2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The pandemic caught the world by surprise. Everyone had to adapt in their own discipline to carry out their job tasks in a safe manner, mostly remotely if the job would allow it. Teaching and learning are no different. Instructors at all levels had to quickly learn and adopt tools that could allow remote online teaching. While online courses are not novel their use in Engineering undergraduate education has been quite limited in Canada prior to the pandemic. Traditionally, Engineering teaching relies on in-class communication and interaction with students. The need for in-class interaction and discussion is even more significant in design courses, which are mostly teamwork, project-based, and open-ended case studies. The online delivery of design courses generated concerns from students in regard to the quality of learning. At the University of Waterloo, the design courses in Systems Design Engineering and Biomedical Engineering programs are the backbone and signature of the two programs. Design core courses are taught in seven out of the eight academic terms from 1st year to 4th year. The level of complexity of the courses increases as the students advance in their academic paths.
In this paper, the academic performance of students in design courses before the pandemic (in person), during the pandemic (online), and coming back after the pandemic (in person) is discussed. The comparison is based on the overall grades of the students and their learning achievements measured against the design graduate attribute (GA) as per the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) requirement. Students’ performance is also compared to the instructors’ perspective based on a general survey given to the instructors. The paper will discuss lessons learned, and tools introduced and utilized for online teaching that can be maintained for the future delivery of design courses.