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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.
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Introduction: COVID-19 has impacted the lives of individuals worldwide especially those with chronic illnesses. Children with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) are at risk of glycemic deterioration during the COVID- 19 pandemic. However, some studies reported glycemic improvement in these children during the pandemic. Objective(s): To assess the impact of COVID-19 on glycemic control and acute complications among children with T1DM on insulin pump in Egypt. Method(s): A 42 children with T1DM on insulin pump for at least 1 year were assessed for insulin requirements, insulin-pump problems, frequency of diabetic-ketoacidosis (DKA), hypoglycemia, and HbA1C. Continuous-glucose monitoring was done using Medtronic i-pro device for 5 days. Data were compared to those obtained from the patients' medical records 1 year previously. Result(s): A 29 children (69%) had insulin-pump problems in the form of skin irritation (31%), skin infection (7.1%) and pump obstruction (31%). The mean insulin requirement of the studied children with T1DM during the COVID-19 pandemic was 0.88 +/- 0.30 U/kg/day. Their median time in range (TIR) was 57%, and their mean coefficient of variation (CV) was 38.2%. A significant increase in the daily insulin dose (p = 0.001), basal % (p = 0.011), TIR (p = 0.009), CV (p = 0.001) and HbA1C (p = 0.001) occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic with a significant decrease in the frequency of DKA (p = 0.001) and hypoglycemia (p = 0.004). Hypoglycemia and nocturnal hypoglycemia were positively correlated to CV (p = 0.002 and p = 0.01, respectively) and negatively correlated to TIR (p = 0.039 and p = 0.009, respectively). Conclusion(s): Children with T1DM on insulin pump showed glycemic improvement with decreased acute complications during the COVID- 19 pandemic.