Due to increased use of technology, the workplace practices of engineers have changed. So-called techno-mathematical literacies (TmL) are necessary for engineers of the 21st century. Because it is still unknown which TmL engineers actually use in their professional practices, the purpose of this study was to identify these TmL. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with engineers with a background in different educational tracks in higher professional education (e.g. civil, chemical, biotechnical and mechanical engineering). As a result of the data analysis, 7 commonly used TmL are identified: data literacy, technical software skills, technical communication skills, sense of error, sense of number, technical creativity and technical drawing skills. Engineers also noted a discrepancy between their education and workplace needs; they characterized mathematics in their education as an island with limited relevance. These findings lead to recommendations for the future of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in higher technical professional education that can help students learn STEM for the future.
Keywords Engineering education . Mathematics education . STEM education . Workplace competencies . Workplace skillsThe practices of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) change, and so should STEM education. But what is this STEM for the future, and what should the future of STEM education look like? This paper is concerned with one aspect of this question, namely which mathematical skills engineers use in practice. Through identifying these skills, the future of mathematics curricula for engineering education can be reshaped in line with the future of STEM.
The workplace practices of engineers have changed due to the ubiquity of digital technology. So-called techno-mathematical literacies (TmL), seen as a domain specification of 21st-century skills, are essential for future engineers. How these TmL can be fostered in their education, however, is still unclear. To address this issue, we conducted a design study in which we developed a course in applied mathematics for higher technical professional education with TmL as central learning goals. This paper describes the design and implementation of the course in a first design cycle with 59 chemistry students. We focus on the teaching strategies that the lecturer used to stimulate the development of students' TmL. In classroom discussions, in the so-called feedback hours on which students' collaborative work on TmL was centered, context-based cases were discussed. Results include didactical, process, and inquiry-based learning strategies used by the lecturer.
What is the learning effect of a course in applied mathematics on students' development of Techno-mathematical Literacies?RQ5: What are possible explanations for the unexpected results? Chapter 6 provides a summary of the conclusions and main findings of the study. In this final chapter, the study's contribution to design research theory is discussed, as well as limitations and directions for future research.
Techno-mathematical Literacies (TmL), which are defined as a combination of mathematical, workplace and ICT knowledge, and communicative skills, are acknowledged as important learning goals in STEM education. Still, much remains unknown about ways to address them in teaching and to assess their development. To investigate this, we designed and implemented an innovative course in applied mathematics with a focus on Techno-mathematical Literacies for 1st-year engineering students, and we set out to measure the learning effect of the course. Because measuring TmL is an uncharted terrain, we designed tests that could serve as pre- or posttests. To prevent a test learning effect, we aimed to design two different but equally difficult tests A and B. These were assigned randomly to 68 chemistry students, as a pretest, with the other one serving as posttest after the course. A significant development in TmL was found in the B-pre group, but not in the A-pre group. Therefore, as a follow-up analysis we investigated whether the two tests were equally difficult and searched for possible explanations. We found that test B was indeed perceived as more difficult than test A, but also that students who were assigned B (pre) were previously higher achieving than A (pre), and a sound mastery level of basic skills that ground the higher-order TmL seemed necessary. Furthermore, as TmL are very heterogenous by nature, some of them are easier learned and measured than others. Based on the results, we propose ways of testing TmL, which should be validated in future research.
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