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The delivery mode of education for many high school students changed recently, confining students to attend classes virtually from home. Remote learning can sometimes give students fewer experiential learning opportunities. A focus group discussion was carried out with 35 high school students to explore their perception of their learning environment as it relates to active learning in a remote instruction delivery classroom. Kolb’s experiential learning theory was used to guide this study. The qualitative data gathered were analyzed thematically. Analysis from the data showed that remote learning impacted students’ ability to support each other in project-based learning processes. The effect of remote learning also impacted students' access to peer group resources, materials, and tools needed for effective project-based learning. Results showed that some students preferred working with other students cooperatively on project-based activities while other students preferred working individually on project-based activities. The findings show that team building in high school students continues to be a challenge irrespective of the learning environment, either face-to-face or remote classrooms. Hence, educators have to continue to find ways to strengthen team-work and team building among the students. 

Stakeholders of engineering education have recognized the need for engineering instruction in K‐12 classrooms, especially at the high school level. However, lack of engineering-specific standards and varied conceptions of engineering teaching create challenges for high school teachers to teach engineering courses. This paper explores high school teachers’ conceptions of engineering teaching in the context of an engineering education professional development (PD) workshop. We use Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to examine participants’ conceptions during two focus groups conducted as part of the PD; particularly focusing on teachers’ goals, interests, challenges, and expected outcomes of teaching a high school level engineering course. Results highlight the need for social support for teachers to sustain engineering teaching.