INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF ONLINE LEARNING ON ENGINEERING STUDENTS’ SOCIALIZATION EXPERIENCES DURING THE PANDEMIC

• Published in: Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA)
• Main Authors: Sweeney, Juliette, Liu, Qin, Evans, Greg
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 16.06.2021
• DOI: 10.24908/pceea.vi0.14864
• ISSN: 2371-5243

The global shift to online learning prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated how learningonline alters postsecondary students’ socialization experiences and learning outcomes. In December 2020, alarge Canadian engineering faculty surveyed its undergraduate students to assess their learning experiences in the exclusive online environment during the pandemic. This paper used qualitative data from the survey, as complemented by descriptive quantitative results, to explore how the online environment impacted engineering students’ socialization processes and their perception of learning. Using Weidman’s model of socialization, this paper contributes to better understandings of the individual and particularlyenvironmental factors that have influenced engineering students’ socialization processes while they learn online during the pandemic, and the importance of social interactions to student learning in engineering education.