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Challenges of Remote Learning and Mentoring among Engineering Students and Faculty during the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Page Count

11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--41940

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/41940

Download Count

333

Paper Authors

biography

Chi-ning Chang The University of Kansas

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Dr. Chi-Ning Chang is an assistant research professor and statistician at the Life Span Institute at the University of Kansas. He currently serves as a PI on a collaborative research project funded by the NSF (#2031069) to address challenges in Engineering graduate programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. His research work centers on engineering graduate education, higher education mentoring, STEM motivation and diversity, and quantitative methods (multilevel models, structural equation modeling, educational measurement, program evaluation, etc.).

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Guan Saw

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Laura Malagon-Palacios

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Abstract

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has severely affected the higher education system since Spring 2020. During the periods of school closures and limited in-person activities, engineering students and faculty experienced challenges in remote learning and mentoring activities. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), this study surveyed 668 faculty and 3,385 undergraduate/graduate students in engineering from 94 institutions in 36 states across the country. Our findings indicated that several faculty and student subgroups were disproportionately negatively affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, women engineering faculty and students encountered more challenges in transitioning to remote teaching and learning. Students with disabilities and those whose households experienced a loss of income during the COVID-19 pandemic faced more remote learning challenges, perceived less instrumental mentoring support, and were more likely to delay their graduate dates. Our structural equation modeling results showed that mentoring support could mitigate remote learning challenges and academic disruption for engineering students. The study underscores the importance of mentoring support during the crisis of a pandemic.

Chang, C., & Saw, G., & Malagon-Palacios, L. (2022, August), Challenges of Remote Learning and Mentoring among Engineering Students and Faculty during the COVID-19 Pandemic Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41940

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