Teaching Applied Mathematics in ET to Increase Student Engagement & Success in Engineering

The modern student-disengagement crisis is thought to be partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic of the last three years.However, many student disconnection reports date back several decades and recognize a lack-of-belonging as the key issue.University remedies range from social events and student organization activities to academic-related growth opportunities and curriculum improvements down to an individual course level.Mathematics skill building, particularly in engineering and engineering technology majors, is of paramount importance but often left to the standard mathematics course sequence.This article presents a course-level approach that engages students through solving engineering problems using mathematics in a more practical way.The approach is to (i) reveal common mathematical challenges arising in science and engineering problems from various fields; (ii) present the problem solution leading to a common mathematics formulation (e.g., a set of linear equations or a differential equation); (iii) review the relevant background that solves the specific mathematics question relating the solution back to the original problem and to upper-division courses; and (iv) use the MathWorks MATLAB & Simulink environment to simulate, verify and visualize the solution.The new course offered in 2023 will focus primarily on engineering technology sophomore and junior students and use applied mathematics as a universal interdisciplinary language that encourages a sense of belonging, increases students' confidence in their major, and prepares them for success in engineering careers. Proceedings of the 2023 Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration