From Online to Hybrid: The Evolution of Flipped Learning in a First-Year Engineering Mechanics Course

Rania Al-Hammoud; Kylie Chan

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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: Remote and Flipped Instruction in Mechanics
Page Count: 16
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41489
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41489
Download Count: 280

Paper Authors

biography

Rania Al-Hammoud University of Waterloo

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Dr. Al-Hammoud is a Faculty lecturer in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Al-Hammoud has a passion for teaching where she continuously seeks new technologies to involve students in their learning process. She is actively involved in the Ideas Clinic, a major experiential learning initiative at the University of Waterloo. She is also responsible for developing a process and assessing graduate attributes at the department to target areas for improvement in the curriculum. This resulted in several publications in this educational research areas.
Dr. Al-Hammoud won the "Ameet and Meena Chakma award for exceptional teaching by a student” in 2014 and the "Engineering Society Teaching Award" in 2016 and the "Outstanding Performance Award" in 2018 from University of Waterloo. Her students regard her as an innovative teacher who continuously introduces new ideas to the classroom that increases their engagement.

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Kylie Chan University of Waterloo

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Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of a first-year engineering mechanics course, Solid Mechanics I, over the two iterations that it has been flipped. It discusses the teaching strategies that have and haven’t worked when delivering the course in both an online and hybrid approach. These include recommended durations for lecture videos, types of assessments, grade distributions, etc.

Flipping the classroom was a result of the forced transition online due to Covid-19. To best support the students in the unprecedented times, the instructor opted to combine components from both asynchronous and synchronous teaching styles. Asynchronous lecture videos were accompanied by synchronous class time where the instructor clarified concepts, demonstrated real-life applications, solved higher-level problems, and implemented group activities. A combination of these active learning strategies was the key to structuring the course to keep the students engaged despite being online for all, or part, of the term as delivered in Fall 2020 and Fall 2021, respectively.

In the Fall 2020 iteration, the course was delivered fully online to roughly 325 students in civil, environmental, geological, and architectural engineering. Since then, the course had been improved and adjusted in response to the students’ feedback collected from an end-of-term survey. Approximately 270 students were enrolled in the course in the subsequent Fall 2021 term which took a hybrid approach as Covid-19 restrictions began to lighten. With students being able to learn in-person again, the course had shifted to emphasize student-to-student and student-to-instructor interactions. Feedback became immediate, allowing for the course to be molded to the students’ satisfaction as the term progressed. Changes between the two years have been documented in the paper along with recommendations for future adaptations.

Citation
Format

Al-Hammoud, R., & Chan, K. (2022, August), From Online to Hybrid: The Evolution of Flipped Learning in a First-Year Engineering Mechanics Course Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41489