First Year Engineering Students’ Difficulties with Math Courses- What Is the Starting Point for Academic Teachers?

Abstract

The discussion about first-year engineering students’ difficulties in mathematics is continuous in the fields of engineering, mathematics and higher education. The present study aimed to examine the initial barriers academic math teachers need to have in mind if they want to improve students’ performance in engineering math courses through appropriate teaching practices in order to face their initial interindividual differences. During the first phase of the study, we examined first year engineering students’ initial beliefs about the nature of mathematics, their self-efficacy beliefs about mathematics and their basic mathematical knowledge. The math school grade was used for their previous mathematical performance. Results indicated the predominant role of the previous mathematical knowledge and the important role of the formalistic disposition toward mathematics. The lack of experience of using mathematics for problem-solving situations within an engineering framework prevented students from recognizing and appreciating the value of mathematical courses during the engineering studies. The second phase of the study examined, through an interview with a group of students, their perceptions of the teaching practices which were introduced after their teacher attended a training program. The discussion concentrates on how academics can use teaching processes for equity and not equality in order to motivate their students.

First-year engineering students’ affective behavior about mathematics in relation to their performance

“…The analysis of the students' responses to the items about the students' beliefs resulted in five factors, which explained the 67.75% of the total variance and the respective analysis of the items about self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes towards mathematics resulted in three factors, which explained the 73.56% of the total variance. The content analysis of the items (Charalambides et al, 2023) of the eight factors resulted into the following factors: F1. Success in mathematics (seven items, e.g., some people are not able to learn mathematics), F2.…”

“…In order to examine the two posed research questions, we had developed (a) a questionnaire about students' affective behavior towards mathematics (presented at Charalambides et al, 2023) and (b) a test about their initial mathematical performance before attending introductory course AMAT111.…”

Discovering epitrochoid curves with STEAM-based learning methods

“…Körei, Sz. Szilágyi (5) and the parametric equations of the curve drawn by the robot should be given immediately, knowing the parameters of the current configuration, i.e. the diameter of the mounted gears and the position of the pole.…”

“…However, digital content alone is insufficient for Generation Z students to sustain attention. Several studies have shown that first-hand experiences are the best way to achieve optimal learning outcomes for today's university students [1,5,10,16]. This explains the re-emergence of hands-on and explorable models in universities and increased projects involving physical activity in mathematics courses.…”