Abstract:

Teaching students for a degree in engineering is becoming a more complex mission every year. New fields of interest are generated constantly, and new pedagogies are formed all the time. Educators are faced with two main problems: how to fit all the new engineering expertise into 4 years of BSc studies without neglecting the core Physics and Math courses or the classic Engineering courses, and how to use wisely the new teaching methodologies to gain maximum results with minimum effort or cost. In this paper we address the importance of core courses and suggest a new approach to incorporate Mathematics into the basic Engineering courses. The basic concept is that most Math courses should not be taught before Engineering courses or in parallel to Engineering courses but rather as a part of the Engineering syllabus. The author suggests hybrid courses combing on-campus and off-campus learning to use Math as an applicative tool for solving engineering problems and designing engineering systems. In such a course the lecture will first give engineering motivation on-campus for using the Mathematical tools, then the students will study the theoretical Math off-campus (by reading assignments and viewing pre-recorded explanations), later the students will return to class and the lecture will slowly advance from understanding the theory the students have learned to understanding the engineering practice (via lectures, presentations and lab demonstrations) and finally the students will continue to off-campus assignments (analytical and project oriented) to assure their understanding prior to advancing to the next topic.

Keywords:

Engineering Education, Hybrid Learning.