Advancing Engineering Education Beyond COVID: A Guide for Educators

259 Pages·2022·24.889 MB·English

by  Ivan Gratchev, Hugo G. Espinosa

Advancing Engineering
Education Beyond COVID
Educators, are you ready to meet the challenge of cultivating the next generation of
engineers in a post-COVID-19 context?
Current engineering student cohorts are unique to their predecessors: they are
more diverse and have experienced unprecedented disruption to their education due
to the COVID-19 pandemic. They will also play a more significant role in contribut-
ing to global sustainability efforts. Innovating engineering education is of vital
importance for preparing students to confront society’s most significant sustainabil-
ity issues: our future depends on it.
Advancing Engineering Education Beyond COVID: A Guide for Educators offers
invaluable insights on topics such as implementing active-learning activities in
hybrid modes; developing effective and engaging online resources; creating psycho-
logically safe learning environments that support academic achievement and mental
health; and embedding sustainability within engineering education. Students’ own
perspectives of online learning are also incorporated, with the inclusion of a chapter
authored by undergraduate engineering students.
This book consolidates the expertise of leading authorities within engineering
education, providing an essential resource for educators responsible for shaping the
next generation of engineers in a post-COVID-19 world.
Ivan Gratchev is a Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering at the School of Engineering
and Built Environment, Griffith University, QLD, Australia. He is a Senior Fellow of
the Higher Education Academy.
Hugo G. Espinosa is a Senior Lecturer in Electronic Engineering and First Year
Coordinator for Engineering at the School of Engineering and Built Environment,
Griffith University, QLD, Australia.

Advancing Engineering
Education Beyond
COVID
A Guide for Educators
Edited by
Ivan Gratchev
Hugo G. Espinosa
Designed cover image: ShutterStock
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particular pedagogical approach or particular use of the MATLAB® software.
First edition published 2023
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ISBN: 978-1-032-20179-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-20312-6 (pbk)
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DOI: 10.1201/9781003263180
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Contents
Foreword ..................................................................................................................vii
Preface .......................................................................................................................ix
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................xiii
Notes on the Editors .................................................................................................xv
Notes on the Contributors ......................................................................................xvii
THEME 1 COVID-19: Disruption in Context
Chapter 1 Changes in Student Demographics, Behaviour,
and Expectations in Higher Education .................................................3
Andrew Busch and Belinda Schwerin
THEME 2 General Strategies, Approaches,
and Practices for Online and Blended
Learning Post-COVID-19
Chapter 2 Engagement in the Blended Learning Model of a
Post-COVID University......................................................................31
Anna Wrobel-Tobiszewska, Sarah Lyden, Damien Holloway,
Alan Henderson, Peter Doe, and Benjamin Millar
Chapter 3 Developing Video Resources in Engineering Education:
Evidence-Based Principles for Effective Practice ..............................51
Sarah Dart, Sam Cunningham, and Alexander Gregg
Chapter 4 The Effective Learning Strategies for Teaching in COVID and
Beyond: Connecting and Aligning Content with Context ..................69
Christopher Love and Julie Crough
Chapter 5 Replacing Laboratory Work with Online Activities:
Does It Work? .....................................................................................91
Ivan Gratchev and Shanmuganathan Gunalan
v
vi Contents
Chapter 6 The Return to the Classroom after the Lockdown:
New Challenges and New Education for a New Society .................101
Jorge Membrillo-Hernández, Patricia Caratozzolo,
Vianney Lara-Prieto, and Patricia Vázquez-Villegas
Chapter 7 Experiences of Fully-Remote Instruction for a Laboratory
Course in Microwave Engineering ...................................................115
Berardi Sensale-Rodriguez
Chapter 8 Geo-Engineering Teaching and Learning during the COVID-19
Lockdown: The University of Auckland Experience .......................133
Martin S. Brook, Rolando P. Orense, and Nick P. Richards
THEME 3 Student-Centred Teaching Post-COVID-19:
Approaches, Reflections, and Wellbeing
Chapter 9 Engineering Students’ Stress and Mental Health: An Essential
Piece in the Retention Puzzle ...........................................................147
Amanda Biggs and Cynthia Furse
Chapter 10 Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Students’
Learning Experiences .......................................................................171
Sanam Aghdamy, Savindi Caldera, Cheryl Desha,
Mahan Mohammadi, and Amin Vakili
Chapter 11 Reflections on Engineering Course Delivery:
A Student Perspective .......................................................................189
Lillian Guan, Hayden Ness, Shweta Mehta, Andrew Busch,
and Hugo G. Espinosa
THEME 4 Insights on the Future of Engineering
Education
Chapter 12 Beyond COVID-19: Insights on the Future of Engineering
Education ..........................................................................................211
Maria Kovaleva and Hugo G. Espinosa
Index ......................................................................................................................237
Foreword
Before COVID-19, approaches to engineering education were commonly based on
assumptions that students could attend campus for learning activities and assess-
ments. Only a small number of institutions specialised in providing options to under-
take much of an engineering programme online.
When governments learned about the risks of COVID-19, engineering educators
rapidly converted face-to-face classes to remote teaching of various forms including
online classes, simulations, lecture recordings, and laboratories using equipment
posted home. As the emergency move to online became longer-term, educators
developed capability and learning resources to enhance the remote learning experi-
ence for students.
Educators have now invested heavily in remote teaching. Approaches previously
achieved by a small number of institutions have become widespread, providing
increased flexibility along with challenges. The opportunity now facing engineering
educators is to learn from the COVID-19 disruption to engineering education design-
ing and implementing future curricula.
Generic guidance for higher education is often limited in value for engineering
educators. The profile of engineering students is different from other disciplines in
gender, age, and socio-economic background. Degree programmes involve science,
practical laboratories, and engagement with professional practice. Engineering prac-
tice is widely diverse in nature.
In Adopting Post-COVID Teaching Practices in Engineering Education: A Guide
for Educators, Ivan Gratchev and Hugo Espinosa, with the authors of the chapters,
provide engineering academics, and professional staff working with engineering
students, a comprehensive guide to inform the design of curricula taking advan-
tage of learning from experiences in engineering education since the emergence of
COVID-19.
The guide provides international examples of remote learning in engineering;
practical chapters with clear, evidence-based principles for teaching remotely; and
educators’ and students’ experiences of remote teaching and learning. Do not miss
the essential, evidence-based advice to educators on student wellbeing and stress,
and leadership styles that educators can employ to support psychological safety and
belonging among students.
Professor Sally Male BE(Hons) PhD FIEAust
Director, Teaching and Learning Laboratory
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
The University of Melbourne, Australia
vii

Preface
Ivan Gratchev and Hugo G. Espinosa
COVID-19 has had a profound impact on all aspects of our lives, and teaching is no
exception. Due to lockdown restrictions, many universities around the world were
forced to rapidly modify their on-campus teaching activities to suit an online learning
environment. This period of sudden change and uncertainty produced unprecedented
challenges for educators, even those with previous online teaching experience. Given
the important role of practical, hands-on activities in developing industry-ready
graduates, the transition to purely online teaching was particularly challenging in
the engineering discipline. Furthermore, lockdown restrictions and social distanc-
ing requirements not only threatened students’ continuity of learning but also their
physical and mental wellbeing.
Fortunately, technological advances made it possible for many educators and stu-
dents to continue learning in an online environment during periods of lockdown.
Despite the considerable stress created by COVID-19, it also pushed educators out of
their comfort zones and forced them to adopt new technologies and teaching
approaches that they might not have even considered (or been aware of) before the
pandemic. This experience has led to the development and implementation of inno-
vative pedagogical strategies to effectively engage students in online learning.
The changes to teaching enforced by lockdown restrictions may have initially
seemed like temporary measures to ensure continuity of learning, which would revert
to “normal” once the threat of COVID-19 had passed. However, it is now evident that
this period of change has fundamentally shifted educators’ and students’ views and
expectations about education, necessitating the establishment of a “new normal” in a
post-COVID-19 learning environment. Moving forward, educators will need to adopt
innovative approaches to teaching that are not only safe for students and university
staff, but are also effective in engaging students in their learning process and retain-
ing them in their university programme. For engineering educators in particular, the
overall impact of the drastic changes arising from COVID-19 have raised important
questions, such as:
• How can we effectively engage students in online learning, and provide
them with sufficient practical experience needed to become industry-ready
graduates?
• How can we integrate online learning activities when variations in access to
technology and online learning resources exist?
• How can we design teaching activities that support students’ mental health
and wellbeing, and align with their expectations and learning styles?
During the process of synthesising research for this book, it was evident that there
is no “one size fits all” approach for all subjects; what may be successful for a cer-
tain engineering discipline/unit may not work well for others. However, there is
still an urgent need to share these learning and teaching practices among academic
ix