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In March 2020, students across the country experienced disruptions to their learning due to the COVID-19 crisis. Aviation Maintenance Technology Schools (AMTS) were no exception. These schools relied heavily on hands-on learning to train the next generation of aircraft maintenance technicians, but, for varying periods, students were unable to attend in-person classes and complete hands-on projects. Schools could delay learning until they could resume in-person classes, or they could switch to remote lectures and complete required projects once they returned in-person. Through a resilience engineering framework, this research explores AMTS’ responses to the crisis and the effect both disruption and institutional response had on student learning. The research team conducted 43 semi-structured interviews with administrators, instructors, and students at AMTS nationally. During these interviews, participants shared their personal and their Part 147 schools’ responses to the pandemic. Content analysis revealed that schools were under-prepared for any long-term disruption to their programs. Student learning suffered as a result. We discuss our research in relation to the effect on academic continuity and identify some ways which help mitigate disruptions.
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Learning from the COVID‐19 pandemic: Improving academic continuity in workforce development programs
Abstract The COVID‐19 pandemic caused an abrupt change in educational programs worldwide, including workforce development education in community colleges. Given the hands‐on requirements of these programs, considerations for changes included if and how instructors and students could maintain academic continuity during the pandemic. This article focuses on aviation maintenance technology schools (AMTS) as a case study to understand how programs that rely heavily on hands‐on learning responded to COVID‐19 significant disruption to education. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must approve educational training for aviation maintenance careers, and the FAA requires specific hands‐on activities in the curriculum. Of the 182 AMTS in the United States, 143 are located within community colleges. We conducted 43 interviews with AMTS students, administrators, and instructors from 18 different community colleges. Following content analysis of the interviews, the authors identified six findings related to how these programs responded to the pandemic, with special attention to maintaining academic stability. The article advocates for integrating digital learning tools (DLT) to create resilient educational programs when disruptions occur. These tools allow for students to continue to asynchronously practice the procedures and familiarize themselves with the materials needed for projects, provide students immediate feedback on their learning, and save schools money on expensive resources when students require extra practice on certain skills and processes. The application of these tools is relevant beyond the pandemic, helping students in many scenarios succeed in the face of natural disasters, family obligations, and the need for extra learning resources.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2037809
- PAR ID:
- 10569809
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- New Directions for Community Colleges
- Volume:
- 2024
- Issue:
- 205
- ISSN:
- 0194-3081
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 143 to 151
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20619
