For Engineering Education, is Distance Learning a Friend or a Foeƒ A Case Study of First-Year Engineering Students

Abstract

Distance Learning during the pandemic changed the habits of students; whether this change is positive or negative is still debated. Therefore, research should be conducted to determine whether the studying habits and self-perception of students changed. In this work, a performance comparison between groups taking classes in-person and a group taking classes remotely was conducted. Beside the performance comparison, a survey was conducted to learn about the perception of the students in the post-pandemic. Results indicate that the group taking classes remotely performed better, but regarding their opinion, students prefer attending in-person classes. Moreover, students’ preferences indicate students would like their classes to be recorded, and that students feel more anxious about in-person examinations when compared to remote examinations.