University Engineering Instructors’ Expressions of Individual Adaptability During a Semester of Emergency Remote Teaching
- 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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13
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--41068
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/41068
- Download Count
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328
Paper Authors
Yashin Brijmohan University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Yashin Brijmohan is a professional electrical engineer with 20 years of combined experience across the power industry and the education sectors in both specialist and management positions. He is a Board Member of the International Centre for Engineering Education (UNESCO), Chairman of Engineering Education of the Federation of African Engineering Organizations, Executive committee member of the Commonwealth Engineers Council, Co-Chair of the Africa Asia Pacific Engineering Council, and PhD student at University of Nebraska (specializing in Engineering Education).
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
In Spring of 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic forced universities to abandon face-to-face learning with many higher education institutions adopting emergency remote teaching (ERT). There is little known about how instructors experienced and individually adapted to the sudden, externally imposed changes. The purpose of this research is to explore the nature of university engineering instructors’ expressions of individual adaptability during the rapid change to ERT. A qualitative phenomenological research approach was used to ascertain the experiences of 14 instructors teaching undergraduate courses with a focus on their individual adaptability in transitioning to ERT. Analysis entailed deductive thematic coding using the eight dimensions of adaptability. The results revealed that four dimensions of adaptability (uncertainty, learning work, interpersonal and work stress) contributed to more than 90% of all adaptability dimensions expressed by the instructors during the last seven weeks of the semester. Instructors adopted and adjusted to the new practices during ERT which were predominantly linked to these four dimensions of adaptability. The nature of each of these four dimensions are explored through the use of participant quotes. The study provides a foundation for future work in determining whether the same dimensions of adaptability are predominantly expressed for all change environments in engineering education, and how these dimensions change during the process of change. This information can assist in understanding the barriers and enablers that contribute to adoption of new standards and processes in engineering education through the lens of individual adaptability.
Keywords: Individual adaptability, Instructional change, COVID-19, Qualitative, Phenomenology
Brijmohan, Y., & Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. (2022, August), University Engineering Instructors’ Expressions of Individual Adaptability During a Semester of Emergency Remote Teaching Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41068
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