Online Teaching of Engineering Project-Based Courses and Transition to an Effective Hybrid Teaching Model

Abstract

This paper examines the application of online teaching in engineering education and assesses its challenges from students’ and lecturers’ perspectives. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an abrupt shift from face-to-face teaching to online teaching and has posed challenges for some engineering courses, particularly those that require hands-on and teamwork activities. In particular, engineering project-based education requires hands-on experience and in-person student collaboration, which may be difficult to replicate in an online setting. However, these challenges can be addressed through well-designed online courses, simplifying materials, replicating laboratory activities and using online assessment tools. While these solutions can enhance online learning, they can also be arranged to create an effective hybrid teaching pedagogy in the post-COVID era. A case study of online teaching and the transition to a hybrid teaching model at Macquarie University, Australia, is investigated. The promising results of the end-of-semester surveys validated the effectiveness of the new hybrid structure, learning activities, online tools and the balance between theory and practice.No Full Tex