Journal of Engineering Education Transformations
DOI: 10.16920/jeet/2024/v37i4/24166
Year: 2024, Volume: 37, Issue: 4, Pages: 136-149
Original Article
Jovanca Smith1 , Arvind Singh2 , Dianne Thurab-Nkhosi 3, Sharad Maharaj4 , Chris Maharaj5
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago,
2Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago,
3St Augustine Section Quality Assurance Unit, Senior Programme Officer & Head, The Vice Chancellery, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago,
4Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago,
5Research and Post-graduate Student Affairs, Faculty of Engineering, Deputy Dean, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago,
*Corresponding Author
Email: jovanca.smith@sta.uwi.edu
arvind.singh@sta.uwi.edu
dianne.thurab-nkhosi@sta.uwi.edu
sharad.maharaj@sta.uwi.edu
chris.maharaj@sta.uwi.edu
One major effect of the Covid-19 pandemic was the abrupt shift from traditional face-to-face (f2f) teaching and learning to emergency remote teaching (ERT). Student evaluations and reflections by lecturers indicate that the move to the predominantly online environment during the Covid-19 pandemic posed both challenges and opportunities. To capitalize on the opportunities afforded by ERT that can be utilized in another similar event or in movement from f2f to virtual classrooms, it is important to interrogate the challenges and factors that facilitated the transition to online learning. This paper utilizes a community of inquiry framework (CoI) to investigate the components of teaching styles, assessment styles, and student demographics on engineering students' performance during ERT at a top traditional f2f university in the Caribbean. A survey conducted was informed by CoI and student environment during the ERT transition. A quantitative study with regression analysis of survey data was utilized. Qualitative responses were also captured and analysed. The study has found t hat a t e achi ng presenc e whi ch demonstrated clear course design, facilitation and communication was a significant contributing factorto a comfortable online learning transition. Online learning was also impacted by aspects of the home environment like family support, distractions, and quality of living that contributed to a difficult transition.
Keywords : community of inquiry; emergency remote teaching; engineering education; online learning; virtual classroom
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