Problem solving – Teaching & Learning Research Initiative

Investigating the Impact of Non-Routine Problem Solving on Creativity, Engagement and Intuition of STEM Tertiary Students

1. Introduction In 2012 the New Zealand Government identified as a priority the need to address the undersupply of students studying STEM subjects for delivering its Business Growth Agenda.[1] Low engagement and retention rates in STEM subjects contribute to the shortage of STEM graduates, producing a negative impact on the New Zealand economy. A significant number of STEM tertiary students drop out during the first year, not because the courses are too difficult but, anecdotally, because they are too dry and boring. There are specific terms to describe this, such as academic disengagement and disinterest (Blondal & Adalbjarnardottir, 2012). In addition to specific subject-based knowledge, many high-tech companies require good generic

Making mathematical thinking visible

1. Mathematical parts and wholes Of all the subjects in the New Zealand school curriculum, mathematics is perhaps the most strongly associated in students’ minds with expectations of conformity, accuracy, and rule-following. Yet mathematicians describe mathematics as a source of intense aesthetic pleasure, creativity, and play (Lockhart, 2009; Sinclair, 2004). Chevallard (as cited in Eisenberg & Dreyfus, 1991) attributes this difference to “didactical transposition”, a process whereby academic mathematical knowledge is broken down and sequentially ordered into atomistic units that are easy to teach and assess. As a result of this transposition, students often experience instructional mathematics as components or building blocks: small, explicitly presented pieces of knowledge and skills to

Reengineering an engineering course: How flipped classrooms afford transformative teaching, learning, and workplace competency

Introduction Successful engineering graduates need to understand engineering principles and practices and be able to work in teams, to communicate well, and to work in contexts that can be risky and uncertain (Adamson & DarlingHammond, 2012; Meier, Williams, & Humphreys, 2000). Current trends in engineering education call for the development of students’ technical and non-technical skills (Male, 2010). Thus, it is crucial that tertiary educators develop curricula that enable students to develop these capacities and to enhance their employability and contribution to a country’s economic competitiveness and societal wellbeing (Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, 2014). This project extends our previous research on the effectiveness of