Resumen de Closing the gap between formalism and application: PBL and mathematical skills in engineering

Ole Ravn Christensen

• A common problem in learning mathematics concerns the gap between, on the one hand, doing the formalisms and calculations of abstract mathematics and, on the other hand, applying these in a specific contextualized setting for example the engineering world. The skills acquired through problem-based learning (PBL), in the special model used at Aalborg University, Denmark, may give us some idea of how to bridge this gap. Through an investigation of a series of examples of student projects concerning the application of mathematical subjects—such as matrices, differential equations, cluster analysis, graph theory etc.—the skills attained by participating students will be mapped out and discussed.