Abstract:

The Covid-19 pandemic and its accompanying restrictions impacted many programs across higher education institutions internationally. Lockdowns, working from home, and social distancing on campuses forced academics to re-think teaching and learning, and to find ways of providing education with existing and new technologies. The context of this study is an embedded engineering subject with a computer engineering degree program in a South African university. Like many programs internationally, the embedded engineering course rapidly pivoted online. The new online practices impacted students differently and posed significant challenges for students without the resources to work on complex engineering studies from home or their university residence. Although the online modalities that were introduced into the embedded engineering program were welcomed by many students and academics, not all interventions met with equal success. This is the focus of this paper which traces the evolution of the embedded engineering course over a three-year period (2020 – 2022). Activity theory was used to frame the study. Activity Theory is able to simplify and clarify practices in ways that both uncover the history of the practice as well as reveal emerging opportunities for change and development, so that things can be done better in the future. The study aimed to identify how emerging practices could potentially change and improve the ways embedded engineering education is provided. The research question guiding the study is: What principles underpin effective post-pandemic embedded engineering education? The methodology comprised formative and summative course evaluations over a three-year period. Three cohorts of embedded engineering students provided continuous feedback in relation to their challenges and success as the course evolved. The student cohorts also undertook more formal end-of-course evaluations. The course facilitators kept records of their reflections on their teaching strategies over the period. These data were analyzed, drawing on the Activity Theory framework developed for the study. The evolution of the embedded engineering course involved shifts from a basic distance learning model, to an improved blended model, towards the ‘new normal’ of hybrid teaching and learning. Each new intervention made additional demands that left many academics and students exhausted. Inequalities were exacerbated in the online environment and needed to be urgently addressed, for example, laptops and components were delivered to students’ homes. There were also positive impacts that resulted from the online pivots, as ways of working that included teamwork, virtual laboratory environments, and project-based learning evolved. The findings heightened awareness of staff and students’ well-being and the importance of communication and social interaction in learning. Pre-pandemic attendance at laboratory practicals had been poor, but restrictions on laboratory use during the pandemic had the effect of increasing demands on undergraduate laboratories. ‘When are we going to get to the labs?’ was a common query in the online chat. This research makes a contribution to post-pandemic pedagogy by tracing the evolution of an engineering course, showing that although change is unsettling, innovation and change can also spark new ways for both academics and undergraduates to rediscover teaching and learning.

Keywords:

Engineering Education, Activity Theory, Blended Learning, Covid-19, Post-Pandemic Pedagogy.