2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Effects of Distance Learning on African-American Students in Engineering Technology Courses During COVID-19 Pandemic

Presented at COVID-19, Next Generation of STEM Professionals, and Racialized Organizations

Until 2019, many students enrolled in online courses for advantages such as flexibility and financial benefits. Research shows that online students made up 32% of the total enrollment in 2013. The number continued to grow for many majors; however, previous research does not investigate online learning for laboratory-based engineering courses and its effect on minority students. When the US declared COVID-19 as a pandemic in the spring of 2020, many universities in Florida suspended their in-person classes and shifted to online modality. This sudden shift happened in the middle of the semester, affecting students' educational experience and academic performance. This paper investigates the effects of distance learning on the academic performance of African American minority students' population for lecture and laboratory courses in the Electronic Engineering Technology (EET) and Construction Engineering Technology (CET) programs at Florida A&M University.
This paper compares students' success in two courses (one lecture and one laboratory) from each major taught over two different modalities: distance learning and in-person learning over three academic terms. The courses selected are Introduction to Robotics and Introduction to Robotics laboratory for EET and Strength of Materials and laboratory for CET. A total of 49 students (22 from EET and 27 from CET) academic performances were measured in those two courses. The effects of student background variables (race, financial background, ease of using, and availability of the internet) and course-related variables (difficulty level of the course, available course-related resources on Canvas, lab-based vs. lecture-based course) on student success were explored through student surveys. To measure students' performance, the academic grades they received in the courses were used. To assess student satisfaction with each course, students had to take surveys. The results indicated that, for lecture-based courses, the performance remained almost similar for both modalities; for laboratory courses, student performance and satisfaction were low for the distance learning modality. Both results indicated that students needed at least some personal interaction for laboratory-based courses to understand and perform the labs. These results provided the Engineering Technology program insights into how laboratory experiments can be more effectively delivered to minority students in distance learning.

Authors

Dr. Tejal Mulay http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3097-3888 Florida A&M University - Florida State University [biography]

Dr. Tejal Mulay is a Visiting Assistant Professor in Electronic Engineering Technology in the Division of Engineering Technology under the School of Architecture and Engineering Technology (SAET) at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU). Dr. Mulay’s primary research area is speech signal processing, including but not limited to acoustic emotion recognition, digital signal processing, autonomous vehicles, and blockchain technology and its applications. She also has authored and co-authored articles in various technical journals and conferences in these areas of education in the engineering field.

Dr. Mulay has been working with minority students in the STEM fields since her graduate school days. She has been assistant director for the REAP summer camps funded by NSF, which aimed towards increasing the participation of minority students in STEM research. She has also been part of the FAMU STEM Day team, assisting with the demonstration and experiment portion of this annual event. She has assisted many undergraduate students in getting internships and scholarships through various programs.

Dr. Mulay received her master's of science degree and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Florida State University and her Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in India.
Mohamed Khalafalla http://orcid.org/https://my-orcid?orcid=0000-0001-9621-4940 Florida A&M University - Florida State University [biography]

Dr. Mohamed Khalafalla Ahmed is an Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture and Engineering Technology at Florida A&M University. His research focuses on risk analysis, alternative project delivery, and cost estimating for construction and infrastructure projects. Dr. Khalafalla has performed risk analysis and cost estimating related work for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. Also, Dr. Khalafalla has worked on concrete research for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Dr. Khalafalla has authored numerous articles, conference proceedings, and technical reports. He received his Ph.D. from Auburn University in 2019 and his Master's from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2015. Dr. Khalafalla is currently a part Master's student (Law) at Northwestern University and is expected to finish it in 2024. Dr. Khalafalla has worked in the construction industry for more than five years in different capacities, including pre-construction and estimating.
Dr. Chao Li, P.E. Florida A&M University - Florida State University [biography]

Dr. Chao Li works at Florida A&M University as an associate professor in Electronic Engineering Technology (EET) Program. He teaches Electronic and Computer Engineering Technology Courses. He obtained his BSEE degree from Xiâ€™an Jiaotong University and M
Dr. Doreen Kobelo Regalado http://orcid.org/https://0009-0008-9020-6227 Florida A&M University - Florida State University [biography]

Dr. Doreen Kobelo is an Associate Professor at Florida A&M University in School of Architecture, Division of Engineering Technology. Her primary research interest is on traffic operation and safety. Dr. Kobelo is currently working on studying traffic oper
Dr. Behnam Shadravan http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7643-7098 Florida A&M University - Florida State University [biography]

Education
Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Major: Structure, Minor: Geotechnical, University of Ottawa, ON, Canada(2010)
M.S. Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Hydraulic Structures, Construction, Sharif Univ. of Technology, Tehran, Iran (1996)
B.S. Civil Engineering, Shari

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