Correlation between Asynchronous Module Comprehension and Traditional Comprehension Assessments

Over the past year, institutions have explored various manners to advance education while remaining socially distant, namely, through online and hybrid delivery methods. While these methods are actively employed now, the question regarding their effectiveness on student comprehension of the concepts highlighted remains. The aim of this work is to establish how effective online, asynchronous modules are for such. With respect to first-year programs geared towards establishing the foundational concepts of engineering design, two asynchronous, interactive modules were developed and deployed. Specifically, these modules introduced the foundational design concepts of stakeholders, need statements, information gathering, and design specifications. They were also developed in such a way that required student input such as identifying stakeholders or matching need statements. Student responses for each input was recorded and previously utilized to complete basic statistical analysis and derive preliminary trends. Upon completion of both modules, students completed an individual homework assignment that assessed their comprehension of the content covered in both modules. The assignment was comprised of several sections with multiple questions per section. Each question highlighted various aspects of the engineering problem framing process such as stakeholders or need statements. Basic statistical analysis was conducted for the scored items followed by correlation analysis with student performance on the modules previously completed. This work was intended to establish student comprehension of fundamental engineering design concepts after learning such through distance-learning methods, namely, asynchronous, interactive modules. Conclusions drawn from this work will possess broad ramifications and enable educators to determine if such methods are as sufficient as traditional in-person methods, if portions of the modules must be modified to enhance student comprehension, or if alternative methods must be employed altogether.