Joint Math Engineering Projects To Facilitate Calculus Success In First Year Students

Abstract

It has been observed that most first year engineering students seem to enjoy and often perform well in their project and project-oriented freshman engineering course, but seem to have difficulty and often perform poorly in their first calculus course. Working from the perception that first year engineering students do not make the connection between what they learn in calculus and the problems they solve in freshman engineering, the faculty who teach the engineering sections of first semester calculus and the faculty who teach freshman engineering worked together to define projects that span both classes.

Retention in Engineering Programs: Integrating Real World Problems in Calculus Courses To Increase Student Learning and Interest in Engineering

“…Several strategies have been proposed and implemented to increase retention in engineering programs [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. Some of the most commonly used techniques consist of addressing attrition related to calculus classes, which has also been linked to dropping out [18,19].…”

Comparison of Paths to Calculus Success

“…Engineering schools and math departments in a variety of universities have worked together to address this problem. Approaches include: introducing additional cooperative learning and problem-solving opportunities for engineering students taking calculus 1,2 ; creating learning communities based on math placement so students can help and encourage each other 3 ; removing pre-requisites to permit students to take Calculus 1 in their second semester and still progress on schedule in their engineering curricula 4 ; redefining how engineering math is taught and creating a hands-on, application-oriented approach addressing only topics relevant to the core engineering courses 5 ; and instituting an "early warning" system with optional "intensive pre-calculus" mid-semester math tracks for struggling students 6,7,8 . Many of these approaches have been successful in increasing student success in calculus and in increasing engineering retention at the specific university in which the method was implemented.…”

Using Undergraduate Mentors to Deliver Engineering Content to Calculus for Increased Persistence in Engineering

“…Thus, it should be no surprise that an engineering student's probability of persistence and success is highly correlated to their performance in calculus 5 . In fact, improving student performance in calculus has improved retention and graduations rates 6 . This is particularly true among underrepresented groups who may already lack confidence in their mathematical abilities 7 .…”

“…This is particularly true among underrepresented groups who may already lack confidence in their mathematical abilities 7 . Engineering student interest in calculus is increased by augmenting it with real world engineering problems 6 . A two pronged approach will be used to deliver this content to the students in the context of this project.…”

“…A commonly researched method is the creation of a calculus course with significant engineering content used to underscore the applicability of topics covered to solving engineering problems. This can be accomplished through the creation of a separate, specialized calculus course taught by engineers 16 , a engineering course that must be taken in conjunction with calculus 6 , or a course shared by engineering and mathmatics 17 . Teaching such courses is difficult because many institutions subscribe to the philosophy that only the mathematics department should teach calculus and a lack of policies regarding course sharing.…”