Teaching Mathematics From An Applications Perspective

Abstract

It is a widespread opinion and belief among engineering faculty that undergraduates enrolled in any engineering field could be better prepared in Mathematics when taking courses related to their professional field of study. The lack of preparation to apply appropriate concepts in Mathematics may be due to the fact that examples from engineering disciplines are not widely used in the Mathematics courses. It is typical of a Mathematics department to not only offer their degree programs but also act as a service department to students majoring in various fields. It is not economically justifiable for Mathematics departments to custom tailor courses in Mathematics for customers from different disciplines. On the other hand, engineering being a practitioners program, has a distinct requirement of creatively applying mathematical concepts and principles to engineering problems studied in various courses. Some of the issues related to inadequate preparation in application of Mathematics include: what type of mathematical background and level of mathematical competencies are needed in engineering courses; which Mathematics courses should cover such mathematical competencies; and what type of examples and problems related to students' major field should be developed and taught in Mathematics to enhance the understanding and application of mathematical concepts.The primary goal of this research paper is to develop a conceptual framework for a Crosscurriculum Delivery system for engineering systems with the Department of Mathematics to deliver services effectively by co-operative efforts of customers and suppliers. Various quality tools are available which could be used in developing a framework for a Cross-curriculum Delivery system. This process requires the identification of customers' needs in terms of mathematical competencies required to teach core courses related to the manufacturing engineering students. The curriculum in Mathematics will be designed by the Department of Mathematics to meet students' needs. An on-going interaction between the customers and suppliers would promote the development of examples and real-life business and industrial problems to be used in the Mathematics courses offered to engineering students.

A National Model For Engineering Mathematics Education

“…Venues: Throughout the project duration, results will be aggressively disseminated in local, regional and national engineering education venues. Results of the initial implementation have already been published and presented at multiple ASEE conferences [18][19][20][21] , and the WSU model has been further disseminated through invited talks at a variety of academic institutions.…”

“…That said, the correlation between retention rates and the inability of incoming students to progress through the required freshman calculus sequence cannot be ignored. This problem is not unique to WSU, and in recent years has received substantial attention in the engineering education literature [14][15][16][17][18][19][20] . The general consensus thus far is that the traditional approach of teaching students the required mathematical theory simply as a prerequisite to subsequent engineering application is unsatisfactory, and that a more integrated approach is required.…”

A Comparison Of Student Prerequisite Math Skills With Data From A Circuits Concept Inventory

“…Our math skills assessment was based on previous work that identified math skills needed in engineering 6 . This assessment consisted of 5 multiple choice questions with 5 choices each, 15 true and false questions, and 3 questions requiring numerical answers.…”

Integrating Applications In The Technion Calculus Course: A Supplementary Instruction Experiment

“…Many educators believe that applied mathematics skills can be developed in undergraduate mathematics courses, particularly in calculus [4][5][6] . Kumar and Jalkio 7 proposed a conceptual framework for teaching mathematics from the application point of view. It concerns the mathematical skills required by the engineering disciplines, mathematics courses for developing these skills, and relevant applied problems.…”