An Assessment of an Online Flipped-style Classroom Instruction for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Students

Sharanabasaweshwara Asundi; Miltos Kotinis

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Conference: 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual Conference
Publication Date: July 26, 2021
Start Date: July 26, 2021
End Date: July 19, 2022
Conference Session: Teaching Methodology & Assessment 1
Tagged Division: Aerospace
Page Count: 11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--36665
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/36665
Download Count: 300

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Paper Authors

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Sharanabasaweshwara Asundi Old Dominion University

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Sharan Asundi, a native of INDIA, is a Ph.D. from University of Florida working as an Assistant Professor of Space Systems Engineering in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Old Dominion University (ODU). Currently, he is engaged in several teaching and research activities, largely focused on furthering the Space Systems Engineering Program at ODU. He has engaged in research collaboration with NASA Goddard as a Science Collaborator and has been awarded grants by the U.S. Air Force, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture to research Magnetic Mapping of Pico/Nano/Micro-Satellites and study the impact of magnetic field exposure on plant germination, growth. Dr. Asundi teaches courses in Space Systems Engineering and is actively engaged in collaboration with academic institutions in the state of Virginia, VSGC and NASA LaRC. As part of invited visits, Dr. Asundi has conducted several short courses and workshops in Systems Engineering Based Design of PNMSats.

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Miltos Kotinis

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Abstract

During the Spring 2020 semester at OOO University, a completely online mode of instruction was adopted to arrest the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. As a consequence, each unit within the university was practically required to make its own arrangement to ensure the students and faculty were well equipped to smoothly transition to the new mode of instruction and at the same time, ensure student success in the program. The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at OOO University responded with an effective strategy to equip its faculty with a cost-effective, timely solution to transition to the new mode of instruction. As part of MAE department’s strategy to equip its faculty with low-cost, simple-to-use equipment, a minimalistic hardware setup was identified, which would consist of – (i) a camera/webcam, (ii) a microphone, and (iii) an adjustable webcam stand. The MAE department bought several Logitech webcams, which came with a built-in microphone, and flexible gooseneck camera stands with C-clamp desk mounts. A simple assembly of this setup connected to a computer was used to – (i) pre-record lectures and (ii) conduct live sessions. For seamless recording, it was recommended that the Zoom application – a video conferencing, web conferencing, webinar hosting, screen sharing computer software – be installed on the computer used for online instruction. An elaborate user manual was prepared for using the hardware setup along with the Zoom application for online instruction.

Using the above described hardware setup and the Zoom computer software, a completely online but a flipped-style instruction was offered for a course in computational methods in engineering. It is important to mention that for the first half of the semester, this course was offered in a classroom setup. With shifting to flipped style instruction, the instructor felt the need to change the approach to teaching and its focus. While these changes were implemented and the instructor routinely engaged with his students to seek feedback on the style of instruction, the approach, and the renewed focus, it was important to seek a formal assessment. In this regard a formal survey was conducted. As part of the survey, the following questions were probed: • Did you watch the assigned videos on time (Choose one)? • In comparison to attending an “In Class” lecture, how do you feel about watching videos to understand the material (Choose one)? • What is the length of the video you prefer for credible value addition (Choose one)? • How likely are you to watch the videos if points/grades are allocated (Choose one)? • Would you come to class if all the videos were made available online (Choose one)? • Describe the effort you have put in during your time AT HOME (Choose one)? • Describe the effort you have put in during your time IN CLASS (Choose one)? • The instructor was effective in keeping you motivated for completing the course? • What was MOST HELPFUL in transitioning from In Class to Online instruction (Describe)? • What was MOST NON-HELPFUL in transitioning from In Class to Online instruction (Describe)?

This article discusses elements of the cost-effective, timely solution adopted by the MAE department at OOO University. It describes the implementation of a completely online flipped-style classroom instruction using a low-cost, simple-to-use equipment. To assess the effectiveness of the online flipped-style classroom instruction, the article presents the results of a survey conducted among the students of a MAE course.

Citation
Format

Asundi, S., & Kotinis, M. (2021, July), An Assessment of an Online Flipped-style Classroom Instruction for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Students Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--36665

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - During the Spring 2020 semester at OOO University, a completely online mode of instruction was adopted to arrest the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. As a consequence, each unit within the university was practically required to make its own arrangement to ensure the students and faculty were well equipped to smoothly transition to the new mode of instruction and at the same time, ensure student success in the program. The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at OOO University responded with an effective strategy to equip its faculty with a cost-effective, timely solution to transition to the new mode of instruction. As part of MAE department’s strategy to equip its faculty with low-cost, simple-to-use equipment, a minimalistic hardware setup was identified, which would consist of – (i) a camera/webcam, (ii) a microphone, and (iii) an adjustable webcam stand.  The MAE department bought several Logitech webcams, which came with a built-in microphone, and flexible gooseneck camera stands with C-clamp desk mounts. A simple assembly of this setup connected to a computer was used to – (i) pre-record lectures and (ii) conduct live sessions. For seamless recording, it was recommended that the Zoom application – a video conferencing, web conferencing, webinar hosting, screen sharing computer software – be installed on the computer used for online instruction. An elaborate user manual was prepared for using the hardware setup along with the Zoom application for online instruction.

Using the above described hardware setup and the Zoom computer software, a completely online but a flipped-style instruction was offered for a course in computational methods in engineering. It is important to mention that for the first half of the semester, this course was offered in a classroom setup. With shifting to flipped style instruction, the instructor felt the need to change the approach to teaching and its focus. While these changes were implemented and the instructor routinely engaged with his students to seek feedback on the style of instruction, the approach, and the renewed focus, it was important to seek a formal assessment. In this regard a formal survey was conducted. As part of the survey, the following questions were probed: 
•	Did you watch the assigned videos on time (Choose one)?
•	In comparison to attending an “In Class” lecture, how do you feel about watching videos to understand the material (Choose one)?
•	What is the length of the video you prefer for credible value addition (Choose one)?
•	How likely are you to watch the videos if points/grades are allocated (Choose one)?
•	Would you come to class if all the videos were made available online (Choose one)?
•	Describe the effort you have put in during your time AT HOME (Choose one)?
•	Describe the effort you have put in during your time IN CLASS (Choose one)?
•	The instructor was effective in keeping you motivated for completing the course?
•	What was MOST HELPFUL in transitioning from In Class to Online instruction (Describe)?
•	What was MOST NON-HELPFUL in transitioning from In Class to Online instruction (Describe)?

This article discusses elements of the cost-effective, timely solution adopted by the MAE department at OOO University. It describes the implementation of a completely online flipped-style classroom instruction using a low-cost, simple-to-use equipment. To assess the effectiveness of the online flipped-style classroom instruction, the article presents the results of a survey conducted among the students of a MAE course.
AU  - Sharanabasaweshwara Asundi
AU  - Miltos Kotinis
CY  - Virtual Conference
DA  - 2021/07/26
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - An Assessment of an Online Flipped-style Classroom Instruction for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Students
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/36665
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--36665
ER  -