Building a 100% Online Rocket Propulsion Course During a Pandemic

The worldwide COVID pandemic of 2020 forced universities to quickly shift their instructional strategies from the classroom toward online delivery modes to respond to the disruptive social distancing guidelines that evolved. The objective of this paper is to describe the process and the results of rebuilding an undergraduate/graduate rocket propulsion class for a new 100% online deployment due to the COVID pandemic. The case study is Rocket Propulsion I at the University of Alabama in Huntsville for the fall of 2020. A team of instructional designers led a Quality Education Practices Online training program with the instructor to restructure the entire course to meet baseline online distance learning standards. During this rebuild, the instructor also incorporated and developed all new lecture materials, quizzes, and homework based on the adoption of a new course textbook. The comprehensive approach included refining course/module objectives, establishing detailed grading rubrics, developing new procedures for unsupervised online exams, learning live video communication software/equipment, designing a new online course in Canvas, and delivering it to 100 students—all without leaving his home. When compared with the previous five years of assessment data, the overall results in student project grades, course grades, and student evaluations of instructor effectiveness indicated a steady performance level through this significant change in material and life circumstances. The final student course scores increased in this offering when compared with the previous years. Student survey data also suggested a significant increase in the students’ assessment of instructor effectiveness. While there are many possible explanations, the collaborative relationships among the participants while the training, organizing, and delivering the course material specifically for online learning is a significant factor behind these positive outcomes for this case.