The shift to online and blended learning at an engineering school: feedback and results

ISAE-Supmeca is a French engineering school located in the north of the great Paris area. It has been engaged since decades in active learning, especially problem- and project-based learning. During the last ten years, ISAE-Supmeca has gained experience in leading or participating in several French and European educational research projects. This led to the set-up of an Educational Innovation Unit, at the interface of teachers and learners. Among other tasks and in collaboration with teachers, this unit coordinates and participates in several educational research projects, maps issues encountered in the learning process, assists teachers and proposes new educational tools. As well as all scientific and technical higher education institutions, ISAE-Supmeca has been impacted by the covid-19 pandemic situation. The experience of problem- and project-based learning helped the institution and its actors to quickly adapt to a full remote education (online), then to a partly remote education (blended for some modules), but it was not without any issues. So, a follow-up with surveys and analysis took place in order to map the main issues, the solutions adopted and the evolution of the situation. The main goal of this data collection and analysis is to formalize feedback, extract results and then have grounds to better implement the mid- or long-term adaptations, i.e. carry out a three-phase work: reaction, analysis and action. All ISAE-Supmeca teachers and learners were asked several times for feedback on their experience during the pandemic period and their participation made this analysis and this paper possible.