What Sticks with First Year Engineering Students and Engineering Faculty in STEM Education Service-Learning Projects?

In this qualitative assessment of a pilot program spanning 3 semesters, two (2) College of Engineering faculty at Northeastern University explored and managed several experiential service-learning projects in their first-year engineering courses between Fall 2012 - Fall 2013. As a result of 84 first-year engineering students working with 7 different community partners, 215 middle school and high school students were exposed to engineering curriculum through meaningful service-learning projects involving STEM (science, technology, engineering & mathematics) education that they otherwise would not have received. The service-learning projects were qualitatively very successful in delivering STEM curriculum to young students, as determined from faculty observations and from the first-year engineering students' own observations and feedback about their experiences. As a result of faculty members' experiences, observations and reflections, 15 success factors have been identified for first-year engineering students and engineering faculty to consider before implementing meaningful service-learning engineering projects in an urban community. The purpose of this paper is to share these 15 success factors with other engineering educators who may be considering STEM education service-learning projects in their curriculum, especially those who will be initially managing the projects all by themselves. "What Sticks" refers to what has been successful and meaningful for both the first-year engineering students and the engineering faculty.