When am I ever going to use this? An investigation of the calculus content of core engineering courses

Faulkner, Brian; Johnson-Glauch, Nicole; Choi, Dong San; Herman, Geoffrey L.

doi:10.1002/jee.20344

Cited by 16 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 56 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Maintaining the motivation to understand advanced mathematical topics despite their inherent difficulties can help reduce the high dropout rates in STEM degrees [50][51][52]. Many students decide to abandon their studies after having bad experiences learning mathematics or when failing a mathematics course [53,54]. Similarly, bad experiences can be relevant for novice students to STEM degrees, as their inexperience in their first math classes at a college level can affect their perception of their math skills throughout their whole studies [46,55].…”

Section: Self-efficacy In Mathematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptation Process of the Mathematic Self-Efficacy Survey (MSES) Scale to Mexican-Spanish Language

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Trained professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are needed for a robust, science-based economy that incorporates various technologies’ design, construction, and commercialization to address societal problems. However, keeping students interested in STEM subjects and achieving optimal performance is a challenging task. Math self-efficacy has shown to be one of the most important factors affecting students’ interest in STEM majors and assessing this factor has been a great challenge for education researchers around the world due to the lack of calibrated and culturally adapted instruments. Observing this need, this seminal study conducted psychometric validation tests and cultural adaptations to the Mathematic Self-Efficacy Survey (MSES) aiming to measure this instrument in Spanish-speaking students in different STEM areas in Mexico. Data collected from 877 students were tested for validity using sequential exploratory factor analyses, and contextual modifications were performed and analyzed aiming to achieve cultural equivalency. Suggestions for continuing the adaptation and validation process of the MSES to Spanish language and STEM students’ context are presented with the results of the exploratory factor analyses.

show abstract

Section: Self-efficacy In Mathematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptation Process of the Mathematic Self-Efficacy Survey (MSES) Scale to Mexican-Spanish Language

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Accordingly, it is important to question why calculus placement is so instrumental to students' academic outcomes when it is not clear that students retain or even use calculus in their engineering coursework. Prior research has found that engineering courses only apply a small portion of calculus content in their curriculum (Faulkner et al, 2020) and that students are often unable to transfer knowledge learned in their mathematics courses to other disciplines such as engineering, especially if they believe the material to be irrelevant (Harris et al, 2014; Schoenfeld, 1992).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Instead of forcing students to make a choice between two calculus classes, calculus could be taught in a way that streamlines Calculus I, II, and III into one, year‐long sequence. Faulkner et al (2020) suggested another curricular possibility: having students take calculus as a corequisite for foundational engineering courses like statics instead of being a prerequisite. They argued that having students take calculus in conjunction with initial engineering courses will reduce the loss of retention of calculus knowledge that occurs when students take it first and then subsequently enroll in courses like statics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Another form of undermatching? A mixed‐methods examination of first‐year engineering students' calculus placement

Inkelas

Maeng

Williams

et al. 2021

J of Engineering Edu

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background A strong calculus foundation is essential to undergraduate engineering success. However, some students may be self‐selecting to begin their mathematics sequence in a lower‐level calculus course than their prior achievement and aptitude would suggest is appropriate (i.e., undermatch). Purpose This study examined (a) the relationship between engineering students' academic outcomes and first‐year calculus course taken, (b) the extent to which first‐year engineering students select calculus courses appropriate for their prior mathematics achievement and background, and (c) students' rationales for calculus course selection. Design/Method The study used a mixed‐methods approach consisting of quantitative t‐test, multiple regression, and classification decision tree model analyses of student records of (a) first‐year engineering students from 2009 to 2016 (n = 2689) at a highly selective public research university and (b) qualitative focus groups of 95 undergraduate engineering students in 2017–2018. Results Students who begin their math sequence in Calculus I had lower graduating grade point averages, longer time‐to‐degree, and were less likely to major in popular engineering fields than those who started in Calculus II. Of first‐year undergraduates, 18.4% undermatched their choice of calculus course. Students' rationales for choosing a particular calculus course included (a) prior achievement, (b) recommendations from others, and (c) self‐confidence. Conclusions Results suggest that undermatching the choice of first calculus course may lead to negative consequences for students' STEM pathways even at a highly selective engineering school. These results hold implications for practice, especially in terms of advising at the high school and college levels.

show abstract

“…For instance, Faulkner et al (2019) discuss that "many students drop out of engineering not because they have failed an engineering course, but because they failed a mathematics course" (p. 98). In these programs, the strictness of the "core math sequence" (p. 98) -Calculus I, II or III, linear algebra, and differential equations -may also disadvantage students who lacked access to secondary school calculus (Faulkner et al, 2019), as well as female and minority students (Faulkner et al, 2020), as we also discussed in section "Calculus in the Transition Across Educational Levels". It is natural to wonder why calculus courses appear in the first year of many STEM programs.…”

Section: Impact Of the Institutional Roles Of Calculus Courses For Nm...mentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Researchers have identified tertiary mathematics courses (in particular, calculus) as overemphasizing technical skills and rote memorization (Ellis et al, 2014) and being taught in a mathematical way (Loch & Lamborn, 2016). These reasons are probably among those resulting in first-year calculus high failure rates (Artigue et al, 2007) and high dropout rates (Ellis et al, 2014), particularly in engineering programs (Faulkner et al, 2019(Faulkner et al, , 2020. In a large survey conducted in the US (Ellis et al, 2014), the results indicate that students in medicine, business and engineering, as well as those who are yet to decide their specialization, may change specializations after their first calculus (Calculus I) experience.…”

Section: Impact Of the Institutional Roles Of Calculus Courses For Nm...mentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Scaffolding’ or ‘Filtering’: A Review of Studies on the Diverse Roles of Calculus Courses for Students, Professionals and Teachers

Biza

González-Martín

Pinto

2022

Int. J. Res. Undergrad. Math. Ed.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Calculus courses have been attracting the attention of mathematics education researchers over the last decades. Recent publications and special issues dedicated to calculus highlight the diverse roles of calculus courses in the pathways for STEM studies within and across educational levels, as well as issues related to the academic preparation of future STEM professionals, including mathematicians, non-mathematics professionals (NMPs) and teachers. In this paper, we review recent literature, mostly since 2015, to identify and characterize explicit references to such diverse roles of calculus courses. The review highlights an intrinsic tension between two institutional roles of calculus: scaffolding and filtering. We find nuanced yet substantial variation in how the dual role of calculus is experienced and managed across different groups of students and stakeholders. With regard studies on calculus for mathematics students, recent studies attend to changes in the rules underpinning calculus notions and processes, and highlight the scaffolding potential of calculus courses towards abstraction and reasoning. In contrast, studies on calculus for NMPs report that such courses often promote filtering rather than scaffolding and question transferability and relevance of those courses for NMPs. Finally, studies challenge the perception that traditional tertiary calculus courses scaffold school teaching and underline the need for empirical research that would explain the nature of this scaffolding and how it can be realized in practice. We conclude that further empirical research, in particular theory development, is needed to address the diverse roles of calculus at the intersection of institutions, disciplines and communities.

show abstract

When am I ever going to use this? An investigation of the calculus content of core engineering courses

Abstract: When am I ever going to use this? An investigation of the calculus content of core engineering courses

Cited by 16 publications

References 56 publications

Adaptation Process of the Mathematic Self-Efficacy Survey (MSES) Scale to Mexican-Spanish Language

Adaptation Process of the Mathematic Self-Efficacy Survey (MSES) Scale to Mexican-Spanish Language

Another form of undermatching? A mixed‐methods examination of first‐year engineering students' calculus placement

‘Scaffolding’ or ‘Filtering’: A Review of Studies on the Diverse Roles of Calculus Courses for Students, Professionals and Teachers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About