Abstract
There has always been a great concern about the teaching of mathematics in engineering degrees. This concern has increased because students have less interest in these studies, which is mainly due to the low motivation of the students towards mathematics, and which is derived in most cases from the lack of awareness of undergraduate students about the importance of mathematics for their career. The main objective of the present work is to achieve a greater motivation for engineering students via an intervention from the teaching staff to undergraduate students. This intervention consists of teaching and learning mathematical concepts through real applications in engineering disciplines. To this end, starting in the 2017/2018 academic year, sessions addressed to the teaching staff from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Spain were held. Then, based on the material extracted from these sessions, from 2019/2020 academic year the sessions “Applications of Mathematics in Engineering I: Linear Algebra” for undergraduate students were offered. With the aim of assessing these sessions, anonymous surveys have been conducted. The results of this intervention show an increase in students’ engagement in linear algebra. These results encourage us to extend this experience to other mathematical subjects and basic sciences taught in engineering degrees.
Highlights
To improve the economy of countries, a key factor is to encourage technology
The study presented here has been conducted at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech (UPC), a university specialized in STEM disciplines
The work is based on an intervention starting from the teaching staff of basic science departments and engineering departments and finishing with an intervention for undergraduate students
Summary
To improve the economy of countries, a key factor is to encourage technology. Technological production begins by encouraging and supporting students to develop professional careers in fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).STEM disciplines are considered essential for the economic development of technological societies. To improve the economy of countries, a key factor is to encourage technology. Technological production begins by encouraging and supporting students to develop professional careers in fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). STEM disciplines are considered essential for the economic development of technological societies. The critical role of integrating STEM disciplines into the promotion of students who need to equip themselves with 21st century skills has attracted much attention. Several countries have promoted STEM education as the benefits of this education for quality learning have been recognized. It has been shown that STEM education could improve the integration of students’ skills and the fact that they are better prepared for their professional activity. The 21st century, as the age of information-based technology, brings new job prospects as well as upcoming jobs that demand new skills from workers. Technology is currently used in many jobs in areas such as science, business, engineering, etc
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