Conceptions of Pre-Service Engineer Educators about the Role of Mathematics and their Approaches to Study

Abstract

In this quantitative study, we investigate the relationship between the conceptions of first-year Engineering Education students about the role of mathematics in their studies and career, as well as the links of their conceptions with their approaches to study. The data analysis revealed that the students view mathematics as being about techniques, models and real-life applications and they conceptualise mathematics as being relevant to their future career and studies, though with a lack of knowledge of the specificities of this role. Nevertheless, the surface approach was correlated with a feeling of certainty with respect to the specific role of mathematics in their future studies and career, whilst the deep approach was found to be linked with a broad importance of mathematics. The implications of these complex findings are discussed.

Effective mathematics teaching in tertiary technological education: The case of ASPETE

“…DOI: 10.18844/prosoc.v%vi%i.4888 . such a communication space of interdisciplinary collective reflections will facilitate the students' constructing meaningful mathematics, as, for example, they may be more explicitly linked and relevant to their current studies and their future career (cf. Kasimatis et al, 2018).These collective reflections will gradually provide the opportunity for novel meanings to be assigned to the teaching and learning experience, thus re-defining the space of teaching and learning mathematics.…”

“…This heterogeneity of the student population, the great variety and depth of curricula, as well as the different educational methods underline the need to investigate the teaching and learning phenomena in ASPETE. In previous studies, we focussed on the pre-service engineer educators' conceptions about mathematics, also linked to the approaches to study (Kasimatis, Moutsios-Rentzos, Rozou & Matzakos, 2018;Moutsios-Rentzos & Kasimati, 2014). In this study, we built upon these projects to further investigate mathematics teaching and learning in ASPETE, with a particular focus on effective mathematics teaching following a systemic approach.…”