Abstract:

In this paper an analysis of the results obtained in the course on Theory of Structures of the Civil Engineering degree (EIB UPV / EHU) in the 2019/2020 academic year is presented. This course was affected by a state of alert due to the advance of COVID 19 in Spain. Consequently, suddenly, it was necessary to transform face-to-face teaching to on line teaching without prior planning and without the possibility of expanding resources and infrastructure.

In particular, this subject has had a low pass (approval) ratio since the beginning of the degree in Civil Engineering (2010), especially if these rates are compared with those obtained by the previous Study Syllabus of Technical Public Works Engineering.

In this work, the background of the current situation is shown. The factors that, according to the opinion of the authors, could have contributed to the weak results obtained and the implemented changes in the learning and assessment systems to correct them in last years are presented.

Next, the actions (redefinition of support materials, direct and continuous attention to the students through the online platform ...) that the teaching staff carried out to capture the attention of the students, encourage their participation and to avoid a significant dropout rate, are described.

Also, the teaching staff designed a survey in order to know the student’s opinion about the course development. This survey asked about the students' perception of different aspects (expectation of passing the subject, assessment of the new material provided, level of satisfaction with the clarification of student’s doubts, the development of the subject and the group of subjects of the degree, among other issues). The most valued aspect was the availability of the teaching staff and the quick response to student’s doubts.

In the open questions, students highlighted the stress generated by online exams due to the novelty and lack of experience.

The truth is that, despite the situation, the final academic results were better than in previous academic years.

In the discussion, the analysis of the academic results obtained taking into account the different factors that may have influenced is presented. In addition, how this experience has influenced the present teaching of this subject is shown.

Keywords:

On line teaching, online evaluation.