This afternoon, Yashin Brijmohan and Grace Panther will discuss their research into the adaptability of university instructors' during COVID-19.
Title: Trials and tribulations of deductive qualitative analysis: Adaptability of university engineering instructors’ during COVID-19
Abstract: In Spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced universities to abandon face-to-face learning. Many higher education institutions transitioned to emergency remote teaching (ERT), which is a rapid emergency transition to exclusive online teaching that was announced suddenly. There is little known about how instructors experienced and individually adapted to ERT.
This research explores how university engineering instructors’ cited dimensions of individual adaptability during ERT and further investigates how these expressed dimensions differ by sex and level of faculty experience.
A qualitative phenomenological research approach was used to ascertain the experiences of 14 engineering instructors teaching undergraduate courses with a focus on their individual adaptability. Three interviews were conducted per participant spaced across the seven remaining weeks of the semester. Analysis entailed deductive thematic coding using the individual adaptability dimensions of Pulakos et al. (2002).
The results revealed that the dimensions of adaptability expressed by the instructors varied throughout the last seven weeks of the semester. There were also differences and similarities noted in the expressions for male and female instructors as well as tenured and tenure-track instructors.
This research provides insight into the barriers and enablers that contribute to adoption of new teaching strategies in engineering education through the lens of individual adaptability. Furthermore, the results indicate that different demographic groups may require different support systems.
Date: Thursday, 10/13, from 2-3pm
Place: 109 Bessey Hall or via Zoom at https://unl.zoom.us/j/212107342