Acta Didactica Napocensia
Volume 10 Number 1, pages 1-18
Published: 30 May 2017
FORMAL ABSTRACTION
IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION
—
CHALLENGES AND TECHNOLOGY
SUPPORT
Walther
A. Neuper
Abstract.
This is a position paper
in the the field of Engineering Education, which is at the very beginning in
Europe. It relates challenges in the new field to the emerging technology of
(Computer) Theorem Proving (TP). Experience shows, that teaching abstract
models, for instance the wave equation in mechanical engineering and in
electrical engineering, is difficult. This paper suggests novel technology to
support learning in a novel way such that abstract models are better
understood eventually. Such support acknowledges learning and mastering abstraction
as a long-term process, which requires revisiting physical and mathematical
concepts again and again, which in turn continuously raises the level of
abstraction at an individual pace and fosters students' familiarity with formal
descriptions capturing essential properties of models and respective elements.
The paper discusses the potential of TP to support students' process of
abstraction and expected impact on teaching mathematics at engineering
faculties.
Key
words: Engineering
Education, Formal Models, Mathematical Abstraction, Interactive Worksheets,
Computer Theorem Proving