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In this paper we explore the difficulties engineering undergraduates encounter with tertiary mathematics. Results from our survey (N = 71) show that students in our sample face issues mostly related to the challenging nature of university mathematics, the absence of worked examples during lectures and the discontinuity of school and university mathematics curricula. By using third generation Activity Theory, we were able to interpret the identified difficulties as contradictions emerging between the school and university activity systems as well as within the university activity system, and we argue that these difficulties can be treated as stemming from the structural characteristics the two activity systems have. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strong prerequisite skills are essential to student success in the calculus sequence; however, many students arrive in Calculus I with weaknesses that are difficult for them to overcome. In this paper, we describe an approach to early incentivized remediation of prerequisite material in a Calculus I course. We present data that supports the idea that a lack of prerequisite knowledge is a significant hurdle for students, but also that participation in the remediation program is correlated with student success. In addition, the program allows for the very early identification of students at high risk of failing. The program is easy to implement, and it would be adaptable to a variety of other courses for which prerequisite knowledge is essential for success including science courses, engineering courses and other mathematics courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics has long been known to be problematic for university engineering students and their teachers, for example, Scanlan.[1] This paper presents recent data gathered from interviews with engineering students who experienced problems with mathematics and their lecturers during their transition through the first year in different programme contexts. Our interviews with the students reveal how they understand the relation between engineering and mathematics and we draw on the concept of ‘use- and exchange-value’ to explore this relationship more fully. This paper challenges both the pedagogical practice of teaching non-contextualized mathematics and the lack of transparency regarding the significance of mathematics to engineering. We conclude that the value of mathematics in engineering remains a central problem, and argue that mathematics should be a fundamental concern in the design and practice of first-year engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Rarely do university departments of mathematics redesign their basic mathematics courses. Through developing an online version of our associate degree in engineering in collaboration with Open Universities Australia, we redesigned the first in a sequence of five engineering mathematics courses. The online cohort proved different to our face-to-face experience. We embarked on a process of refining the unit using experiential learning and action research. The 13 week unit is delivered up to four times a year and this paper reviews the first 10 cycles of enhancements over 3 years and unpacks the layers of hypotheses underlying development decisions. Several category themes were identified with a focus on students, teachers and learning activities. Investment in online developments for mathematics can have multiple flow-on impacts for other teaching modes. Good curriculum design, regardless of environment, will always be a cornerstone of effective course development processes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper addresses the issue of collegiate mathematics achievement of underrepresented minority students as it investigates the impact of a cooperative learning calculus programme on the first-year calculus experience of non-Asian ethnic minority engineering students. The Emerging Ethnic Engineers Programme in the College of Engineering at the University of Cincinnati is a successful, comprehensive programme that focuses on the recruitment, retention, academic success, professional development, and timely graduation of underrepresented coloured students. The objectives of the programme are accomplished through three interrelated phases: pre-college science and mathematics programmes, first-year collegiate programmes, and upper-division programmes. The underlying principles of the first-year programme include academic achievement and establishing a strong sense of community among the cohort. This report will focus on the cooperative learning calculus programme that has been successful in improving retention and academic success rates for coloured freshmen engineering students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applications in engineering, science and technology within undergraduate programmes can be difficult for students to understand. In this paper, new results are presented which go some way to demonstrate and explain the problems faced by students in linking mathematical models to real-world applications. The study is based on student responses to multiple-choice questionnaires on mathematical modelling problems, student reflective questionnaires and subsequent interviews. The processes used by students to solve such problems are classified and links between these process levels, credit and seven other behavioural descriptors are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In fall 2007, J.B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville joined the ranks of universities requiring the purchase of Tablet PCs for all new entering students. This article presents a description of how the Department of Engineering Fundamentals incorporated Tablet PCs into their instruction, a review of the literature pertaining to the use of Tablet PCs for instruction and preliminary survey results from the students in engineering mathematics courses at the end of the first year, after students had been exposed to Tablet PCs for 1 year. Results show that a large majority of students in the Department of Engineering Fundamentals agree that presentation of engineering mathematics material using the Tablet PCs and DyKnow software is a vast improvement over overhead projector, blackboard, or PowerPoint lectures and course packs. However, students are split as to whether the Tablet PC is something they actually want to use for their own note-taking. Finally, a plan for assessment of tablet impact on student learning is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a national survey conducted to determine the extent and scope of attitudes within universities concerned with teaching engineering degree courses, and the perceptions of undergraduate students. Views of university lecturers that the standards in mathematics have fallen; Methodology utilized in the study; Results and conclusions of the study.

In this longitudinal study, we track student answers to a question from the Calculus Concept Inventory (CCI) pre- and post-instruction in Calculus I as well as an analogous question in the next semester framed in the context of Aerospace Engineering or Chemical Engineering. Nearly 88% of the students who answered the post-CCI question correctly answered the context question correctly, suggesting that students are able to transfer learning from Calculus I to subsequent engineering courses. Moreover, nearly 43% of the students who incorrectly answered the post-calculus question were able to correctly answer the applied context question. During the semester when the students took the engineering courses, they also answered two questions from the Student Assessment of their Learning Gains instrument to assess their mathematical confidence and the degree to which they make connections between mathematics courses and other courses. Students who were more confident in their mathematical ability were more successful in transferring their understanding from the mathematics to the engineering context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender difference on spatial visualization has been considered an important factor that impacts the gender gap in academic performance in STEM-related disciplines. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the gender difference on spatial visualization between STEM and non-STEM undergraduate majors. Twenty effect sizes representing STEM majors' spatial ability and 14 effect sizes representing non-STEM majors' spatial ability were included in the present meta-analysis. Results indicated that the overall effect size equalled 0.613 (95% CI = [0.444, 0.782]) in STEM and 0.481 (95% CI = [0.359, 0.604]) in non-STEM. These findings showed that the gender differences on spatial visualization were statistically significant in both STEM and non-STEM majors. The gender difference on spatial visualization in STEM was larger than the gender difference on spatial visualization in non-STEM. In addition, male students' spatial visualization ability was higher than female students' spatial visualization in both STEM and non-STEM majors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological advances require that basic science courses for engineering, including Linear Algebra, emphasize the development of mathematical strengths associated with modelling and interpretation of results, which are not limited only to calculus abilities. Based on this consideration, we have proposed a project-based learning, giving a dynamic classroom approach in which students modelled real-world problems and turn gain a deeper knowledge of the Linear Algebra subject. Considering that most students are digital natives, we use the e-portfolio as a tool of communication between students and teachers, besides being a good placemaking the work visible. In this article, we present an overview of the design and implementation of a project-based learning for a Linear Algebra course taught during the 2014-2015 at the 'ETSEIB'of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even before steel was a topic of formal study for structural engineers, the brilliant eighteenth century Swiss mathematician and physicist, Leonhard Euler (1707-1783), investigated the theory governing the elastic behaviour of columns, the results of which are incorporated into the American Institute of Steel Construction's (AISC's) Bible: the Steel Construction Manual. Each semester as the author teaches the introductory undergraduate 'Structural Steel Design' course, when arriving at the subject of compression members, he insists on first explaining in detail the mathematical contributions of Euler to the theory of elastic buckling, based on the subject of differential equations - the contents of which constitute this article - before commencing with issues pertaining to engineering design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]