Engaging Aeronautical Science Students with Technology

Abstract

If the pandemic taught us something in academia, it was to be more flexible while leveraging creative methods in maintaining students’ engagement with modern academic tools such as Nearpod. Additionally, allowing teacher autonomy supported a seamless transition to online platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may translate well to a weather event without having to cancel class. Those who are researchers within the scholarship of teaching and learning community find this to be no surprise (Kahu, 2011; Ayuka & Jacobs, 2018; Keller et al., 2020). This research project examines the experience of one assistant professor of aeronautical science who implemented Nearpod into her classroom prior to COVID-19 mandates and how that was received by students before, during, and after the experience. By looking at the student evaluation data throughout this time period and one specific question asked on the end-of-course student reviews: ‘What elements in this course MOST helped you learn the course content?’ The research team will consider the number of responses and how many of them reference Nearpod as at least one of those elements. Additionally, the presenters will show different strategies used in aviation technical courses to integrate different tools and maintain student engagement as highlighted by students. Presenters are not associated with any of the companies that own the tools presented.