From Face-To-Face to a Virtual Classroom in Three Days

This project investigates the effectiveness of the transition from a face-to-face (F2F) to a virtual classroom environment within a 3-day period as a response to the emergency stay-home order in March of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The courses learning objectives were modified for two civil engineering courses (Environmental Engineering and Water & Wastewater Engineering). The pedagogic approach in the F2F environment used the six elements of the ExCEEd Teaching Model. The transition to the virtual classroom utilized the ExCEEd Teaching Model and emphasized synchronous interaction with students to build an effective online learning environment. A formal assessment of whether the approach was effective in a virtual format was conducted. The hypotheses evaluated included 1) the prediction that the learning objectives could be met regardless of the format in which the class was taught; 2) the prediction that students would engage in discussion, group work and project development in an effective way, regardless of the format in which they communicate; 3) the prediction that students would perform similarly to those that have completed the course F2F; 4) the prediction that the teaching method used in the F2F environment can be used and effective in the virtual environment; and 5) the prediction that the students in the virtual environment would be able to develop a positive rapport with peers and instructor. Course grade, assignment grades and two online questionnaires were used to test the hypotheses. The study results indicate that when comparing course grades the students in the virtual environment mostly obtained overall slightly higher grades, compared to students that took the course in the F2F format. In addition, results from student end-of-term course questionnaires indicated that over a third (37.9%) of the students agreed the learning objectives were critical to their success. About 97% (n = 64) of students reported the instructor used the learning objectives in each F2F lesson. In response to the virtual classroom experience, the average rating of the instructor's use of the learning objectives was 3.21 (SD = .886), which was significantly greater than the scale midpoint of 2.0 (Moderately), t(65) = 11.114, p = .001. The positive relationship with the instructor was rated with a mean of 2.78 (SD = 1.071), and t(66) = 5.934, p = .001, which indicates that the actions taken by the professor in and outside of the virtual classroom supported the development of interpersonal rapport. In summary, the six elements of the ExCEEd model were critical for the emergency transition to the online environment.