Applying active learning method to improve teaching outcomes in architectural engineering courses

Purpose: This study analyzes the effect of the techniques of active teaching and learning as a way of delivery on the outcomes of quality learning. Focusing on the courses of architectural science taught in a nontraditional method using various active learning strategies, the study takes the case study of the course Building Illumination and Acoustics (BIA) delivered in the academic year 2019–2020 at the University of Sharjah (UoS)'s Architectural Engineering Department (AED). Design/methodology/approach: Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative research approaches, the study applied a case study and survey as methods. A questionnaire was designed and performed to assess the level of students' satisfaction with the implemented active teaching method. Findings: The vibrant learning setting made the students actively engaged and more motivated and enthusiastic. The active learning practices used, including employing senses as in sight and hearing, reasoning rationally and intuitively, reflecting and acting, working steadily and in fits and starts, creating mathematical models, visualizing and memorizing and drawing analogies, were efficient in boosting their ability to comprehend theoretical concepts more effectively. The delivery style effectively enhances quality learning when various active techniques are used pedagogically beyond being merely a utilitarian instrument to prepare novice students of architectural engineering to fulfill practical challenges. Research limitations/implications: This article focuses specifically on a theoretical, scientific non-studio course in a particular program of architectural engineering in a particular semester before the dramatic changes in styles of teaching delivery that happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research could further highlight its results by comparing them to statistical evidence of the development of the course, especially for the duration of online teaching during the pandemic and the hybrid teaching period after it. Originality/value: This article contributes to the development of teaching and learning of architectural engineering in the local Emirati context by putting original theories of teaching into practice. This paper further contributes to the field of architectural pedagogy in terms of the effect of active learning in the architecture field in the non-studio courses in higher education in the United Arab Emirates. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The challenges and opportunities of online learning and teaching at engineering and theoretical colleges during the pandemic

Education has been one of the major areas disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on users' (students and faculty members) learning in higher education, examining how engineering students and faculty perceived the abrupt transition in comparison to other colleges. The current research aims to investigate the outcomes of enforcing eLearning to facilitate teaching and learning processes in higher education after this unprecedented pandemic and identify the most significant challenges and opportunities the users face. This study uses a quantitative approach;it included 1713 respondents, 227 full-time faculty members, and 1486 students at the University of Sharjah. The survey analysis indicated general agreement that the most significant advantage of online learning implementation was its flexibility in place and time, with 77.2% of users providing positive feedback. Moreover, the accessibility and effectiveness of the assessment and communication methods used showed a positive trend in the hypotheses, 80.3% of the users. The sudden implementation of eLearning during the COVID-19 pandemic had discouraging implications for users' mental health and socialization, where 55.6% of the sample agreed that they had been affected negatively. 75% of the users prefer a flexible model blending face-to-face and e-learning techniques rather than solely depending on either of them. Therefore, A Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) is recommended for the university to apply based on the nature of the courses. (c) 2022 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier BV on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).