A Decision-Making Framework for Engineering Mathematics Education

Engineering is a fascinating blend of mathematics, science, and creativity, which helps to solve some of the world’s leading problems. This paper asserts that mathematics is central to engineering because it is the primary means by which engineers are able to model systems, as well as understand the consequences of their intended actions, designs, and operations. Thus, it follows that educators inherit an ethical responsibility to elucidate the importance of mathematics as a central theme to interventions in the world in general and to engineering in particular. This paper provides a strong theoretical overview of the existing and potential innovations that can be made to traditional undergraduate engineering mathematics instructions and further discusses the perceived gaps in the literature. A framework is proposed for teaching engineering mathematics: mathematics is the primary means by which ethical, responsible decisions can, and should, be made and it is thus crucially important that it be appreciated and taught as such within engineering programs. Keywords: Mathematics, Engineering, Decision-Making