Educational Evaluation of a Faculty-Led Education Abroad Program in Renewable Energy

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Kerzmann, Tony Lee McAndrew, Casey James Slis, Kendra French, Maria Elisabeth Maione, Katelyn
Copyright Year	2016
Abstract	In recent years, there has been increasing demand and push for global experience through an academic setting. For would-be engineers this is even more important in this world of everincreasing global collaboration and commerce. In an effort to provide students with global education opportunities, our university has developed and enhanced a Faculty Led Education Abroad Program (FLEAP). The FLEAP program provides students an opportunity to participate in short-term study abroad programs where they are taught curriculum within an international setting. These programs have proven to be an excellent example of engaged learning and provide students with a global perspective that is unparalleled in any classroom. This paper will present learning and global awareness gains. The data presented are from a survey that was conducted on all the students who participated in the ENGR2012 FLEAP and have travelled to Germany as part of the course. The results were very positive with focus categories in personal growth, education, cultural awareness, engineering concepts and energy awareness. The averages in these categories ranged from 3.51 – 3.73 on a Likert scale. This shows that the ENGR2012 Renewable Resources FLEAP course provided students with learning increases that were well above “slightly improved” in all of the focus categories, with the greatest gains in the Engineering Concepts category. Through the use of the survey results and interviews, we have garnered meaningful conclusions that quantify and qualify learning gains of the ENGR2012 course as compared to a traditional on-ground course. Along with the survey data and results, this paper contains the design and layout of the course as well as the learning objectives and experiential learning components of the FLEAP. Introduction Globalization, internationalization, and global citizenship are all terms that center on a way of thinking and living that involves a mixture of multiple communities, cities, regions, and nations 1 . In the world today these traits are essential to the development of a student as they make their way into their respective professions. One of the best ways for students to gain these traits is with a study abroad experience 1 . A study abroad is defined as educational programs that take place outside the geographical frontiers of the student's country of origin 2 . Today 1.5% of undergraduate students and 10% of graduate students are participating in study abroad experiences 1 . With all of these young adults experiencing the world there are some great changes that are beginning to show themselves in the students who have participated in a study abroad program. Skills that are directly applicable to today's world and many life skills are acquired during study abroad programs. These benefits range from personal growth to improvement in traditional learning and a better ability to market oneself to employers 3 . One of the many goals associates with study abroad opportunities is to “train future global leaders to be more effective, respectful of other cultures and political and economic systems.” Through this goal students become more open minded, sympathetic and understanding of cultural and political aspects that may differ from those of their home country 4 . The Princeton review stated in 2016 that while on a study abroad experience students discovered new things about themselves, learned how to face challenges on their own, and how to work as a team with unknown colleges 5 . Study abroad opportunities also engage students in both globalization and internationalization. Globalization seeks to create relationships across cultures in terms of technology, education and migration, while internationalization is oriented more toward multilateral processes involving knowledge of specific countries in furthering development in business, educational, social and cultural relationships 6 . As a major aspect of study abroad trips, these two concepts will aid students in their ability to fit into an increasingly globalized society, which is a great asset for young adults who have recently or soon to be graduating college. Many recent graduates find employment to be their number one priority. According to the University of California 97% of study abroad students were employed within one year of their graduation, while only 49% of other college graduates were hired during the same year long period. The study also found that 100% of study abroad participants increased their GPA after a study abroad experience 7 . This implies that not only could study abroad programs improve the personal lives and worldviews of college graduates, but they could also assist students in achieving better grades in the classroom while providing better career opportunities. There is also a connection between study abroad programs and increased soft skills in students. Soft skills are moving higher and higher on the list of things employers are looking for in an engineer. CENews published the results of a survey they conducted that supported this claim saying that “[W]e’ve talked about [what] we need to incorporate perhaps more in the education, so that students [who graduate are] more prepared for a job, and that includes management skills, written skills, oral communication skills, ethics, technical skills, more broad-based knowledge, more emphasis on humanities.” There is evidence that study abroad experiences, particularly semester long programs, improve soft skills such as writing, oral and other self-expression communication skills 8, 9 . Katherine Boettrich, the vice president of Communications and Sustainability Affairs for ABB Inc. stated that, “Early opportunities to study and learn in the global community help students become innovators and critical thinkers. It helps them better prepare to become international leaders of tomorrow 10 .” Katherine is not alone in her sentiments; many employers seek out graduates that have international experience. Robert Morris University has recognized the many advantages that studying abroad programs have provided students. Robert Morris University offers yearlong programs, semester long programs, and faculty led educational abroad programs (FLEAP). This paper focuses on the short term FLEAP programs, which usually include two weeks spent abroad studying course topics while learning about international culture 11 . Recently a survey was conducted through Robert Morris University regarding the benefits received from the ENGR2012 Renewable Resources course that takes place in Germany. We believe that the study abroad experience from this course positively affects personal growth, overall education, cultural experiences, engineering concepts, and energy awareness, and this survey has been designed to quantify the learning gains in these areas. The ENGR2012 Renewable Resources FLEAP has occurred three times in the past four years, in 2012, 2013, and 2015, and has involved a total of fourteen students. The survey was distributed to each of the fourteen students to gauge their perceived outcomes from the study abroad experience. Renewable Resources Course Layout The FLEAP course began as an extension of an existing course, ENGR2012 Renewable Resources. One of the positive aspects of combining the FLEAP with the course was that Germany is a perfect place to visit when studying renewable energy and sustainability because of the nationwide focus in these topics. Many of the technologies that were discussed in class could be experienced throughout Germany and this offered a great opportunity for students to receive experiential learning related to the topics covered in the course materials. Studies suggest that engineering students learn better as active learners and therefore we believe that being able to see, discuss, experience and evaluate renewable energy technologies has helped students fully grasp the course materials 12 . Because Germany is arguably the leading country in wide-scale implementation of renewable energy, the choice to incorporate Germany into an existing renewable energy course was a logical decision. The FLEAP to Germany has taken place 3 times since 2013, bringing a total of 14 students to Germany. The first two times the course was taught, the course had a traditional in-class component and shortly after the end of the semester the group travelled to Germany for two weeks. The most recent 2015 FLEAP was different. Instead of the more traditional on-ground course, the students studied course materials, watched videos, completed assignment and engaged in discussions in an online Blackboard environment. The professor and the students met periodically throughout the semester to discuss travel arrangements and other details about the FLEAP. This method appeared to work very well and will continue in future courses. Throughout the semester the meetings were used to discuss German culture, language and to discuss preparations for travel. There were even mini-lessons on the German language, where basic German words and phrases were taught by the professor. In addition to the online course materials and the mini-lessons, the students had to keep logbooks during their travels and complete a final report with along with a final presentation video upon the completion of the study abroad (The final report guidelines can be found in Appendix 1). This course was used to assess ABET outcomes a, d, g, h, and j, listed below 13 . The course outcomes were incorporated in the survey to assess gains in the outcome categories with regard to the ENGR2012 FLEAP course. Outcome a: RMU graduates have an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering. Outcome d: RMU graduates have an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams Outcome g: RMU graduates have an ability to communicate effectively Outcome h: RMU graduates have the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global societa
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DOI	10.18260/p.26889
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://peer.asee.org/educational-evaluation-of-a-faculty-led-education-abroad-program-in-renewable-energy.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://doi.org/10.18260/p.26889
Language	English
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Resource Type	Article