Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students were sidetracked by the shift in the educational process, primarily in the field of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education. Teachers were also besieged to find sustainable teaching solutions. During this chaos, many were subjected to various rumors and misinformation about the pandemic. Hence, we aimed to design a 3 week long computer-assisted STEM-based health awareness course. The course was designed and delivered to twenty high school students in various public schools in Qatar. The course creators utilized various innovative computer-based educational tools to involve and motivate students. In addition, students attended several synchronous and asynchronous sessions with experts in different fields to gain a better awareness of the crisis. A feedback mechanism was also operated to assess the effectiveness of the course delivery. The results revealed a 100% retention rate. The student questionnaire survey result showed higher post-test scores on pandemic awareness. A SWOT analysis depicted the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the executed course. Thereby, we successfully investigated the effectiveness of the STEM-integrated pedagogical approach through the learning outcomes of the student’s awareness of the course.

The importance of online education and online learning has gained colossal importance during the present era. Despite online education being the savior during the current pandemic, its implementation was/has been quite puzzling. This article describes a novel approach to the execution of an E-STEM (online- Science, technology, engineering, mathematics) course for school students by integrating the near-peer mentoring approach. Wherein, the undergraduate (UG) students were the near-peer mentors, who had mentored/guided the school students (middle school & high school). Even though the E-STEM course was developed & presented by the STEM professionals, it was the near peer-mentors who were responsible for the constant motivation & assessment of the school students. The paper displays several roles of the UG mentors, predominantly aiding the students’ motivation and also their assessment via a triangulation assessment approach: with the UG mentors being responsible for the indirect and embedded assessment of the students. The STEM course was efficaciously conducted for 56 students of high school and middle school students, involving 16 undergraduate near-peer mentors. Various E-tools and student-feedback mechanisms were used to implement the E-STEM course in a student-centered manner. Thereby, to reveal the success of the model, the student’s feedback, pre-post questionnaires, and text message transcripts were investigated. The constructive roles of undergraduate mentors, in aiding the school students towards their active engagement, and STEM innovations, during E-learning, have been validated. A clear comparison had been made between the behavioral aspect of the high school students and middle school students with the UG mentor. Therefore, unlike many studies that had shown the success of the near-peer mentoring model, our article addresses the underlying process, that contributes to the success with a distinct comparison between the two (prior mentioned aspect).

In early 2020 when Covid-19 hit the globe, it caused significant destruction to the educational process. Schools were shut down, teachers and students struggled to adapt to the new method of learning. Meanwhile, Students were subjected to numerous misinformation circulating about the virus. Thereby it was crucial to develop an interactive virtual health awareness course addressing Covid-19 and utilizing STEM learning in the content of the course. Twenty students (12 Females and 8 Males) from secondary schools inside Qatar participated in the course. Diverse digital tools were integrated into the course contents, such as interactive quizzes, online games, videos, and PowerPoint presentations to increase student’s interest in STEM. Furthermore, discussions with experts in various fields were held during the course to equip students with the knowledge and competencies needed to meet course outcomes. A feedback mechanism evaluated the course content design and delivery. The results indicated student’s positive responses to the STEM learning experience and the activities implemented in the course. The students exhibited high attendance throughout the course, and they completed their assigned projects voluntarily. The course effectively achieved desired outcomes of the study. The design of the course content integrated various digital tools that address STEM learning and motivate students to join and retain three weeks course duration. The course effectively achieved desired outcomes of the study. The design of the course content integrated various digital tools that address STEM learning and motivate students to join and retain three weeks duration. Consequently, students’ competencies, and innovation capabilities were improved.