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- Borrego, Maura, et al.
(författare)
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The Emergence of Engineering Education Research as a Globally Connected Field of Inquiry.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Enginering Education. - : Wiley. - 2168-9830 .- 1069-4730. ; 100:1, s. 14-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUNDIn recent years, engineering education research (EER) has emerged as an internationally connectedfield of inquiry through the establishment of EER conferences, interest groups within engineeringeducation societies, PhD programs, and departments and centers at universities.Improving the preparation and training of engineers through EER is critical to solving majorengineering challenges in sustainability, climate change, civil infrastructure, energy, and publichealth.PURPOSEThe purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to introduce EER as a field of inquiry, and (2) to describethe U.S. and Northern and Central European approaches to EER as two examples of the diversity ofapproaches.SCOPE/METHODThe article is organized around a framework from the European didaktik tradition, which focuses onanswering the w-questions of education. The major sections describe what, why, to what end, where, who,and how EER is conducted.CONCLUSIONNorthern and Central European educational approaches focus on authentic, complex problems,while U.S. approaches emphasize empirical evidence. Additionally, disciplinary boundaries andlegitimacy are more salient issues in the U.S., while the Northern and Central European Bildungphilosophy integrates across disciplines toward development of the whole person. Understandingand valuing complementary perspectives is critical to growth and internationalization of EER.
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| 2. |
- Doerr, Helen M., et al.
(författare)
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Design and Effectiveness of Modeling-Based Mathematics in a Summer Bridge Program
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Engineering Education. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1069-4730 .- 1524-4873. ; 103:1, s. 92-114
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundSince students' success in their first-semester college mathematics course is a key factor in their success in engineering, many summer bridge programs for underrepresented students focus on their preparation in mathematics. However, research on the design and efficacy of such programs is limited. We examine the design and effectiveness of a modeling-based approach to mathematics for entering freshmen engineering students.PurposeThe study addresses two questions: Does a modeling-based mathematics course in a bridge program positively affect students' performance in their first-semester college mathematics course? To what extent does a sequence of modeling tasks support the development of students' concepts of average rates of change?Design/MethodThis quasi-experimental study compared two cohorts of bridge program students over six years to examine the effectiveness of a modeling-based mathematics course on first-semester mathematics course grades. Pre- and post–tests measured changes in students' concepts of average rates of change.ResultsThe modeling-based mathematics course closed the previous letter grade gap between bridge program participants and non-participants in the first mathematics course. We also found significant course grade gains for students who took the modeling-based mathematics course compared with a previous cohort who took a traditional summer mathematics course.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the modeling-based mathematics course, with its focus on the development of engineering students' abilities to model changing phenomena, was effective in improving students' concepts of average rate of change and their first-semester mathematics course grade.
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| 3. |
- Engelbrecht, Johann, et al.
(författare)
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Conceptual and Procedural Approaches to Mathematics in the Engineering Curriculum : Student Conceptions and Performance
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Engineering Education. - : American Society for Engineering Education. - 1069-4730 .- 1524-4873. ; 101:1, s. 138-162
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUNDDemands by engineering faculties of mathematics departments have traditionally been for teaching computational skills while also expecting analytic and creative knowledge-based skills. We report on a project between two institutions, one in South Africa and one in Sweden, that investigated whether the emphasis in undergraduate mathematics courses for engineering students would benefit from being more conceptually oriented than the traditional more procedurally oriented way of teaching.PURPOSE (HYPOTHESIS)We focus on how second-year engineering students respond to the conceptual-procedural distinction, comparing performance and confidence between Swedish and South African groups of students in answering conceptual and procedural mathematics problems. We also compare these students’ conceptions on the role of conceptual and procedural mathematics problems within and outside their mathematics studies.DESIGN/METHODAn instrument consisting of procedural and conceptual items as well as items on student opinions on the roles of the different types of knowledge in their studies was conducted with groups of second-year engineering students at two universities, one in each country.RESULTSAlthough differences between the two countries are small, Swedish students see procedural items to be more common in their mathematics studies while the South African students find both conceptual and procedural items common; the latter group see the conceptually oriented items as more common in their studies outside the mathematics courses.CONCLUSIONSStudents view mathematics as procedural. Conceptual mathematics is seen as relevant outside mathematics. The use of mathematics in other subjects within engineering education can be experienced differently by students from different institutions, indicating that the same type of education can handle the application of mathematics in different ways in different institutions.
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