Building Bridges Between the Math Education and the Engineering Education Communities: A Dialogue Through Modelling and Simulation

Abstract

This chapter shows the importance of building communication bridges between two apparently disconnected academic communities: the mathematicians' and the engineers'. The starting point is an overview of an approach to teach mathematics through modeling and simulation of real problems at a private university in the northeast of Mexico that mainly focuses on the training of future engineers. The need to build communication bridges between the mathematics and the engineering education communities seems to be fundamental in order to rethink mathematics education's goals of being prepared to face the challenges posed by today's increasingly changing environment. The results and experience of mathematics professors teaching engineering students show some of the advantages of incorporating new ways of visualizing and understanding phenomena. Furthermore, these new ways allow students to have a new vision of mathematics and a deeper understanding of several math concepts.