IMPACT OF ONLINE TEACHING TECHNIQUES ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN ENGINEERING DYNAMICS

• Published in: Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) 2021-06
• Main Authors: Ghasemloonia, Ahmad, Singh, Meera
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2371-5243; 2371-5243
• DOI: 10.24908/pceea.vi0.14959

Engineering Dynamics has historically been one of the most challenging courses in the engineeringcurriculum. At this institution, Dynamics is taken by approximately 500 students annually and the failure rate has been between 15-20% for the past 10 years. This rate has serious implications on program length and student retention. In the last few years, comprehensive studies have been conducted by the authors aimed at improving these statistics. Plans to focus further on improvingstudent engagement in Dynamics were made critical in Fall 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequential requirement that it had to be offered completely online. The primary objective when setting up this online offering of Dynamics was to maximize student engagementwhile leveraging the new possibilities of online education. This paper reflects on the impacts of the details of the course structure on student engagement. In addition to student outcomes, student survey results associated with the impacts of online learning are analyzed. Some challenges are identified that require further focus and evaluation. It is concluded that student outcomes inEngineering Dynamics may benefit post-pandemic by implementing some of the online learning techniques adopted in Fall 2020 in a blended course delivery.