Date of Conferral

5-16-2025

Date of Award

May 2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

JoAnn McAllister

Abstract

In 2020, educators were forced to learn new ways to instruct students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the transition from in-person to online courses, educators explored new ways of producing the learning experience. Due to the hands-on nature of industrial and engineering technology, these courses did not generally use online learning systems. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of industrial and engineering technology instructors connecting with students remotely during this period. Garrison’s community of inquiry framework was used to ground the study and understand the connection that occurs in the learning environment through teaching, social, and cognitive presence. This framework was used to guide the research question of how industrial and engineering technology instructors described the experience of connecting with students remotely. Eight industrial and engineering technology instructors participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis with constant comparison was used to code data into predetermined themes: teaching presence and social presence. Upon completion of the first interview, cognitive presence was added as a theme. The results showed that hands-on instructors experienced complications with connecting with students online, including students’ cameras being turned off and missing verbal cues that suggest student understanding of the materials. The results also showed that instructors used the lab settings to continue connecting with students. This study’s findings have the potential to contribute to new learning approaches for industrial and engineering courses and contribute to positive social change for future instructors, administrators, students, and the industrial and engineering technology workforce.

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