A method is presented which can be used to obtain analytical solutions for boundary value problems (BVPs) using the matrix exponential and Maple. Systems of second order, linear differential equations are expressed as two or more first order equations in matrix form, and their solutions are obtained using the matrix exponential, matrix…

Background: To create design solutions experienced engineering designers engage in expert iterative practice. Researchers find that students struggle to learn this critical engineering design practice, particularly when tackling real-world engineering design problems. Purpose/Hypothesis: To improve our ability to teach iteration, this study…

Mathematics plays a crucial role in engineering education. Students who are good at math are often advised to consider engineering as a career. In this study, engineers, mathematics teachers, and engineering professors were asked about the type of mathematics representative of engineering, whether the engineering problems created by math…

As more chemical engineering students enter careers beyond the field, students need more guidance in applying their problem solving skills to a challenges beyond the plant or refinery. Since Fall 2019, we have implemented case-based learning across our Material and Energy Balances course to help students practice chemical engineering thinking as a…

Strategies are proposed that promote use of an Integrated Applied Mathematics (IAM) approach to enhance teaching of advanced problem-solving and analysis skills. Three scenarios of 1-dimensional transport processes are presented that support using Error Function analyses when considering short time/small penetration depths in finite geometries.…

Background: The complexity and diversity of problems and concepts in different engineering subjects represent a great challenge for students. Traditional approaches to teaching statics are ineffective in helping some students overcome the learning barriers that underlie learning statics and developing problem-solving skills. Purpose: This article…

In this article, we draw on sociocultural perspectives on literacy to explore the ways in which pre-engineering students took up and made sense of engineering notebooks implemented as part of a robotics project in a first-semester university study course at a large, public Hispanic-Serving Institution. Through ethnographic methods, we uncovered…

Engineering design-based learning entered the discourse of science education with the release of the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013). Since that time there has been a focused effort to embed engineering design and engineering-based thinking in elementary school experiences. As thinking like an engineer is…

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…

Human bodies vary widely: height, weight, blood volume, handedness, strength, and variations from disabilities, trauma, genetics, etc. Engineers must be trained to include human variance when designing human-interactive systems. Typically, this is not incorporated into mathematical and modeling focused courses. In the spring of 2019, one of three…

Purpose: Problem solving skills (PSS), an important component of learning outcomes, is one of the desirable skills in engineering graduates as stated by many employers, researchers and government bodies in India for a strong foothold in professional world. There is a need to develop comprehensive understanding and integration of theory (concept)…

Membrane separation processes, from reverse osmosis to ultrafiltration to microfiltration, are gradually receiving more and more emphasis in undergraduate chemical engineering curricula. Of these processes, ultrafiltration tends to be the most amenable to the standard chemical engineering approach of theory development, mass and/or energy…

The Smile project is an engineering service-learning initiative carried out through collaboration between Chouaib Doukkali University in Morocco and Pusan National University in South Korea. Since 2016, this project has been conducted annually for engineering students from both universities. Participants are selected through an oral interview,…

Attainment of competency is crucial for civil engineering students to solve socio-economic and environmental challenges and contribute to the development of a sustainable society by using engineering principles. Consequently, competency has become the measure of engineering graduates for which deep learning is essential. Constructive alignment has…

A concern in engineering education is students adopting a 'recognise and reproduce' approach to problem solving. In this study, an assignment was conceived and analysed through Legitimation Code Theory -- which allows for visualisation of students' thinking, and to illuminate how students construct knowledge in open-ended problem solving. The…