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Assessment and development of core skills in engineering mathematics

Carr, Michael and Ní Fhloinn, Eabhnat orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-3840-2115 (2009) Assessment and development of core skills in engineering mathematics. In: CETL-MSOR Conference 2009, 7-8 Sept 2009, Milton Keynes, UK.

Abstract
Many engineering students enter Dublin Institute of Technology with core mathematical problems. Each year a diagnostic test is given to incoming first year students at both Ordinary and Honours degree levels. This test reveals deficiencies in numerous core areas of mathematics. Many students ignore the help that is available to them and limp through several years of engineering carrying a serious handicap of poor core mathematical skills. Anecdotally, engineering students at all levels can almost complete relatively complex mathematical problems, but end up with the wrong answer by making some very basic errors. The aim of this project is to set up a “module” in core mathematics. The course material is basic but a very high pass mark of 90% is set. Students may repeat this module as often as they like until they achieve a pass mark. An automated examination for this module has been developed on WebCT and a bank of questions has been created. Initially, this project was piloted as part of the third year Ordinary Degree mathematics module in Mechanical Engineering. Results and analysis of the students’ attempts at the examination are presented. Over 90% of students achieved a pass in this module, with some students taking up to six attempts. Their results are compared with their original results from the diagnostic test completed in their first year in 2006. We also present a summary of the resources being made available to the students to help them develop their core skills.
Metadata
Item Type:Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Event Type:Conference
Refereed:Yes
Subjects:Social Sciences > Education
Social Sciences > Teaching
Mathematics
Engineering > Engineering education
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Mathematical Sciences
Published in: Proceedings from annual conference 2009: CETL-MSOR 2009. . Higher Education Academy.
Publisher:Higher Education Academy
Official URL:https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/proceedin...
Copyright Information:© 2009 Higher Education Academy
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. View License
ID Code:21666
Deposited On:24 Jan 2017 15:48 by Thomas Murtagh . Last Modified 30 Jul 2018 10:14
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