Descriptive Geometry in the Time of COVID-19 - Preliminary Assessment of Distance Education During Pandemic Social Isolation

Oct 15, 2026

The pandemic forced a shift in teaching descriptive geometry, a core subject across many engineering disciplines. Remote instruction during COVID-19 relied on the ELF platform, MS Teams, SketchUp, AutoCAD, and email, supported by an electronic textbook with graded geometric problems and online consultations. Despite technological and psychological challenges, students achieved very good results. Although average grades were higher than in traditional education, learners reported a strong need for direct contact with the teacher.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

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| | Ad | vances in Engineering Edu | cation | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | FALL 2020 VOLUME 8 NUMBER 4 Descriptive Geometry in the Time of COVID-19: Preliminary Assessment of Distance Education During Pandemic Social Isolation AGNIESZKA WOJTOWICZ Academy of Physical Education in Cracow Cracow, Poland BARBARA WOJTOWICZ Cracow University of Technology Cracow, Poland KRZYSZTOF KOPE´C University of Gdansk Gdansk, Poland ABSTRACT The pandemic forced a change in the teaching of descriptive geometry, a basic subject of many engineering fields. To conduct classes during COVID-19, the following resources were used: the ELF platform, MS Teams, SketchUp, AutoCAD, email. It was decided to prepare the electronic textbook along with geometric problems to be solved, supplemented by on-line consultations with students. Despite difficulties (technological, psychological), the results obtained by students during the pandemic were very good. Although the average grade during distance learning was higher than in the case of traditional education, students reported a clear need for direct contact with the teacher. Key words: Distance learning, Descriptive geometry, COVID-19 INTRODUCTION Descriptive geometry is the basic subject of many engineering fields, allowing for the development of spatial imagination (Suzuki 2002; 2014) . The theoretical basics of this subject constitute an introduction to later design using CAD/CG/DG programs (Stachel 2007) . Solving geometric problems directly on paper with the aid of drawing tools (pencil, compass, etc. ) requires a different way of thinking and it’s FALL 2020 VOLUME 8 NUMBER 4 1 ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION Descriptive Geometry in the Time of COVID-19: Preliminary Assessment of Distance Education During Pandemic Social Isolation easier than in the case of computer drawing (Wojtowicz, Górska and Wojtowicz 2019) . For this reason, this subject is taught at the Cracow University of Technology (Poland) through classic lectures with step-by-step presentation of a given construction and through practical classes during which students solve geometrical problems. However, we may observe the development of computer solutions that support teaching descriptive geometry, which can be used in distance learning, both based on CAD/ CAM programs (Stachel 1992; Brakhage 2004; Bokan, Ljucovic´ and Vukmirovic´ 2009; Bokan, Sukilovic and Vukmirovic 2012; Di Paola, Pedone and Pizzurro 2013), as well as online textbooks and libraries of geometric problems (Vukmirovic´ 1998; Santos and Rojas Sola 2000; Gorjanc and Jurkin 2019) . The described course lasts 2 semesters. In the second semester, after 2 weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic forced lessons to be conducted via distance learning due to social isolation introduced by the government. The basic difficulties regarded the remote transfer of knowledge in such a way that students were able to understand the assumptions of a given construction as well as the correction and evaluation of drawings created by students in pencil technique without direct student-teacher contact. Students, in the case of lab-intensive courses, prefer the traditional form of direct contact with the lecturer than online consultation (Scherrer, Butler and Burns 2010) . Other difficulties included: • varied internet access and hardware capabilities of home computers used by students and teachers – some students and teachers had old types of computers; also, some students did not have access to a computer for several weeks (there was a almost complete lockdown in Poland, from 25 March to 19 April 2020), some participants lived in remote places without access to the broadband Internet, or the connection was overloaded; • temporary lack of or limited contact with students – resulted from equipment or technical problems, but also from pandemic-related anxiety that thwarted students’ normal functioning (diagnosis with CO

FAQs

What tools and resources supported remote teaching of descriptive geometry during COVID-19?

Instruction used the ELF platform, MS Teams, SketchUp and AutoCAD, plus email. An electronic textbook with geometric problems was prepared, together with remote consultations.

How did students’ performance during distance learning compare with traditional education?

Students achieved very good results during the pandemic. Average grades in distance learning were reported as higher than in traditional education.

What difficulties affected remote learning for descriptive geometry?

Key difficulties included limited or varied internet access and hardware, reduced contact due to technical and anxiety-related issues, differences in photo quality of submitted drawings, a very short time to implement new solutions, and uncertainty about how long restrictions would last.

Oct 15, 2026

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