Professor Rodriguez-Gallegos, Ruth (Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico)

Ruth Rodríguez Gallegos is a Research Professor in the National Graduate School of Humanities and Education at the Tecnológico de Monterrey since August 2014. Ruth Rodríguez Gallegos had worked as an Associated Professor in the Mathematics Department in the same institute, Monterrey Campus since 2007. She is a Math Education Researcher and Member of the National Researcher System and of the Mexican Committee of Educational Researchers. She was the President of the Executive Committee and Member of the Network of Centers for Research in Mathematics Education (2014-2017). Since 2009, she has coordinated the faculty academy of differential equations in the Mathematics Department (Tec de Monterrey). She is a thesis advisor and professor in the graduate programs of Education and Educational Technology and in the PhD program in Education at Tecnológico de Monterrey. Her interests are the teaching and learning of mathematics for future engineers through modeling and technological applications and the construction of a bridge between the discipline of mathematics education and the community of engineering education. She also participates in 2016 as a Mentor at the international Program 1,000 Girls, 1,000 Futures and she collaborates with the Equality Committee at Tecnologico of Monterrey to enhance the women participation in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields.

Plenary Speech

Modelling and Simulation of Complex Problems:

a Dialogue between Math Education and the Community of Engineers

The main goal of this lecture is to show the importance of building communication bridges between two apparently disjoint academic communities: the mathematicians’ and the engineers’. The starting point is an overview of an approach to teach mathematics through modeling and simulation of real phenomena at a private university in the northeastern of Mexico, which mainly focuses on the training of future engineers.

The intention in this conference is to first show some background about the teaching and learning of mathematics through an overview of modeling. Later on, some reflections and limitations of studies conducted from a particular theoretical perspective are presented to undertake more comprehensive studies on engineering education for the 21st century. Several generic skills are required for math colleagues to expand their vision of the first approach on modeling and simulation of complex phenomena and social nature. In particular, the above is exemplified by the introduction of holistic and / or systemic thinking in the training of engineers in a specific course of Differential Equations (sophomore year). Through the introduction of a new language and vision of the phenomena, qualitative studies can give feedback that allow the introduction of a new vision, a new approach and a new language for modeling.

In the context of a change of academic programs in an educational institution, we rethink the need to modify the mathematics courses for future engineers to promote an integrated curriculum with STEM disciplines. The need for building communication bridges between the mathematics and engineering education communities seem to be fundamental in order to rethink the goals of mathematics education to be prepared to face the challenges posed by today's changing situations. The results and experience of mathematics professors that teach engineering students allow to see some advantages of incorporating new ways of visualizing and understanding phenomena. Furthermore, these allow students to have a new vision of mathematics and deeper understanding of several math concepts.