Adapting to Alternative Learning: Insights from Engineering Graduate Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Animesh Paul; Racheida S Lewis; Nyna Jaye DeWitt; Sarah Jane Bork

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: GSD 6: The Graduate School Experience
Tagged Division: Graduate Studies Division (GSD)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 11
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/57563

Paper Authors

biography

Animesh Paul University of Georgia

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Animesh (he/they) was born in Tripura, India, and raised in a liberal, military family. A creative and outgoing individual, he earned a B.Tech in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from KIIT University. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Engineering Education Transformation Institute, advised by Dr. Racheida Lewis, with research focusing on user experience and student transitions in engineering education.

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Racheida S Lewis University of Georgia orcid.org/0000-0002-1934-3199

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Racheida S. Lewis, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia in the Engineering Education Transformations Institute (EETI) and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. Lewis believes in creating a diverse engineering field and strives to do so through connecting with teaching and mentoring future engineers. She has devoted her life to this mission through her leadership and lifetime membership in NSBE, SWE, & SHPE. Ultimately, Dr. Lewis aspires to bridge together research and pedagogy within the academy to improve engineering education within the field and across disciplines.

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Nyna Jaye DeWitt University of Georgia

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Nyna, born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, obtained her Bachelor’s degree in General Engineering with a concentration in Biomedical Engineering in 2022 from Wake Forest University. Following her undergraduate degree, she received her Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering with a focus in Immunoengineering from Johns Hopkins University. Nyna has a strong interest in increasing diversity in biomedical engineering spaces and she intends to research this by focusing on inclusive classroom spaces and diversifying research models.

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Sarah Jane Bork University of Georgia orcid.org/0000-0002-4344-554X

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Dr. Sarah Jane (SJ) Bork is an Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering with an emphasis on engineering education research. Dr. Bork’s research has focused on examining the mental health experiences of engineering graduate students. She has studied different areas (e.g., social factors, engineering culture, etc.) using a variety of research methods (e.g., regression analysis, photovoice, factor analysis, interview data, etc.). Dr. Bork earned her doctorate degree from the University of Michigan’s Engineering Education Research Program. Prior to this, she earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University.

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Abstract

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 necessitated educational institutions to shift from in-person instruction to online settings. However, engineering programs, predominantly hands-on by nature, demand students to acquire real-world experience for learning. The pandemic significantly affected these educational environments, limiting collaboration, reducing access to instructors and institutional resources, and overall impeding hands-on learning. In addition, research has demonstrated that the move to online instruction has impacted students' sense of belonging and as a result their intentions to persist. It is therefore crucial to examine the extent to which these disruptions impacted students, both inside and outside of the classroom. Although graduate students were not alone encountering disruption to their curriculum and coursework, they are more often engaged in research that depends on access to physical laboratories and specialized equipment.

This study therefore aims to answer the following research question: How did engineering graduate students experience the transition to non-traditional/alternative learning during the COVID-19 pandemic?

To answer this question, we analyzed qualitative data collected using the SenseMaker platform in response to the prompt "Imagine you are talking to a friend or family member about the evolving COVID-19 crisis. Describe something you encountered as an engineering student." Participants’ responses were analyzed using best practices in qualitative coding techniques following an inductive, open-coding scheme. Preliminary analyses detail findings related to students’ adjusting to virtual instruction, consequences for academics and career aspirations, and coping mechanisms students used to confront the challenges they the onset of the pandemic. Initial findings suggest possible factors that may be attributed to the increase in reported mental health problems during the pandemic (e.g., increased isolation, unclear expectations, etc.) and begins to explore effective stress management strategies graduate students' employee.

Citation
Format

Paul, A., & Lewis, R. S., & DeWitt, N. J., & Bork, S. J. (2025, June), Adapting to Alternative Learning: Insights from Engineering Graduate Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/57563

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 necessitated educational institutions to shift from in-person instruction to online settings. However, engineering programs, predominantly hands-on by nature, demand students to acquire real-world experience for learning. The pandemic significantly affected these educational environments, limiting collaboration, reducing access to instructors and institutional resources, and overall impeding hands-on learning. In addition, research has demonstrated that the move to online instruction has impacted students&#39; sense of belonging and as a result their intentions to persist. It is therefore crucial to examine the extent to which these disruptions impacted students, both inside and outside of the classroom. Although graduate students were not alone encountering disruption to their curriculum and coursework, they are more often engaged in research that depends on access to physical laboratories and specialized equipment.  

This study therefore aims to answer the following research question: How did engineering graduate students experience the transition to non-traditional/alternative learning during the COVID-19 pandemic? 

To answer this question, we analyzed qualitative data collected using the SenseMaker platform in response to the prompt &quot;Imagine you are talking to a friend or family member about the evolving COVID-19 crisis. Describe something you encountered as an engineering student.&quot; Participants’ responses were analyzed using best practices in qualitative coding techniques following an inductive, open-coding scheme. Preliminary analyses detail findings related to students’ adjusting to virtual instruction, consequences for academics and career aspirations, and coping mechanisms students used to confront the challenges they the onset of the pandemic. Initial findings suggest possible factors that may be attributed to the increase in reported mental health problems during the pandemic (e.g., increased isolation, unclear expectations, etc.) and begins to explore effective stress management strategies graduate students&#39; employee. 
AU  - Animesh Paul
AU  - Racheida S Lewis
AU  - Nyna Jaye DeWitt
AU  - Sarah Jane Bork
CY  - Montreal, Quebec, Canada 
DA  - 2025/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Adapting to Alternative Learning: Insights from Engineering Graduate Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/57563
ER  -