Building bridges between mathematics and engineering: Identifying modeling practices through Differential Equations and Simulation

Abstract

This article aims to share the study done over 2 years in a private university in the northeast of Mexico. Its objective is to study the modeling practices used in a specific course, Dynamic Systems, with students of Industrial Engineering taking a minor in Systems Engineering. This study should lead to the incorporation of activities based on their practices in the Differential Equation (DE) courses for engineers. It is emphasized the importance of the introduction of Systemic Thinking and System Dynamics by means of using a specific software. The contributions and advantages are studied with a qualitative paradigm. It is assumed that by introducing holistic thinking, the global engineer is educated to better meet the needs of the 21st century. The results provide evidence of the advantages of this course design since students perceive them as usefulfor their understanding of the main concept of DE. They also like having another representation of the DE to better understand the relations of equations and the use of this tool in complex problems which resemble those they will find in their work setting.