Motivation: Connecting engineering with
people and local communities
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While interest in engineering is
declining, civic engagement among
teenagers is near historic highs
83% of high school seniors
participated in community service
or service-learning
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Female and minority students more
inclined to continue service
Many honors diplomas require service
Service-learning in high schools
rarely connected with
engineering/science/math
EPICS provides an opportunity to
tap into this wave of volunteerism
Motivation: Connecting Community
and Engineering in High Schools
Giving high school students
an opportunity to experience
engineering through design
helping their community,
design-based, hands-on,
ethics, teaming,
communication,
leadership
Community-service and
education organizations need
access to technical expertise that
is normally prohibitively expensive:
improved, enhanced, and new services
Motivation: The Time is Now
for EPICS High
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EPICS received a $1.5 million from CNCS (Learn
& Serve America) to kick-off the EPICS High
school program
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Collaboration with EPICS, Engineering
Education/Inspire, and Purdue’s College of
Education
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Hire in full-time high school coordinator
Opportunities for collaboration
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4 EPICS university partners helped
identify ~20 high schools
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Industry partners including; Intel,
Motorola, National Instruments and Rolls Royce
Pilot high schools have been identified
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The EPICS High School Consortium
Some EPICS High Schools are now in the process of finalizing
Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) to Purdue. The following is
a list of high schools who have completed or are in the process of
completing the MOU.
In Indiana:
McCutcheon HS
Jefferson HS
IPS Career & Tech Center
Perry Meridian HS
Columbus C4 Program
Bedford North Lawrence HS
In Massachusetts:
Leicester HS
Agawam HS
Prospect Hill Academy
In San Diego:
High Tech High
Pacific Ridge
In New York:
Columbia HS for Math, Science & Engineering
IDEA
Mott Hall
Bread & Roses
Thurgood
Frederick Douglas
In San Jose:
Andrew P. Hill HS
Yerba Buena HS
Key Partnerships
High School
University
Corporate
Community
Partnerships: EPICS Universities
Joining High School Program
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University of California, San Diego
San Jose State University
Columbia University
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
National model: Local universities
support their local high schools
Partnerships: Corporate Interest
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Leveraging efforts in outreach and community
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Financial and in-kind
resources for local projects
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Sustainability
Expertise
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Improving Education
Increasing interest in engineering/computing
Helping Communities
Consultants for students
and teachers
Advocates for Service-Learning
EPICS Projects: 4 Areas of Interest
The Environment
Education & Outreach
Access & Abilities
Human Services
Partnerships: Examples of Types of
Community Partners in Areas of Interest
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Education: K-12 schools, museums, adult
learning programs, after-school programs
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Access and abilities: adaptive services, clinics
for children with disabilities, programs for
adults with disabilities, assistive technology
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Human services: Homelessness prevention,
Habitat for Humanity, family and children
agencies, neighborhood revitalization, local
government
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Environment: environmental organizations,
neighborhood associations, parks & recreation
Background: The EPICS Consortium
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EPICS programs at 18 universities + 20 High School
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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
High School Program – 20 High Schools in 2007
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National support from NSF, CNCS, Microsoft, HP, National
Instruments, Cypress, Motorola, Purdue
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Annual conference
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May 20-22, 2008 in West Lafayette, IN.
Regional workshops
National-scale EPICS projects
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Teams at different universities
cooperate on national-scale problems
Background: Meeting Academic
Standards
Many standards can be achieved through EPICS. One
strength of the highly successful EPICS model is that it
offers service-learning for students with varying academic
interests.
EPICS addresses critical areas in academic standards in:
 Math
ex: Problem-solving and utilizing math skills
 Science
ex: Using scientific theories in practical applications
 Language Arts
ex: Master good communication in order to both receive and
disseminate information and understand others
Background: Learning Pedagogies
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Service-Learning
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Engagement in the community
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Tied to academic learning outcomes
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Local partnerships allow students to experience
consistent “customer” interaction
Reciprocity
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Service to an underserved populations
EPICS focuses on local communities
Solving problems WITH the community
Reflection (Analysis)
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Processing their experience in the community
Connecting the service to academic standards
EPICS Projects: Human Services
(Examples of Projects at the University Level)
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Habitat for Humanity
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Web-based home selection guides
Building construction tutorials and management systems
Energy efficiency analyses and home design
recommendations
Restore inventory management
system
National Projects
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National Database system for
homeowner assessments
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Purdue and Notre Dame
Construction training materials
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Purdue and Wisconsin
EPICS Projects: Environment
(Examples of projects at the University level)
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Waiheke Island Waste Resource Trust,
New Zealand
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Processing waste glass into sand for use in
construction materials
Conversion of waste cooking
oil to bio-diesel fuel
EPICS Projects: Access & Abilities
(Examples of projects at the university & high school level)
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High School Team
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Complex play environments for
young children with physical
disabilities
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Multimedia systems to
stimulate speech in
developmentally delayed children
Bedford North
Lawrence, IN
Swallowing monitor
to enable classmate
with cerebral palsy
control drooling
2nd place in 2005 EPICS I2P
Provisional patent
EPICS Projects: Education & Outreach
(Examples of projects at the university level)
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Partnerships with local K12 schools
K-12 outreach projects
Technology & girls
Technology-assisted job
training
Projects with local museums:
 Virtual reality history tour
 Electromechanical battlefield
 Interactive zoo animal catalog,
tour, and games
 Hands-on science exhibits
 Museum climate monitoring
system
Bedford North Lawrence:
Pilot EPICS High School Model
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Started in Bedford, IN. by EPICS
Alum employed at Crane Naval
Surface Warfare Center
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Created a swallowing monitor
to enable classmate with cerebral
palsy to control drooling
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2nd place in 2005 EPICS I2P
competing against university
teams
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Now have a provisional patent
Proved that EPICS can make an
impact at the high school level on
the students and the community
Bedford North Lawrence:
Pilot EPICS High School Model
Sample Student Quotes:
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“EPICS confused me. I wasn’t thinking of
engineering at all but wanted to do the project.
After I got into it I found electrical engineering
fun. Now I am considering engineering and less
sure what I want to major in as an
undergraduate”
- Female participant wanting to major in pre-med
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“This engineering had kind of a “girl feel” to it”
- One of the four male participants last year
EPICS High School Model: Criteria
of New EPICS High School Sites
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Student Participants
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Broad participation: EPICS schools are expected to
draw from a diverse population of students.
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Multidisciplinary collaboration: EPICS design teams
need students with diverse expertise and career
interests.
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Willingness and ability of the institution to meet
the EPICS core values.
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EPICS students participate in long-term, team-based
design projects that solve technology-based problems
in the community.
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EPICS programs establish multi-year partnerships
with not-for-profit community organizations.
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EPICS community partners assist the student teams
in understanding community needs and context for
the designs.
EPICS High School Model: Criteria of
New EPICS High School Sites (Cont.)
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Institutional Commitment
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Institutional commitment and administrative support.
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Appropriate teacher and administrative leadership.
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Support systems to assist in the community contacts.
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Sustaining and institutionalizing high school
programs
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Purdue University along with their partnering
Universities and corporate partners will work with the
schools to prepare to sustain their programs.
High School EPICS Model:
Structure
High schools are determining the best fit for their
schools and their students when deciding on the
EPICS model they will offer. The following are
examples of models that have come out in
discussions with the schools.
After school or Saturday Program
 In Daily Class Schedule (Elective)
 3-Day/Week Class
 EPICS as Part of an Existing Class
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The goal is to move toward integrating EPICS
into the core curriculum
The High School EPICS Model:
Curriculum Pieces
EPICS programs will involve the following
components modeled after the success at the
university. Milestones must be achieved and
students will be required to report on projects in
written reflections and oral presentations.
Team meetings or “Labs”
 Additional learning experiences (e.g.
Lectures, workshops, web-based
learning,…)
 Readings
 Reflections
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The EPICS Model
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
The EPICS Model: Learning Design
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Design is messy
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The Design Process as a full cycle
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Involving people with varying skill sets and academic interests
Traditional classes are valuable to the
learning cycle of EPICS
EPICS provides an
opportunity for start-to-finish
design
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Problem definition
Design for x-ability
Working designs for fielded
projects
Support for fielded projects
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Redesign or retirement of fielded projects
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Design
Process
Vocational
Impact: Real Design Solutions to
Real Community Needs
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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
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A different view of
engineering
The high school as citizen
making an impact on the
world around them
Impact: Meetings Students’ Needs
A genuine
define-design-buildtest-deploy-support
experience
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Communication Skills
Teamwork
Project integration and
management
Entrepreneurship
Creative Thinking
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Planning
Leadership
Professionalism
Career Exploration
Community
Involvement and
Awareness
Impact: Underrepresentation
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Research on science education
suggests that “context” is important
to young women students.
“Image” is increasingly being cited
as a deterrent to attracting women.
The ability of EPICS to pull young
women interested in the projects
and bettering their communities is
very valuable.
 BNL Program in 2006 9/13
participants were women
 Service-learning draws a higher
percentage of women from
engineering and computing in
university programs
Research indicates a similar
potential with underrepresented
minority students
Impact: Evaluation and Assessment
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Data on various program aspects will be reported regularly
by each of the participating high schools to form individual
and collective assessments.
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Interest in engineering
Learning of design
Engagement with the community
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Evaluation of the summer trainings will be done to
consistently make improvements.
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Information gathered will reflect the impact of the program
on the fields of engineering in the numbers of students
attracted to engineering, including the underrepresented
populations.
Team Roles: Student leadership
Project leaders - lead individual projects
 Liaison - primary contact for the
community partner
 Financial officer - manages team’s budget
 Manager of Intellectual Property - leads
entrepreneurship activities, patent
searches
 Webmaster
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Artifacts: Data to Assess
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Students produce artifacts that can be
assessed during their EPICS experience
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Design Notebooks
Reflections
Self-assessments
Presentations
Reports
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Project documentation
Delivered projects
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Manuals or other documentations with project
Assessing Team & Individual Work
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Teams are assessed
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Project plan
Customer/Partner feedback
Presentations and team reports
Individual artifacts assessed
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Peer assessments
Summary of accomplishments
Individual Notebooks
Reflections
Design records - authored
Observations
EPICS High: Next Steps
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Schools have submitted Memorandums of
Understanding (MOU)
Sub-grant Dollars Dispersed upon Review of
MOU.
All Schools were to Complete 1 Project-Based,
Service-Learning Activity by the End of the 06-07
School Year.
One-week 2007 Training Workshops to be Held at
Purdue the weeks of June 11th and July 9th for
Participating Teachers and Administrators from
each school.
Roll-out in the fall of 2007
Prepare
Explore
Serve
The Time is Now!