Engineering a mathematics course at the United States military academy

Abstract

Civil & mechanical engineering majors at West Point must complete a five semester mathematics sequence as part of their Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology accredited academic program. Given the increased interest in multidisciplinary team teaching and the use of technology within their respective academic programs, the Heads of the Departments of Civil & Mechanical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences decided to re-examine the content, structure and teaching of the last course in that five course sequence - MA364 "engineering mathematics"- in an attempt to better motivate engineering majors to study key mathematical concepts in detail and to further strengthen inter-departmental ties. This paper describes the two-pronged approach adopted to "engineer" the mathematics course in question. Particular attention is given to the integration of technology across the course and the planned use of a team teaching approach involving engineering and mathematics faculty.