Teaching a hands-on course during corona lockdown: From problems to opportunities

Abstract

Teaching a hands- and minds-on course, in which feedback is essential in order to learn, is difficult, especially in times of COVID-19 where student progression cannot be monitored directly. During the lockdown period, the workshops of an undergraduate Design Engineering course had to be transferred to the home situation, which required a redesign of this course by the staff. It also provided new opportunities for students to adapt to this situation, which required extra creativity and problem-solving skills. The adapted workshops revealed conditions that enhance maker education. However, providing timely feedback required a substantial amount of time not anticipated for. We also report that short instruction videos seem to work much better than longer lectures or tedious materials. As we practice what we preach, we will evaluate the course and apply our design knowledge acquired over the years.