Conference Session

Integrating Math, Science and Engineering

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hong Liu, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

courses teach students to work on well-defined andoversimplified problems. Average college students believe that the solution to all problemssimply implies finding the right formulas and plugging data into those formulas. Consequently,the learning of mathematics comes down to remembering formulas. Given application problemswhere the solutions are not based on formula association, most students do not know how to starttheir work. With the increasing complexity of postmodern technology, bridging the gap betweenreal-world problems and problems in textbooks becomes an increasingly critical pedagogicalissue. Berkey and Vernescu 1 presented an extensive survey about the curriculum reform effortof project-oriented education in 30 years. Many articles

Conference Session

Integrating Math, Science and Engineering

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregg Janowski, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Melinda Lalor, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Hassan Moore, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

. Engineering faculty enthusiastically acceptedthe trade off of teaching some advanced mathematical methods within their courses in exchangefor receiving students with a sound, broad-based foundation and an ability to use mathematics tosolve engineering problems. Areas that were deemed critical by most engineering programs wereFirst-Order ODEs; Second-Order Linear ODEs; Vector Differential Calculus: Grad, Div, Curl;Vector Integral Calculus, and an introduction to Partial Differential Equations. The initialoffering of this course will be Fall 2008.IntroductionThe engineering profession increasingly expects graduates to be immediately productive withwell-developed problem-solving, teamwork and communication skills, and to demonstrate anability to adapt

Conference Session

Bridging and Freshman Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wendy James, Oklahoma State University; Karen High, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

AC 2008-1277: FRESHMAN-LEVEL MATHEMATICS IN ENGINEERING: AREVIEW OF THE LITERATURE IN ENGINEERING EDUCATIONWendy James, Oklahoma State University Wendy James is a PhD student in the College of Education at Oklahoma State University. Currently she has a fellowship promoting collaboration between the College of Education and OSU's Electrical and Computer Engineering department on an NSF funded curriculum reform project called Engineering Students for the 21st Century. She has her M.S. in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership from OSU, and her B.B.S. in Mathematics Education from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. She has taught math and math education classes at both the high school and

Conference Session

Bridging and Freshman Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Papadopoulos; John Reisel, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

for success. In fact, perhaps studentsin such bridge programs will outperform even those who had intrinsically higher aptitude scores,but who were not exposed to exploratory activities. As a practical matter, identifying bridgeprograms as remedial is also ill-advised because it can attach a stigma that will discourageparticipation. Therefore, casting bridge programs in an exploratory, rather than remedial, contextwill foster both student and program success.Bibliography 1. Ardebili, Mahmoud. “Improving Retention: Engaging Pre-Engineering Students via Integrated Enrichment Activities”, Proceedings of the 2007 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition. [Borough of Manhattan Community College

Conference Session

The Use of Computers in Teaching Mathematics

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jayathi Raghavan, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach; Leslie Sena, Bethune Cookman College; Hong Liu, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach; David Bethelmy, Bethune Cookman College

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

purpose of the modules is to introducemathematical concepts through modeling real-world applications and is intended to develop thestudents’ ability to generalize a concept and to work with models of varying abstraction. Theauthors represent an interdisciplinary team contributing expertise from the fields of mathematics,computational science, and teacher education.IntroductionPostmodern technology is characterized by great complexity and demands tremendous modelingand abstraction capabilities. For students to be successful in most engineering program, theyshould be able to apply the mathematics to model this complexity1,2. Problem-solvingexperiences have been advocated for decades in numerous textbooks, reference articles, andteaching

Conference Session

The Use of Computers in Teaching Mathematics

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Janet Callahan, Boise State University; Seung Youn Chyung, Boise State University; Joanna Guild, Boise State University; William Clement, Boise State University; Joe Guarino, Boise State University; Doug Bullock, Boise State University; Cheryl Schrader, Boise State University

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

forthe students to review and to reinforce topics from throughout the semester, as well as to ensurethat the students retain the topics they have learned.ALEKS provides a personalized, time-efficient environment in which each student is able towork through the Precalculus curriculum at his or her own pace. If a student begins the coursealready having mastered certain topics, and demonstrates this mastery on an assessment, ALEKSdoes not require the student to work through problems from that type. Rather, the student is freeto move on and spend time working on topics that they have not yet mastered. Many studentsinformally commented throughout the semester that they appreciated this feature of ALEKS.Working problems using ALEKS also has

Conference Session

Engineering and Math Potpouri

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Schmeelk, Virginia Commonwealth University; Jean Hodges, VCU\Qatar Campus

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

began to operate more fully under the direction of VCUR.Within the curriculum for design students in both VCUR and VCUQ, one general educationrequirement for all students is a contemporary mathematics course (MATH 131). Tailoring thiscourse to fit the unique needs and interests of VCUQ majors became a unique and excitingchallenge that gave rise to the authors’ 2006 study entitled, “Making Connections AmongCulture, Personality, and Content in Analytical Courses,” which was presented at the March2006 Conference of Middle Eastern Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Computing in AbuDhabi.In their previous studies, the authors relied upon the work of Ricki Linksman, an expert inaccelerated learning who founded the National Reading Diagnostic