Engineering Instructor Experience During Emergency Remote Teaching & Beyond: A Case Study
- Conference
- Location
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Minneapolis, MN
- Publication Date
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August 23, 2022
- Start Date
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June 26, 2022
- End Date
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June 29, 2022
- Conference Session
- Page Count
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16
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--40739
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/40739
- Download Count
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292
Paper Authors
Dorian Bobbett University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Dorian Bobbett (she/her) is a 4th-year undergraduate chemical engineering student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is currently working on a project with Dr. Grace Panther and Dr. Heidi Diefes-Dux focused on faculty adaptability when teaching in a crisis. She plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in engineering education beginning in the Fall 2023 semester. Some of her research interests include P-12 engineering education, DEI, and qualitative research methods.
Grace Panther University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Grace Panther is an Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. She has experience conducting workshops at engineering education conferences and has been a guest editor for a special issue of European Journal of Engineering Education on inclusive learning environments. Her research areas include spatial visualization, material development, faculty discourses on gender, and defining knowledge domains of students and practicing engineers.
Heidi Diefes-Dux University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Heidi A. Diefes-Dux is a Professor in Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (UNL). She received her B.S. and M.S. in Food Science from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in Food Process Engineering from the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University. She was an inaugural faculty member of the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University and now leads the Discipline-Based Education Research Initiative in the College of Engineering at UNL. Her research focuses on the development, implementation, and assessment of modeling and design activities with authentic engineering contexts. She also focuses on the implementation of learning objective-based grading and reflection.
Abstract
This research paper addresses the adaptations that instructors at colleges and universities around the world made following the abrupt March 2020 transition from in-person teaching to remote teaching. An in-depth understanding about how teaching instructors chose to adapt their courses when under duress to do so provides insight into how to support future change efforts. The purpose of this case study is to examine how one engineering faculty member responded to the change in teaching format through a lens of adaptability.
Data was collected from engineering instructors at an R1 institution via online surveys and interviews across the Spring 2020, Fall 2020, and Spring 2021 semesters. The interview data was coded deductively for behavioral, cognitive, and emotional adaptability to experiences, as per Martin’s et al. [1] adaptability theory.
Behavioral adaptability was displayed via narrative maps for interpretative purposes. Narrative maps were built to display the challenges, behaviors, and successes that one engineering faculty faced while teaching during the pandemic. Tables with descriptive quotes from the interview data are used to elaborate on what is depicted in the maps. It was found that when the faculty member tried to adapt a behavior to better address a challenge, they frequently found success.
Understanding the ways instructors adapted their courses during the pandemic can provide insight into how changes are best implemented. This case study helps to lay the groundwork for understanding the future of engineering education in periods of new, changing, or uncertain circumstances. This research is best suited for presentation in a traditional lecture.
Keywords: COVID-19, emergency remote teaching, engineering, adaptability, instructors, qualitative, case study
Bobbett, D., & Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. (2022, August), Engineering Instructor Experience During Emergency Remote Teaching & Beyond: A Case Study Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40739
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