Student Opinion on Teaching Thermodynamics through Synchronous and Asynchronous Distance Learning

Abstract

This Evidence-Based Practice paper describes the shift of a third-year biological and agricultural engineering thermodynamics course into 100% distance delivery including both synchronous and asynchronous elements. Public health restrictions on in-person gatherings due to the global COVID-19 pandemic shifted many courses that were previously not considered appropriate candidates for e-Learning to an online platform. This was one of those courses. Anecdotal evidence from the teaching team suggested that students preferred this online approach to the more traditional class setting. Written reflections and Likert scale survey data were collected from students in the class that transitioned from in-person to online-delivery to determine their course preference, and indicated positive attitudes towards the online-delivery mode. Additionally, test scores from two previous years were compared to current exams to determine if the change in lecture delivery mode had a significant impact on students' performance. It was found that the asynchronous lectures did not harm student learning outcomes.