WSEAS Transactions on Advances in Engineering Education
Print ISSN: 1790-1979, E-ISSN: 2224-3410
Volume 12, 2015
Motivation for Maintaining a Constant Workload During a Mathematics Course for Engineers
Authors: , ,
Abstract: Motivation to study is a crucial factor in passing courses. The problem of the lack of motivation is often present especially in mathematics courses for engineers because the relation between mathematics and engineering studies is not clear enough for students. In this paper, we analyze and present the reasons for students’ initial motivation and the factors promoting motivation in a mathematics course for engineers. The analysis is based on qualitative data collected between 2010 and 2013 and on quantitative data collected from student interviews. In addition, we introduce pedagogical tools and analyze their effect on students’ motivation to maintain a constant workload. According to the results, the tools proposed encourage students to work hard during the course, and the work done positively affects their learning results and the pass rate for the course. An important observation was also the fact that external factors like rewards from different tasks can support enough student’s motivation to study the whole course.
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Pages: 74-85
WSEAS Transactions on Advances in Engineering Education, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-1979 / 2224-3410, Volume 12, 2015, Art. #8