A Service Learning Case Study for the Ergonomics Classroom

Abstract

Applications of human factors and ergonomics in the design process have great potential in a service learning setting. During the 2009 and 2010 fall semesters, a national competition for designing work aids for disabled persons was integrated as a service learning term project in a senior level undergraduate course entitled “Human Factors and Ergonomics I.” This project provided students with hands-on experience in applying both engineering skills (based upon the ABET a-k outcomes) and ergonomics principles to designing for special populations. Throughout the semester students worked one-on-one with an assigned disabled client and the client’s vocational aide in applying concepts learned during the course. The project’s objective was to develop an assistive device that would empower their client with disabilities to overcome barriers to employment. This included enabling their clients to perform their jobs with greater ease and efficiency and in some cases with complete independence. In order to encourage a more widespread adoption of service learning within human factors and ergonomics education, this paper describes one application of a service learning project that can be applied across a variety of human factors and ergonomics courses.

Ergonomics Service Learning Project: Implementing an Alternative Educational Method in an Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Ergonomics Course

“…Student evaluations (fall 2009) of creativity and cost feasibility were higher than the partners’ perceptions, with the partner perceiving higher potential to increase process and worker efficiency, as well as improving worker health and safety and increasing worker satisfaction (Figure ; Stanley et al., ). Stanley and Hoyt () found similar results in fall 2010, but in that S‐L project, students perceived higher implementation feasibility than Reach members.…”

“…The responses to the structured questions revealed the students perceived the societal context of engineering and the engineer's primary duty to the public good (Stanley & Hoyt, ). Students experienced satisfaction working on the fall 2010 Reach project in that it allowed them to both design and be creative with a view to helping others.…”

“…The fall 2010 and fall 2011 course ABET outcome assessment tool was different from the Project ABET assessment. The course ABET outcome was implemented across all of the IE courses in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at MSU and only engineering students were to respond in one of four ways: strongly disagree, disagree, agree, or strongly agree to the course's applicable ABET outcomes (a) through (k) (Table ; Stanley & Hoyt, ). Not all ABET outcomes apply for each IE course, and in Table , the specific applicable ABET outcomes for the S‐L course are noted.…”

“…In fall 2010 structured student reflections were completed in three journal activities where students responded to open‐ended questions (Table ; Stanley & Hoyt, ). The questions asked students to connect their previous experiences to the current S‐L project experiences as well as explain their understanding of the context they worked in with the S‐L experience.…”

“…Sierra, Benne, and Fisk (2002) described an ergonomic psychology course in which students applied the human factors knowledge they learned in the class to a real-world project at a zoo. In the past 2 years, Stanley has contributed two articles about using service learning projects in an IE ergonomics course (Stanley & Hoyt, 2011;Stanley, Page, & Plumb, 2010). Service learning (S-L) is a method of teaching in which students apply skills they learn in a course to a community organization (educational institutions, nonprofit, or taxexempt organizations) that has identified a needed service (Oakes, 2004).…”