Preparing undergraduates for the post-pandemic workplace: Teams of education and engineering students teach engineering virtually

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically altered both educational and professional landscapes, accelerating the shift towards online learning and remote work. This change highlighted the need for high-quality virtual learning experiences, particularly in fields like engineering and education, and emphasized the importance of virtual collaboration skills. The Ed+gineering project, an NSF-funded initiative pairing engineering and education undergraduates to design and deliver engineering lessons to elementary students, adapted to the pandemic by shifting its hands-on lessons to a virtual format. This study uses the shift as a case study to explore the impact of this abrupt change on students' learning experiences, focusing on the development of skills relevant to the evolving post-pandemic workplace. The research examines how the transition to online instruction influenced both the perceived learning and affective responses of the participating undergraduate students, examining the skills gained, challenges encountered, and emotional responses to the change in instructional modality.

The literature review examines existing research on the impacts of the pandemic on online learning and work, particularly in engineering and education. Studies show the challenges and benefits of remote work for engineers and educators, with a focus on the need for enhanced virtual collaboration and technological skills. The review highlights the increasing prevalence of online courses in traditionally hands-on fields and the challenges of replicating face-to-face interaction and peer support in virtual environments. The researchers draw upon Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to understand the interplay between environmental, personal, and behavioral factors in shaping students' learning experiences within the context of the virtual learning environment. This includes prior studies on virtual team performance and the application of SCT to understand college students' experiences during the pandemic. The study builds upon previous work by the authors on the Ed+gineering project, focusing on the impact of the rapid shift to online instruction specifically on students' personal factors within the SCT framework.

This study used a mixed-methods approach. Undergraduate engineering and education students participating in the Ed+gineering project served as participants. The project involved three collaborations (C1, C2, C3), each with a different initial assignment and adaptation to online delivery. Data were collected through written reflections and focus group interviews at the semester's end. The analysis focused on responses related to the shift to remote teaching and learning. A content analysis protocol based on Rourke and Anderson (2004) was used, categorizing student responses according to the three factors of SCT: environmental, behavioral, and personal. The personal factors focused on perceived learning (students' beliefs about what they learned) and affective responses (their emotional experiences). Inter-coder reliability was established to ensure consistency in coding. The study examined the influence of changes in the students' assignment from face-to-face to online lesson delivery on their perceived learning and emotional responses within the context of the SCT framework.

The study's key findings, analyzed through the lens of SCT, reveal the significant impact of the mid-semester assignment change on students' learning experiences. **Students' Perceived Learning:** Students reported learning several key skills and knowledge areas: * **Skills for Teaching Online:** Students learned strategies for effective virtual instruction, adapting lessons for asynchronous and synchronous delivery, and utilizing educational technologies. Education students, in particular, highlighted the long-term value of these skills for their future careers. * **Professional Skills:** Students developed enhanced communication skills, especially in virtual settings, which they deemed valuable for collaboration and stakeholder interaction (parents, clients). * **Educational Technology Skills:** Students gained proficiency in various educational technologies, including multimedia creation, interactive slideshow design, and utilizing video conferencing tools effectively. * **STEM Content and Pedagogy:** Students reported learning STEM content through hands-on activities, albeit modified for virtual delivery. The provision of robotics kits for C2 students greatly enhanced their STEM learning and confidence. However, resource disparities also created challenges for some. * **Missed Learning Opportunities:** Students acknowledged some limitations of the online transition, such as missed opportunities for face-to-face interaction with elementary students and peers, and the lack of direct feedback during the asynchronous teaching delivery model. **Students' Affective Responses:** Students' emotions were closely tied to lesson preparation, delivery, and faculty support. * **Preparation and Delivery:** Positive emotions stemmed from interacting with elementary students and a sense of accomplishment in helping them learn. Negative emotions were linked to technical difficulties, engagement challenges with online learning, and the lack of in-person interaction. * **Faculty Support:** Almost universally, students reported feeling supported by faculty members, who provided helpful feedback, addressed technical issues, and met individually with students to provide help and support as needed. This support played a crucial role in mitigating negative emotions and boosting confidence. **SCT Pathways:** The analysis reveals patterns of influence between environmental, behavioral, and personal factors within the SCT framework. The shift to online instruction (environmental factor) directly impacted students' behaviors (lesson modifications, technology use) and their perceived learning and affective experiences (personal factors). There were notable differences in observed pathways between synchronous (C2) and asynchronous (C1, C3) lesson delivery modalities. Synchronous delivery fostered reciprocal influences between factors, providing immediate feedback loops that enhanced learning and strengthened the connections between personal, environmental and behavioral factors.

The findings demonstrate the significant impact of a rapid shift to online instruction on undergraduate students' learning and professional development. The study addresses the research question by showing how the mid-semester assignment change profoundly influenced students' perceived learning and affective experiences. The results suggest that well-designed virtual collaborative projects can be highly effective in preparing students for the post-pandemic workplace, particularly by enhancing essential virtual skills. The study emphasizes the importance of instructor decisions in shaping student learning and highlights the role of various factors (resource provision, instructional modality, audience interaction, and faculty support) on both the academic and affective dimensions of the learning process. The synchronous delivery modality (C2) provided unique opportunities for learning and feedback. The study also emphasizes the importance of considering both the needs and the differences of education and engineering majors when designing learning activities. The flexibility, communication, and adaptation required for success in this project were mirrored in the demands of teaching and engineering within today's tech-driven workplaces.

This study shows that a cross-disciplinary virtual team project can successfully prepare undergraduate students for virtual work environments. The rapid shift to online instruction during the pandemic presented challenges, but it also provided unexpected opportunities for learning and skill development. The study highlights the importance of instructor decisions in creating effective virtual learning environments, emphasizing factors such as student autonomy, interaction with authentic audiences, faculty support, and resource provision. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of these virtual collaborative experiences on students' professional careers and examine the generalizability of these findings across different institutional contexts and outside the constraints of the pandemic.

The study's limitations include its specific context within a large, ongoing NSF-funded project, the unique circumstances of the pandemic, and the potential influence of factors beyond the project's scope. The rapid transition to online learning may have had both positive and negative impacts not fully captured in this study. The research team's shared expertise and experience with online teaching and the Ed+gineering project may have contributed to students' success. Data security measures prevented the sharing of the complete dataset, limiting external validation.