ABSTRACT
The rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world created an unforeseen challenge for both professional and academic institutions. Many institutions around the country, particularly academic institutions, are struggling to adapt to the challenges posed by the virus. In a persistent COVID-19 environment, people cannot meet in-person to collaborate as often as they once could. The environment has limited our ability to connect, work, and perform as society previously has. As such, academic institutions have recently been required to shift the means and methods of education to adapt to the virus. Historically, one of the more successful educational approaches has been project-based learning (PBL). PBL has a long track record as an alternative to traditional educational techniques. While the published benefits, as well as the drawbacks, of PBL are summarized in this article, what the authors anticipated and will demonstrate is that advantages of the PBL model relative to conventional instruction were accentuated in the COVID environment and that combined with newly minted capabilities, the model produced significant educational gains when compared to traditional instruction and earlier PBL experiences. Methodology for this research includes Likert Scale questions, CATME surveys, and open-ended survey feedback and interviews from students and instructors involved in three unique STEM-related capstone courses to obtain quantitative and qualitative feedback on project-centric learning before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The three capstone projects investigated were the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Concrete Canoe Competition, the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Student Steel Bridge Competition (SSBC), and a partnered project with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) investigating sustainable solutions for lock and dam components. The study revealed that, in the midst of a pandemic, effective use of PBL will enable students to (1) capitalize on collaborative technology to efficiently and successfully solve complex engineering problems, and in doing so, improve student time management skills, (2) improve their critical thinking and engineering judgement, (3) improve their ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives, and (4) enhance their ability to acquire and apply new knowledge to real-world problems. These benefits were achieved to significantly higher degrees in our PBL capstones than in traditional coursework during the pandemic and suggest that PBL can be successfully implemented in a persistent COVID environment to achieve engineering student outcomes through a variety of mediums. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
ABSTRACT
Knowledge of science and engineering plays a major role in solving problems and enhancing people's lives in our world today. Investing in the future's science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professionals is vital to strengthening the growing demand for engineers. Previous studies about raising interest in STEM majors focused on (a) the number of undergraduate students who decide on a major prior to attending college, (b) common misconceptions regarding the STEM field, and (c) the effectiveness of pedagogical techniques to increase curiosity. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, pedagogical techniques to introduce K-12 students to the STEM fields must be adjusted. This paper investigates the effectiveness of various methods to engage and interact with K-12 students interested in STEM during the COVID-19 learning environment and discusses key conclusions from a pilot 90-minute virtual module for K-12 students, showcasing the importance and versatility of STEM in the modern world. Through hands-on activities, interactive games, easy to use software, demonstrations, and videos, student interest and curiosity in the STEM field is increased and K-12 teachers are provided with tools to continue to foster this curiosity throughout the school year. Surveys were taken before and after the learning module measure interest in the STEM fields directly related to the module provided. Studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between motivational, secondary learning, and post-secondary variables on the desire to be a STEM student. Throughout our education system, many misconceptions cast the STEM field as tough and only designed for the smartest of students. Data from a U.S. news article shows that one-third of kids lose interest in this field prior to fourth grade, and 50% have lost interest by the eighth grade. These misconceptions lead students to become disinterested in a field of study for which they have only had a paltry exposure. Studies have shown that the best ways to spark curiosity in the STEM field is through hands-on activities, field trip tours, interactive games, and real-world applicability. The main reasons that educational institutions have trouble providing these concepts to their students is because of the lack of funding and the varying emphasis on STEM programs. There are numerous sites, sources, and programs expose students to STEM, which require minimal resources and funding in the eyes of the schools. The study found that capitalizing on the increased use of technology in the current COVID learning environment enables K-12 teachers to increase STEM awareness, interest, and intellectual curiosity of K-12 students in the virtual classroom. Further, the study found that connecting K-12 students with professionals across the STEM fields brings the virtual modules to life by connecting the learning to real-world applications and allowing students to “see themselves” in the field. Together, the teachers and professionals leverage the technology to draw a diverse group of young people to STEM fields in the future. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021