How to foster student engagement with technology and the mediating role of the teacher’s strategy: lessons learned in a problem-based learning university

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed the world and impacted the higher education system. This study investigates whether specific technological tools and flipped classrooms properly engage the students in a small online class in a problem-based learning (PBL) environment and the role of teacher’s strategy. The research is based on action research and draws upon the theory of transactional distance and engagement interface. The fieldwork is a bachelor’s course in management accounting at a Danish business school. Data were collected from documents used for course development, the author’s observations, and a survey collecting student feedback. Findings underline that appropriate pedagogical and communication tools and teaching strategy were even more relevant to enhancing student engagement in an online class during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus shedding light on how to transform teachers’ challenges into opportunities also in the post-pandemic period, as teaching and learning require a co-constructive process between the teacher and students.