Implementing Life Cycle Assessment Module in Introduction to Engineering in Different Modalities

This Complete Evidence-based Practice paper describes the implementation of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) module at two different institutions (Institution 1 and Institution 2) in an online-only format. The module as described has been refined over time—since Fall 2018, it has been taught ten times by four different instructors at Institution 1, and once at Institution 2. In 2018 and 2019, the module was taught as an in-person class. In Fall 2020, both institutions transitioned to online learning due to COVID-19 restrictions; the module was implemented in a completely online format. The goal of the module is to introduce students to sustainability and life cycle thinking in engineering product and system design. Institution 1 is a small, undergraduate-only institution with class section sizes of around 20 students. Institution 2 is a large doctoral university with a course enrollment of around 660 students. In Fall 2020, Institution 1 used online synchronous instruction for the module, while Institution 2 relied on instructor-designed asynchronous learning combined with online synchronous workshops in small groups with undergraduate peer leaders. With increasing global and societal needs, introducing concepts of sustainability and life cycle thinking have become imperative across all engineering disciplines. The theme of sustainability is an integral part of the National Academy of Engineering's Grand Challenges. The level integration of sustainability issues and concepts into the undergraduate curriculum varies among the engineering fields. The module provides a structure for first-year students to learn the foundational techniques of life cycle assessment that they can build upon in their future undergraduate courses. The structure of this LCA module does not focus on any particular engineering discipline; it serves as a medium for teaching sustainability and life cycle concepts to students in any major. This module is project-based and the projects are selected to support campus sustainability efforts. Students initially learn the basics of product life cycles, setting goals and scope, and performing simple qualitative and quantitative analyses required for LCA. Subsequently, the campus sustainability office acts as a "client" and provides descriptions of a number of current campus issues for students to evaluate using an LCA approach. The student teams work to develop recommendations based on LCA principles and the teams present their recommendations to the sustainability office staff as project deliverables. Through this process, students learn to apply basic skills of finding, analyzing, and estimating data that will serve them well in their future curricular classes. The introduction to engineering class is structured differently at each institution. At Institution 1, students take two separate 7-week modules during a 14-week semester. A variety of module topics are offered each semester and are taught by instructors from different engineering disciplines. The LCA module constitutes one of the available modules within the course. Students' preferences on their choice of course modules are taken into consideration while doing course module assignments. The LCA module is offered twice in two back-to-back 7-week periods with an average class section size of 20 students. At Institution 2, introduction to engineering is structured as a semester-long common course taken by all first-semester students in the College of Engineering. The course is offered across two large-enrollment sections of approximately 330 students each. The course is structured around two projects; the LCA module was adopted into this course as the focus of the second of these two projects. A pre- and post-survey is currently being implemented at both institutions to gauge students' understanding of sustainability issues and life cycle thinking in engineering before and after the LCA module. The project deliverables for the LCA module include a final written report, which will also be used to assess student learning. The full paper will show results from these assessments. The module is easily adaptable to fit any particular focus area and can be taught by instructors with little to no background knowledge in LCA. This is helpful in first-year programs that experience a high degree of turnover in faculty. It is also easily adaptable to different modes of instruction as well as capable of fitting into different structures of introductory engineering courses and varying course enrollments. There are many open educational resources available for providing students with reference material. The LCA semester project can be run without requiring purchases of supplies or computational resources.