2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Class modality has been influenced by the recent pandemic. Classroom material delivery through online platforms became more dominant. For schools that are serving minority students or Hispanic serving institute (HSI), a significant drop in students learning outcome (SLO) has been recorded in the studied program. This paper addresses the impact of online learning on Latinx students SLO for the period of six years.
The data presented will investigate the relationship between the following aspects and Latinx students’ retention rate. (1) course material delivery format/structure where the same course is delivered in person, hybrid or completely online, (2) group activities versus individual assignment. The students are given multiple choice quizzes, essay assignments, and projects for the same SLO then the accumulative overall SLOs are compared, (3) classroom social interaction. The students are placed in a study group and asked to solve a problem, afterwards the same students are tasked to solve the same problem independently.
The data in this paper pertains to students enrolled in technical STEM programs, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), that provide the students with technical knowledge in a lecture format in addition to hands-on skills in laboratory setting. The graduated students will be ready to acquire an entry level HVAC technician role upon finishing a certificate of completion (COC) of one year, or an Associate of Science (A.S.) in Energy Systems Technology in two years.
The result indicates that the retention rate has increased with face-to-face classroom-based lectures, no influence on assignment submission delivery (online or hard copy), and increased retention and assignment submission with more classmate interaction. Methodology that delivered better SLO are addressed in the conclusion along with other findings and future work.