This study evaluates the implementation of a collaborative/game-based learning strategy on final year B.Sc. students focused on reinforcing the Taylor theorem (a mathematical concept previously learned, usually forgotten over time and widely used in chemical engineering) and analyses its effect on their academic performance. To this end, the…

The student experience with mathematical modelling has the potential to differ in nature to the experience of a typical mathematics student. The research reported in this paper forms part of a broader study looking into tertiary learning experiences for mathematical modelling. This paper reports on: What are the student experiences when learning…

The natural exponential and logarithm are typically introduced to undergraduate engineering students in a calculus course using the notion of limits. We here present an approach to introduce the natural exponential/logarithm through a novel interpretation of derivatives. This approach does not rely on limits, allowing an early and intuitive…

Differential equations are an important mathematical concept used to model processes in many disciplines. However, the literature shows that students experience many difficulties when studying this topic. We investigate the effect of using context while teaching differential equations on engineering students' ability to construct and interpret…

Teaching mathematics to future engineers while keeping up with real-world scientific evolutions is a challenge with diverse constraints and difficulties. In this article, I present and analyze the design and implementation of a Study and Research Path (SRP) in a statistics class in a French chemical engineering school. An SRP is a project-based…

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…

This paper is the result of a research done from the Socioepistemological Theory of Mathematics Education, perspective in which we enquire about the reasons to study trigonometric Fourier series in electrical engineering, and what historical and epistemological conditions can be considered to develop more profound meanings when this topic is…

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…

We present a model for roleplaying (RP) for university students that is aimed at fostering the interactions of each learner with the teacher and coursemates, self- and peer-assessment, as well as an awareness and meaningful learning of mathematics. Specific features of our model are its focus on metacognition and individualized learning, based on…

Use of three-force member concept for rigid bodies whenever possible, to circumvent the more taxing use of equilibrium equations has been long-established. However, most students fail to reap its benefits due to a number of reasons, including the fact that its importance is hardly emphasized to them; skills and details needed for the concept are…

Implementing inquiry-oriented instructional proposals at the university level collides with many constraints related to the current pedagogical paradigm based on the transmission of previously established works of knowledge. One such constraint comes from defining subjects' curricula by a set of topics to study, not questions to inquire. Our…

Improving the mathematical skills of undergraduate Engineering and Information Technology (EIT) students has been an enduring challenge for educators. Lecturers continually implement new strategies that try to overcome the challenges encountered in teaching university students with varying levels of success being encountered. This paper provides…

This paper reports on themes that arose in an investigation of university lecturers' views on the teaching of linear algebra. This focus on themes was the initial part of a study concentrating on four areas: What is important to teach in a first course in linear algebra? Are there teaching methods which are particularly suited for such a course?…

Practical problem solving is not common in many mathematical classes in Malaysian upper secondary schools. Usually, students receive the mathematical concepts through abstract materials (students cannot see some of them in their daily life). Thus some students believe that 'mathematics is not necessary for human life'. In this article, the…

This study explores contradictions that emerge when utilizing a flipped classroom approach to university mathematics education. The work uses Activity Theory and its principle of dialectical contradiction as a theoretical framework to identify and analyse contradictions that arise in flipped mathematics classrooms for engineering students. Data…