This article is a concise analysis of the current COVID situation taking into account the needs of teaching staff and support staff in an emergency situation (IO1) and conditions for change management (IO6) to the design and develop blended education. TU Delft is partner of the EU project 'Digitel Pro' in collaboration with DCU, KU Leuven, UOC, and EADTU. This is an analysis (a) completing the literature review from 2018 on and (b) refocusing the conclusions on the COVID 19 needs as the Digitel Pro partners have already made a comprehensive analysis for the EMBED project. Best Practices for Blended Learning during COVID times are still emerging. It is unclear if everyone truly uses the same definition for blended and hybrid teaching within the literature produced during COVID times because not all authors provide a definition in their articles. Some of the authors who published in 2020 and 2021 are completely new to online teaching. Although online education has been around since at least 2003, it is surprising to see authors mention that distance learning is still in developmental stages in 2021. Distance learning will continue to develop, however distance learning is well established as an educational mode with various formats such as online, blended, hybrid, and virtual exchange. Perhaps new during COVID times was that all courses had to face distance learning and prior to COVID, some educators could avoid online formats entirely. The original plan pre-COVID for implementing Blended Learning throughout an entire campus was realized in the document: Research report on state of the art in blended learning and innovation (Goeman, Poelmans, & Van Rompaey, 2018), found here: https://embed.eadtu.eu/results. This article expands on that Research report by explaining the COVID scenarios and what emerged as the secondary or emergency plan, as well as best practices noted by instructors for education during rapid changes for COVID restrictions.@en

1.1 Background To educate future competent engineers, it is crucial to adopt teaching and learning approaches that support students in dealing with highly complex problems [1]. One strategy is to enhance service mathematics in higher engineering education by shifting from outcome-centered to competence-centered approaches [2]. This strategy is examined and adopted in a large-scale innovation programme of mathematics education (PRIME) at TU Delft to design effective service mathematics courses in higher engineering education. As mathematics is at the core of engineering education, we will, in this workshop, explore how to create a viable and resilient educational model for developing mathematical competencies, described in the Framework of Mathematics Curricula in Engineering Education [2, 3]. Additionally, we will discuss how the development of mathematical competencies can be facilitated by leveraging technology in blended and remote learning environments. The aim of this workshop is to start a process via a living document which serves to share and create material and expertise in teaching, learning and assessing the mathematical competencies.@en

In order to embed blended learning environments in a strategic and sustainable manner, a multi-actor, multidimensional approach is necessary. This paper reports the results of a 3-round Delphi study involving 28 experts which focuses on the refinement and validation of a layered maturity model that assesses key aspects of blended practices in higher education. The study examines the wording of the proposed assumptions, dimensions and indicators, whether they bear validity and if there are others that are not accounted for. We present the findings of each round, the confirmed maturity model and a series of recommendations for its future usage. As such, it is helpful for lecturers, program coordinators, support services or institutional leaders to decide upon follow-up actions and to achieve up-scaled blended programs and courses in higher education institutions.@en

All first-year students at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) are required to take mathematics courses, but their motivation to participate in these courses is generally lower than their motivation for courses that belong to their main field of study. These lower levels of commitment often lead to lower results and weaker understanding of mathematical concepts, which in turn affect the rest of their studies. Two years ago, TU Delft introduced blended learning in the first-year interfaculty mathematics courses, in order to improve results, make more efficient use of teaching staff, facilitate the transfer of maths knowledge to other subjects and better connect with today’s students. In this paper we provide an insight into the project, based on student and educator interviews, observations and surveys. Furthermore, we examine the impact of the flipped classroom model used in the project. Our findings suggest that the model could be a promising way of enhancing students’ learning performance. The main results show that students have a more active learning experience, compared to the traditional setup of these courses, leading to more engagement and interaction. Furthermore, the project structure of the flipped maths courses, provides opportunities for more scalable education. Based on our findings we provide recommendations, not just for this project but also for other course teams who are setting up similar projects in order to help them develop a model that best serves their education. @en