  The COVID-19 pandemic has represented a challenge for higher education in
terms to provide quality education despite the lockdown periods, the
transformation of the in-person classes to virtual classes, and the
demotivation and anxiety that are experimented by the students. Because the
basis of engineering is the experimentation through hands-on activities and
learning by doing, the lockdown periods and the temporary suspension of the
in-person classes and laboratories have meant a problem for educators that try
to teach and motivate the students despite the situation. In this context, this
study presents an educational methodology based on Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
and in-home laboratories in engineering. The methodology was carried out in two
phases during 2020, in the academic programs of Industrial Engineering and
Technology in Electronics with (n=44) students. The in-home laboratories were
sent to the students as part of "kits" with the devices needed in each subject.
Besides, due to the difficulties in monitoring the learning process, the
students made videos and blogs as a strategy to reinforce their learning and
evidence the progress in the courses. The outcomes of the methodology show
mainly the following points: (1) An improvement of the academic performance and
learning of the students in the courses. (2) A positive influence of the usage
of in-home laboratories in motivation, self-efficacy, and reduction of anxiety.
(3) Positive correlations between the usage of in-home laboratories, the blogs
and videos, and the teacher's feedback for learning, motivation, and
self-efficacy. Thus, these results evidence that other alternatives that gather
the cognitive and affective learning domains can emerge from engineering to
deal with the educational problems produced by the crisis periods.
