A tale of two instructional experiences: student engagement in active learning and emergency remote learning of biomechanics

Abstract

This study documents student engagement in face-to-face low-tech active learning and student perceptions of emergency remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic in introductory biomechanics. Students in two classes received 8 weeks of face-to-face instruction with five low-tech active learning techniques and then received 6 weeks of emergency remote, online instruction. Learning was measured using pre-test and post-test administrations of the biomechanics concept inventory (BCI). A survey of engagement in active learning with additional questions on active learning and online instruction were collected with the post-test. No student perceptions of engagement in active learning or online instruction were correlated with learning measured by normalised gain. Student's perception of the 'value of group activity' factor from survey was significantly correlated (r 2 = 12%) with the number of students typically in active learning groups. There was a significant correlation (r 2 = 46%) between student perception of reading the textbook before online video lessons and perception of value of the video lessons in the online portion of the course. Most students (59%) preferred face-to-face instruction in biomechanics. While up to 28% of students may have reported resistance to group-based active learning, low-tech active learning significantly improved mastery of biomechanics concepts above levels previously reported for lecture alone.

Emergency remote teaching in higher education: mapping the first global online semester

“…In contrast, the studies with a longitudinal study design (5.3%, n = 15), have the potential to display developments and to investigate reciprocal effects (e.g. Knudson, 2020 ; Wang & East, 2020 ). For example, some studies had data available from previous study terms and could track students’ development (e.g., Klegeris, 2020 ).…”

The rapid transition from campus to online teaching – how are students’ perception of learning experiences affected?

“…For example, Revilla-Cuesta et al (2021) acted quickly to create a questionnaire about the students' learning experience that they administered to students during the first week of online classes (to assess experiences of face-to face learning) and again at the end of the term (to assess online learning), and then compared results. Knudson (2020) had previously developed a concept inventory for student learning in his subject, biomechanics, which he deployed both at the start of online learning (to test learning from faceto-face instruction) and at the end (to compare online learning), coupled with an end-of-term questionnaire. In a slightly different approach, Stewart, Miertschin, and Goodson (2020) had conducted a study of student time-management skills before the pandemic began, but wrote their article during the pandemic, and so framed it in terms of what their results meant for the pandemic.…”

Emergency remote teaching in higher education: Mapping the first global online semester (Pre-print)

“…In contrast, the studies with a longitudinal study design (5.3%, n = 15), have the potential to display developments and to investigate reciprocal effects (e.g. Knudson, 2020;Wang & East, 2020). For example, some studies had data available from previous study terms and could track students' development (e.g., Klegeris, 2020).…”