Developing Global Competency Virtually: Student Experiences in a Global Program That Transitioned Online Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper discusses a global program for first-year engineering students that typically combines a spring semester course with an international module in the summer. This year, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the course component of the program was redesigned for the post-COVID environment. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers (Boston, Mass.) Mass.), 2022-08, Vol.34 (2), p.56-80
Main Authors: Paradise, Tawni, Chowdhury, Tahsin, Davis, Kirsten, Murzi, Homero, Soledad, Michelle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College Freshmen
Competence
COVID-19
Distance Education
Educational Change
Electronic Learning
Engineering Education
Global Approach
Pandemics
Student Experience
Study Abroad
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Summary:This paper discusses a global program for first-year engineering students that typically combines a spring semester course with an international module in the summer. This year, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the course component of the program was redesigned for the post-COVID environment. The purpose of this paper is to present the decisions made during this process and explore their outcomes through analysis of students' feedback and global competence survey results. Four major decisions shaped the program redesign by balancing the desire for students to develop global competence with the acknowledgement that student motivation and energy would be impacted by the lack of travel and COVID-19. Data from students' responses on assignments, survey administration and teaching evaluations were analyzed to understand student experiences after the program redesign. Results from our analysis show students were able to develop global competence without international travel. Implications from the results and next steps are discussed in this paper.
ISSN:1085-4568
2380-8144
DOI:10.36366/frontiers.v34i2.592