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Work-In-Progress: Liberian Undergraduate Engineering Students' Perceptions of the Impact of COVID-19 on their Learning Experience

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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

International Division Poster Session

Page Count

20

DOI

10.18260/1-2--41398

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/41398

Download Count

629

Paper Authors

biography

Collins Vaye Florida International University

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Collins N. Vaye is a first-generation college student and a native of Liberia, West Africa. Currently, he is a 3rd year Engineering and Computing Education Ph.D. student at Florida International University. His research interests revolve around:
–Effective Technology Integration in Engineering Education.
–Faculty Development, Professional Development, and Technology Supported Learning.
–Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology within and from Sub–Saharan Africa.

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Precious Eze Florida International University

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Bruk Berhane Florida International University

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Abstract

The massive disruption to the global education system caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has garnered educational research communities’ attention by illuminating the need to investigate the pandemic’s immediate and long-term effect on education. However, less is known about its impact on engineering education in developing countries such as Liberia.

Guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis and Bagozzi, 1989), our research is the first step in understanding Liberian engineering students’ perception of the impact of COVID-19 on their learning experiences. This work-in-progress paper presents preliminary results from 3 of the 18 participants of this study. This study focuses on the impact of the abrupt transition from face-to-face to online learning due to COVID-19 and particularly on undergraduate engineering students’ learning experiences at a public university in Liberia. The research design employed to achieve this goal is a qualitative phenomenological research approach using semi-structured interview methods.

Findings from our study reveal a potential two-fold challenge that needs to be addressed: Psycho-social challenges and technical challenges. Our future work will unpack these and other challenges across the other 15 participants in the study. Keywords: COVID-19, Online Learning, Student Experience, Engineering Education, Sub-Saharan Africa, Technology Acceptance Model

Vaye, C., & Eze, P., & Berhane, B. (2022, August), Work-In-Progress: Liberian Undergraduate Engineering Students' Perceptions of the Impact of COVID-19 on their Learning Experience Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41398

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