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Ryan Cartwright, Autar Kaw, Ali Yalcin University of South Florida http://nm.MathFor College.com. Does it Matter Who Teaches a Core Mathematics Course to Engineering Undergraduates ?. 2013 ASEE Conference & Exposition Atlanta, GA June 25, 2013. Background.
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Ryan Cartwright, Autar Kaw, Ali Yalcin University of South Florida http://nm.MathFor College.com Does it Matter Who Teaches a Core Mathematics Course to Engineering Undergraduates? 2013 ASEE Conference & Exposition Atlanta, GA June 25, 2013
Background • The nation wants to graduate 100,000 engineers annually. • We want to retain students who declare engineering as a major and part of the “suggested” solution to the retention problem is to teach Math courses in Engineering.
Similar pre-requisite course taught by Eng and Math Dept Students in Mechanical Engineering can take either • MAP2302: Ordinary Differential Equations (MATH ODE) OR • EGN3433: Modeling of Dynamic Systems (ENG ODE)
What Data Was Collected? To measure effect of an online resources on student performance in Numerical Methods for Engineers, we were collecting data such as • pre-requisite course grades, age, gender, transfer status and relating it to • performance in pre-concept test, post-concept test and final examination.
Research Questions • Is prior academic performance different for students taking the ODE course in engineering over the ODE course in Math? • Is there a difference in the knowledge they gain from ENG ODE and MATH ODE course? • Is the performance in the ODE questions in Numerical Methods final exam different for students taking the ENG ODE and MATH ODE courses?
Pre-Requisite GPA Average grade of Calculus I, Calculus II, Calculus III (n=82 for ENG; n=369 for MATH)
Math ODE and Eng ODE Grades (n=82 for ENG; n=369 for MATH)
Pre and Post Concept Test Grades in ODE questions (n=42 for ENG; n=232 for MATH)
Final Exam ODE Questions (n=82 for ENG; n=369 for MATH)
Conclusions • Is prior academic performance different for students taking the ODE course in engineering over the ODE course in Math? • No Statistical Difference • Is there a difference in the knowledge they gain from ENG ODE and MATH ODE course? • No Statistical Difference • Is the performance in the ODE questions in Numerical Methods final exam different for students taking the ENG ODE and MATH ODE courses? • No Statistical Difference
Conclusions Is prior academic performance different for students taking the ODE course in engineering over the ODE course in Math? No Statistical Difference Is there a difference in the knowledge they gain from ENG ODE and MATH ODE course? No Statistical Difference Is the performance in the ODE questions asked Numerical Methods course different for students taking the ENG ODE and MATH ODE courses? No Statistical Difference Uninteresting results or are they?
Does it matter who teaches a core mathematics course to engineering undergraduates? Questions? http://nm.MathForCollege.com
Who takes which ODE course? (n=82 for ENG; n=369 for MATH)