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Special Session: Building Intentional Community Partnerships

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Conference

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Seattle, Washington

Publication Date

June 14, 2015

Start Date

June 14, 2015

End Date

June 17, 2015

ISBN

978-0-692-50180-1

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Special Session: Building Intentional Community Partnerships

Tagged Division

Community Engagement Division

Page Count

12

Page Numbers

26.1391.1 - 26.1391.12

DOI

10.18260/p.24728

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/24728

Download Count

452

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Paper Authors

biography

Julia D Thompson Purdue University, West Lafayette

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Julia Thompson obtained her Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University, and a BS in Chemical engineering from UC Berkeley. Her primary research topic is on engineering community partnerships, and has an interest in spirituality in engineering and global engineering education. Her desired next step is to explore engineering design as an empowerment tool to educate historically disenfranchised student groups in engineering skills, while addressing infrastructure needs of communities.

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biography

Juan C. Lucena Colorado School of Mines

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Juan Lucena is Professor and Director of Humanitarian Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM). Juan obtained a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies (STS) from Virginia Tech and a MS in STS and BS in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). His books include Defending the Nation: U.S. Policymaking to Create Scientists and Engineers from Sputnik to the ‘War Against Terrorism’ (University Press of America, 2005), Engineering and Sustainable Community Development (Morgan &Claypool, 2010, and Engineering Education for Social Justice: Critical Explorations and Opportunities (Springer, 2013).

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biography

Marybeth Lima Louisiana State University

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Marybeth is a Professor in Biological & Agricultural Engineering and Director of the LSU Center for Community Engagement, Learning and Leadership. She co-authored the textbook Service-Learning: Engineering in Your Community (Oxford University Press) with Bill Oakes and is the author of Building Playgrounds Engaging Communities: Creating Safe and Happy Places for Children (LSU Press).

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biography

Brent K Jesiek Purdue University, West Lafayette

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Dr. Brent K. Jesiek is Associate Professor in the Schools of Engineering Education and Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. He is also an Associate Director of Purdue’s Global Engineering Program, leads the Global Engineering Education Collaboratory (GEEC) research group, and is the recipient of an NSF CAREER award to study boundary-spanning roles and competencies among early career engineers. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Tech and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Science and Technology Studies (STS) from Virginia Tech. Dr. Jesiek draws on expertise from engineering, computing, and the social sciences to advance understanding of geographic, disciplinary, and historical variations in engineering education and practice.

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Abstract

Special  Session:  Transactional,  Cooperative  or  Communal:  Building  partnerships  that  integrate  the  communities    Recent  growth  in  community  engagement  programs  in  engineering  education  clearly  reveals  the  importance  of  understanding  partnerships  between  the  engagement  programs  and  the  community  they  work  with.  However,  there  has  been  minimal  research  and  reflection  on  engineering  education  partnerships.  In  this  special  session,  the  participants  will  learn  about  theoretical  frameworks  that  categorize  different  types  of  interactions  within  partnerships  and  practical  implications  on  how  to  structure  programs  that  make  the  community  an  integral  part  of  the  community  engagement  experience.    The  special  session  will  be  highly  interactive,  and  will  be  grounded  in  the  Transactional,  Cooperative,  and  Communal  (TCC)  Framework  that  categorizes  interactions  within  partnerships.    This  framework  was  developed  as  part  of  one  of  the  facilitator’s  dissertation  work.  In  transactional  interactions,  there  is  a  heightening  of  the  boundary  between  the  community  and  the  program;  an  “us”  and  “them”  relationship  is  present.    This  can  be  negative  when  the  interactions  are  unilateral  and  the  program  makes  decisions  for  the  community  without  input  or  dialog.  The  second  type  of  interactions  is  cooperative,  and  the  boundary  between  the  community  and  the  program  are  intentionally  blurred.  The  community  members  and  program  members  come  together,  each  offering  skills  and  expertise  to  the  project.    The  third  type  is  communal,  these  interactions  transcend  the  roles  of  the  individuals  and  connect  to  the  deeper  needs  of  the  individual  and  community  as  a  whole.    In  these  interactions  and  activities  the  individuals  see  beyond  an  “us”  and  “them”  and  recognize  the  process  as  a  “we”,  developed  friendships,  and  gained  a  sense  of  ownership  in  the  process.    The  partnership  can  change  through  out  the  design  process,  and  often  to  not  focus  on  a  specific  type  of  interaction,  but  balances  a  combination  of  interactions.    The  beginning  of  the  workshop  will  include  examples  of  the  different  partnerships  through  thought-­‐provoking  videos  and  analyzing  case  studies.    We  will  then  engage  in  deep  reflections  related  to  concept  of  partnership  and  communities,  and  test  firsthand  some  design  tools  that  participants  can  teach  to  students  to  involve  and  integrate  their  community  partners,  and  facilitate  more  cooperative  and  communal  interactions  within  the  partnerships.      By  the  end  of  the  workshop,  participants  will  be  able  to  self-­‐evaluate  their  own  past  and  current  partnerships,  see  how  program  structures  can  influence  the  nature  of  interactions  of  the  partnerships,  and  assess  the  differences  that  these  partnerships  can  make  in  the  success  or  failures  of  our  programs  and  the  communities.  Participants  will  leave  the  session  with  a  practical  action  plan  to  implement  the  types  of  partnerships  they  wish  to  build  with  their  community  partners.        The  workshop  will  be  90  minutes  and  will  be  available  for  around  40  participants.    The  target  audience  is  individual  who  are  currently  involved  in  community  engagement  programs,  or  members  who  are  interested  in  being  involved.    We  are  looking  for  sponsorship  from  possibly  the  Community  Engagement  division,  the  Liberal  Education  &  Engineering  Society  Division  and  the  International  division.                  

Thompson, J. D., & Lucena, J. C., & Lima, M., & Jesiek, B. K. (2015, June), Special Session: Building Intentional Community Partnerships Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/p.24728

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