Resea ch Pape
Recommended ci a ion: E ans, C. A., Sau e, R., & Schneide -Ben ley, L. (2025).
"Making Ma h Mo e Meaning ul: Pee -Led Wo kshops Use Con ex o Connec
Fi s -Yea Enginee s o Con en and o Socie y". In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G.,
Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI 53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean
Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI), Tampe e, Finland. DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.17631251.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
MAKING ENGINEERING MATH MORE MEANINGFUL: PEER-LED
WORKSHOPS USE CONTEXT TO CONNECT FIRST-YEAR
STUDENTS TO CONTENT AND SOCIETY
C.A. E ans a,1, R.T. Sau é b, L.M. Schneide -Ben ley c,
a Co nell Uni e si y, College o Enginee ing, I haca, USA, 0009-0001-3528-2146
b Co nell Uni e si y, College o Enginee ing, I haca, USA,
c Co nell Uni e si y, College o Enginee ing, I haca, USA,
Con e ence Key A eas: Dialogue be ween enginee ing and socie y-e ec s on
educa ion, Di e si y, Equi y, and Inclusion in ou uni e si ies and in ou eaching
Keywo ds: Pee educa o s, con ex , ele ance, ma h, socie y
ABSTRACT
Resea ch shows ha aming ma h con en using eal-li e and social con ex can
imp o e unde s anding, engagemen , and e en ion, and expose enginee ing
s uden s o social and enginee ing ele ance o o he wise abs ac seeming
concep s. A la ge ins i u ions, pee -led lea ning in he o m o supplemen a y
wo kshops associa ed wi h i s (and second) yea cou ses may be aken by a la ge
p opo ion o s uden s. T ained pee educa o s ha e been shown o be e ec i e
acili a o s and men o s as hey build communi y and engage s uden s in small g oup
collabo a i e p oblem sol ing. This s udy examined he e icacy and he challenges
o inco po a ing con ex ualized p oblems in o pee -led enginee ing ma h wo kshops
ha pa allel la ge lec u e cou ses. Resul s sugges pee educa o s can e ec i ely
de elop and implemen con ex ualized ma h p oblems as pa o hei wo kshops.
The p oblems, o e all, inc eased con en unde s anding, in oduced new enginee ing
and social ele ance, and o many s uden s we e enjoyable and challenging. Da a
show ha he e a e some impo an gende and e hnici y di e ences in he
pe cep ion o he alue o he p oblems which will need o be add essed wi h
s uc u e and pedagogy as we analyze he p oblems and acili a o expe ience going
o wa d.
1 Co esponding Au ho
C.A. E ans
cae223@co nell.edu
1 INTRODUCTION
In oduc ion
The ole o con ex ualized p oblems in Enginee ing Educa ion
Tangible, eal-li e con ex o he p oblems enginee s ackle in hei wo k a e o en
excluded in enginee ing cou ses, pa icula ly ea ly in cu icula (Leydens and Lucena,
2017). The lack o ele an con ex in he p oblems enginee ing s uden s p ac ice
may esul in s uden s’ inco ec aming o enginee ing as a comple ely echnical
p o ession, a he han one ha se es people and always has implica ions o
socie y (Leydens e al. 2021). Os ensibly, one esul o his is ha s uden s who a e
inspi ed o become enginee s o do social good, make change, o because i is in
line wi h hei pe sonal alues, mee wi h ew oppo uni ies o lea n how he skills
hey gain in he ea ly cu icula cou ses (i.e. ma hema ics se ies) can be used in eal
wo ld con ex s owa d alued pu pose. Win (2022) analyzed he digi al s o ies o 82
enginee ing s uden s desc ibing why hey chose o s udy enginee ing. Fo y-one
pe cen o he s uden s a icula ed hei in e es in enginee ing was associa ed wi h a
desi e o se e socie y, 21% men ioned wo king owa d sus ainabili y, and 16%
discussed social jus ice as hei mo i a ion. In con as , o he s epo ed being
in e es ed in enginee ing because hey ha e s ong skills and com o wi h
ma hema ics. These s uden s may no be com o able o awa e o he way in which
hese skills a e applied in enginee ing wo k (Win 2022). In bo h cases, hese
easons mo i a e he alue o exposing ea ly enginee ing s uden s o ele ance and
social con ex in o seemingly abs ac ma h con en .
Exposing enginee ing s uden s o e hical discussions and dilemmas including social
issues (Leydens e al 2021) is aluable because o he pe sis en s uden belie ha
enginee ing is dominan ly a echnical p o ession. Cech (2013) ound ha enginee ing
s uden s (326 s uden s om 4 US Uni e si ies) belie in he impo ance o se e al
measu es ela ed o social/public wel a e componen s o enginee ing dec eased o e
he cou se o hei educa ion. Engaging s uden s whose ways o knowing a e
s ongly in luenced by sense-making (Danieliak e al, 2014), and building
oppo uni ies o s uden s o see hei own (ma ginalized) iden i ies e lec ed in
applied enginee ing p oblems (Ozkan and And ews, 2022), may posi i ely impac a
sense o belonging which can imp o e e en ion o a mo e he e ogeneous g oup o
hinke s and di e se s uden body (Wal on and Cohen, 2011). Women enginee ing
s uden s may also alue social consciousness mo e han he echnological
leade ship (Cech, 2014), he e o e, exposing women s uden s o mo e
con ex ualized ques ions may engage hei in e es and suppo his classically
unde - ep esen ed popula ion.
The po en ial o pee educa ion o imp o e s uden expe ience and
achie emen in enginee ing p og ams
A g owing body o esea ch suppo s he idea ha pee -led lea ning models can
signi ican ly bene i s uden lea ning (Bengasai e al, 2023; Lewis, 2011,) A la ge
uni e si ies using pee -led lea ning, high p opo ions o i s yea s uden s ake
ad an age o pee -led wo kshops (Sau e e al, 2024), hus he e is po en ial o
s a egies enac ed in hese lea ning spaces o impac a high p opo ion o i s yea
s uden s. In he College o Enginee ing a Co nell Uni e si y, USA, in Academic
Yea s 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 be ween 40 and 45 % o i s yea s uden s
en olled in a leas one pee -led Academic Excellence Wo kshop. O e 90% o
s uden s in pee -led wo kshops ‘ag eed o s ongly ag eed’(anonymously) ha hey
el espec ed, and g ea e han 70% o s uden s epo ed an inc ease in sense o
belonging o he college communi y (Sau e e al,2024). Women, Black, and Hispanic
s uden s en oll in wo kshops in a highe p opo ion ela i e o hei ep esen a ion in
he lec u e cou ses ha wo kshops pa allel. As a esul , he e ec s o wo kshops on
lea ning ou comes ha e he po en ial o disp opo iona ely impac hese popula ions,
making i e en mo e c i ical o unde s and s uden s a ied esponses o he s uc u e
and unc ion o hese lea ning communi ies (Sau e e al 2024).
When unde g adua e pee educa o s a e ained o use e idence-based acili a ion
p ac ices and o employ s a egies ha build communi y, hey c ea e a sense o
belonging and imp o e he con idence and unde s anding o challenging enginee ing
ma e ial (Sau e e al, 2024, Luckie e al 2019; Schneide and Te ell, 2010).
Engaging s uden s in he eaching and lea ning p ocess, ca e ul s uc u ing and
guiding o s uden s du ing collabo a i e wo k, and p o iding oppo uni ies o
s uden s o e lec (‘auxillia y ques ions’) on bo h he ma h and he social con ex can
lead o ‘meaning ul’ lea ning in ma h (Koskinen and Pi kaniemi, 2022).
This explo a ion o in oducing con ex ualized p oblems (CPs) in o pee acili a o -
designed wo kshops is he i s s ep in unde s anding he po en ial o use and
enhance pee educa o s’ skills o make oppo uni ies o embed mo e social con ex
in o enginee ing p og ams ou side o he o mal cu iculum. Ul ima ely, i we can
de e mine he a ious ways ha se ing enginee ing ma h p oblems in a b oade
con ex can impac s uden lea ning and mo i a ion (including o di e se
demog aphics), and i we ain pee educa o s o design and implemen e ec i e
CPs in hei lea ning en i onmen s, we will ha e ye ano he ool ha can suppo
s uden success. This would help o ill a no ed gap in enginee ing cu icula (Leydens
e al., 2021).
Resea ch Ques ions
Ou o e a ching esea ch goal was o de e mine i pee led wo kshops can play a
posi i e ole in exposing ea ly enginee ing s uden s o he eal-li e applica ion and
social con ex o some o he concep s hey a e lea ning in co e enginee ing ma h
cou ses. We asked: 1) Wha a e he pe cei ed alues and challenges o
inco po a ing con ex ualized p oblems in co e ma h cou ses o enginee ing
s uden s, and 2) Wha a e he pe cei ed alues and challenges o de eloping and
acili a ing con ex ualized p oblems o pee educa o s). Wi hin each o hese
ques ions, conside ing he long-s anding ba ie s o women and o he pe sis en ly
unde - ep esen ed s uden popula ions in enginee ing p og ams, we we e also
in e es ed in how he di ec ion and s eng h o hose ou comes a e in luenced by
gende and e hnici y and hei complex in e sec ionali y. No e ha we emb ace ha
s uden s ha e a b oad ange o gende iden i ies. In ou s udy (a his ime) only 4
pa icipan s iden i ied as o he choices and hus we a e no able o examine hese
da a in he con ex o ha b oade , mo e ealis ic ange o gende iden i ies.
Fo s uden s in he wo kshops we explo ed he alue and challenges o wo king on
con ex ualized p oblems in ela ions o hemes o mo i a ion and engagemen ,
unde s anding o cou se con en , p oblem sol ing and c i ical hinking, ele ance o
ca ee s and gaining new social pe spec i es and p epa a ion o cou se exams.
Fo pee educa o s, who de eloped he wo kshop s uc u e and p oblems, we will
examine he expe ience o de eloping and guiding con ex ualized p oblem sol ing
wi h espec o he same hemes, as we mo e he wo k o wa d.
2 METHODOLOGY
2.1 Rec ui ing and selec ing pee educa o s
We limi ed da a collec ion o wo kshops associa ed wi h co e ma hema ics cou ses
o enginee s (single a iable calculus n=2, mul i a iable calculus n=2, di e en ial
equa ions n=1, and s a ics n=1). Pee educa o s we e in i ed o pa icipa e pa ially
based on ou knowledge o hei skills and also based on hei esponses o answe s
o a discussion p omp a e hey had pa icipa ed in a 1-hou p esen a ion and
ques ion session en i led “Con ex ualizing Enginee ing/Ma h P oblems” by D . John
Leydens, enginee ing educa o and esea che . A subse o expe ienced acili a o s
who exp essed he belie ha hese p oblems had alue in hei own expe ience, o
hey el hey would be aluable o a a ie y o easons we e in i ed, wi h hei co-
acili a o , o pa icipa e. We asked hese 6 eams o commi o de eloping and
implemen ing a leas 3 p oblems as pa o a leas h ee o mo e wo kshops du ing
he es o he all semes e .
2.2 Designing and implemen ing p oblems
Pee educa o s we e gi en ee ange wi h espec o he opic hey chose o
con ex ualize, and social con ex hey chose o he p oblem. They we e encou aged
o choose 3-5 opics du ing he semes e which would be mos help ul o app op ia e
o de elop a con ex ualized p oblem. Examples we e p o ided. One o h ee
e lec ion ques ions abou he con ex we e also de eloped and pee educa o s we e
encou aged o acili a e he p oblems in he middle o he wo kshops a e e ie ing
concep s and p ac icing ela ed non-con ex ualized p oblems, using he ypical small
g oup collabo a ion. Ten minu es we e allo ed o acili a ion and discussion o he
p oblems and e lec ions.
2.3 Da a Collec ion
In he six pa icipa ing wo kshops o e he cou se o 10 weeks, we collec ed 132
pa icipan su ey esponses o 18 CPs. Va iabili y in wo kshop size and s uden
choice in comple ing su eys esul ed in a ange o su ey esponses/ques ion (1 –
17) wi h a median o se en su ey esponses pe ques ion. A e comple ing each
CP, s uden s immedia ely accessed an 8-ques ion online su ey (ques ions included
in Table 1) ha also asked hem o iden i y gende and e hnici y. Fou esponses did
no speci y gende , hus hey we e no included in analyses ha included gende
e ec s o in e ac ions. Pee educa o pai s comple ed a su ey oge he a e each
con ex ualized p oblem o e lec on hei expe ience (da a no analyzed in his
pape ).
Pee educa o s uploaded he con ex ualized ques ions (as p esen ed o he
s uden s) and he solu ions in o an online olde o cha ac e iza ion. A he end o
he semes e , we in i ed pa icipa ing pee educa o s o a ocus g oup o in i e hem
o indi idually and collec i ely e lec on he expe ience. We collec ed w i en
e lec ions and eco ded and ansc ibed audio om a zoom mee ing used only o
he audio eco ding pu pose (analysis no epo ed in his pape ).
2.4 Da a Analysis
S uden esponses o su ey ques ions we e analyzed using con ingency analyses
Due o small sample sizes in some con ingency ables, we calcula ed Fishe Exac
p obabili ies ( wo-sided) o all ou comes.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 S uden O e all Responses.
The o e all esponse o CPs we e posi i e o each o he ca ego ies we examined.
In o e wo- hi ds o su eys, pa icipan s ag eed o s ongly ag eed ha he
p oblems imp o ed unde s anding o he concep s as compa ed o non-CPs. In
g ea e han 50% o su eys, s uden s ag eed o s ongly ag eed ha he p oblems
in oduced ele ance associa ed wi h he ma e ial, and/o some new hinking abou
he social alue o enginee ing. Lopez-Diaz and Pena (2022) also epo ed posi i e
sel - epo ed ou comes when eal-wo ld p oblems we e included in a mul i a ia e
calculus cou se as a semina be ween 2019 and 2021. In ou popula ion,
app oxima ely one- hi d o all esponses epo ed enjoying wo king on he p oblems
mo e han basic p oblems, and 43 and 21 pe cen epo ed equal o less enjoymen
espec i ely. The con ex ualized p oblems we e pe cei ed as equi ing mo e hinking
(o di e en ways o hinking) han non-CPs (Table 1).
S uden s who ound he p oblems mo e enjoyable ema ked abou he alue o
wo king on some hing ha seemed ‘ eal’, o enjoying he challenge o ha ing o hink
di e en ly - “( he p oblem was) mo e applicable and el like I was wo king on
some hing ha seemed mo e ‘ eal’, was de ini ely mo e enjoyable”, and “This
p oblem was a bi mo e challenging han usual p oblems.” Those who ound he
p oblems less enjoyable commen ed on a lack o p epa edness wi h unde s anding
he undamen al concep s, o ha ing a di icul ime unde s anding wha he p oblem
was asking, o example, ”I was ha d o unde s and and I ha en’ p ac iced his
concep a lo ou side o class.” These ou comes a e consis en wi h lea ning
s a egies models ha a icula e he impo ance o sca olding lea ning ac oss
phases (‘su ace,’ ‘deep’ lea ning, and ‘ ans e ’ lea ning). The in oduc ion o con ex
o seemingly abs ac ma h p oblems is bene icial when s uden s ha e al eady
lea ned he ma e ial a he su ace le el (Ha ie & Donoghue, 2016)
3.2 Response By Gende , E hnici y, and In e sec ionali y
The e is he po en ial o gende and e hnici y di e ences in he pe cep ion o he
alue o wo kshops o imp o ing pe o mance and o building con idence (E ans e
al, 2024; Sau e e al, 2024). I is c i ical ha as we conside adding CPs as a new
ea u e, we lea n mo e abou he some imes-complex esponses in popula ions ha
ha e been sys emically unde - ep esen ed in enginee ing.
A la ge p opo ion o men s uden s ound CPs mo e enjoyable han did emale
s uden s (p= 0.06, wo- ailed). While bo h women and men s uden s epo ed a
bene i o unde s anding concep s and seeing ele ance o hei u u e, women
s uden s ag eed signi ican ly mo e han men ha hey lea ned some hing new abou
he social alue o enginee ing (p=0.02, wo- ailed) (Table 2.). The inding ha mo e
men ind CPs enjoyable as compa ed o women appea s o be a b oad ou come o
women, i espec i e o e hnici y, and he e we e no gende o e hnici y di e ences
ega ding he g ea e challenge o such p oblems. O e all, con en unde s anding
was imp o ed by collabo a ing on hese ques ions, howe e 81% o Asian women
‘somewha ag eed’ wi h inc eased unde s anding as compa ed o a mo e e enly
dis ibu ed ange o esponses by Asian men (Table 3.).
Table 1.Summa y able o s uden esponses o su ey ques ions ollowing implemen a ion
o each con ex ualized p oblem. Fo ques ions 3-8, % Ag ee and % Disag ee include he
sums o s ongly and somewha (n=132 esponses)
Su ey Ques ion
% Mo e
% Same
% Less
1. Wo king on his con ex ualized
p oblem was _________ enjoyable
han a ypical non-con ex ualized
ques ion o he same opic
36
43
21
% Mo e o
%Di e en
% Same
% Less
2. Wo king on his con ex ualized
p oblem equi ed_____________
' hinking' han a non-con ex ualized
p oblem on he same opic
85
39
8
% Ag ee and
S ongly
Ag ee
% Neu al
% Disag ee
and S ongly
Disag ee
3. This con ex ualized p oblem
helped me unde s and he opic
be e han a non-concep ualized
p oblem
69
20
11
4. The con ex ualized p oblem
helped me see he ele ance o he
opic o my educa ion, li e, o u u e
ca ee
66
21
14
5. Wo king on he con ex ualized
ques ion helped me see some hing
new abou he social alue o
enginee ing in gene al
57
25
18
6. Wo king on his con ex ualized
p oblem gene a ed some good
con e sa ion abou he con ex wi h
my pee s
64
21
15
7. Wo king on he con ex ualized
ques ion helped me eel mo e
p epa ed o he cou se exam
50
31
19
8. Wo king on he con ex ualized
p oblem was NOT bene icial wi h
espec o p epa ing me o he
cou se exam
22
25
53
Table 2. Table o signi ican di e ences in s uden esponse by gende ques ions 1 and 5. %
Ag ee and % Disag ee include he sums o s ongly and somewha %. Nei he ag ee no
disag ee is emo ed in he able o ease o in e p e a ion, howe e all da a we e included in
he con ingency analysis (n=128).
1. Wo king on his con ex ualized p oblem was _________ enjoyable han a
ypical non-con ex ualized ques ion o he same opic
%
Women
%
Men
%All esponses
Fishe s
Exac
P obabili y
Two-
sided p
alue
mo e
27
47
37
2.00E-03
0.06
less
25
19
22
he same
48
34
41
5. Wo king on he con ex ualized ques ion helped me see some hing new
abou he social alue o enginee ing in gene al?
%
Women
%
Men
%All esponses
Fishe s
Exac
P obabili y
Two-
sided p
alue
%Ag ee
71
44
57
6.40E-06
0.02
% Disag ee
13
23
18
The s onges gende by e hnici y e ec was in women who iden i ied as Whi e,
compa ed o hei men coun e pa s wi h espec o he ques ions abou he bene i
o CPs o e ealing ele ance and social alue o hese ma h opics in s uden s.
Fi y-six pe cen o Whi e women s ongly ag eed ha he CPs allowed hem o see
ele ance o hei educa ion o u u e ca ee , as compa ed o 13% o Whi e men. A
simila ou come o Whi e women was seen o he o he social alue o enginee ing
ques ion. Wi h espec o p epa a ion o exams, i y pe cen o Black women
‘somewha disag eed’ ha he CPs p epa ed hem o exams, while black men we e
equally’ neu al’ o ‘somewha ag eed’.
CONCLUSIONS
Pee educa o s can e ec i ely de elop and implemen con ex ualized ma h p oblems
as pa o hei wo kshops. O e all, CPs inc eased unde s anding, in oduced ca ee
and social ele ance (pa icula ly o women s uden s), and o many s uden s we e
enjoyable and challenging. In pee -suppo ed disciplina y lea ning wo kshop models,
whe e consis en ly unde ep esen ed enginee ing s uden s a e en olled a highe
ela i e pe cen ages, pee -led lea ning spaces a e a clea oppo uni y o impac he
quali y o educa ion expe ienced by s uden s. Key conside a ions in he o e all
success o implemen ing CP’s a e 1) aining pee educa o s o sca old he ‘su ace
lea ning’ o concep s be o e he CP is implemen ed so ha deepe o ans e
lea ning can occu , and, 2) in e oga ing and mi iga ing impo an gende and
e hnici y di e ences in he pe cep ion o he alue o he p oblems o imp o e
bene i s o all pa icipan s in hese wo kshops. Linking p e ious esea ch on he
alue o pee -led collabo a i e wo kshops o con idence and belonging o
pa icipan s, wi h ca e ul sca olding o he inclusion o CPs, will imp o e he e icacy
and suppo he sys ema ic inclusion o CPs in o hese wo kshops o make
enginee ing ma h mo e ele an and enjoyable, and o de elop deepe con en
unde s anding.
Table 3.S a is ically signi ican gende esponse di e ences ( able p obabili y, P alue, Fishe s
Exac es ) by e hnici y (sel -iden i ied) compa ed o he o e all compa ison o male and emale
pa icipan s as whole ( inal column). No e sample size o E hnici ies a e smalle han sample
size o gende because hese s uden demog aphics had sample sizes la ge enough o
e alua e.
Su ey Ques ion
Responses Ac oss Gende , Wi hin E hnici y G oup
O e all
Responses
Asian
Whi e
Black/Hispanic
By Gende
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
n=16
n=15
n=16
n=32
n=12
n=12
n= 64
n= 64
Wo king on his
con ex ualized
p oblem was
_________
enjoyable han a
ypical non-
con ex ualized
ques ion o he same
opic
0.019, p= 0.17 0.06, p= 0.78 0.124, p= 1.00 0.002, p= 0.06
This con ex ualized
p oblem helped me
unde s and he opic
be e
0.002, p= 0.02 0.01, p= 0.74 0.02, p= 0.52 0.002, p= 0.91
The con ex ualized
p oblem helped me
see he ele ance o
he opic o my
educa ion, li e, o
ca ee
0.001, p= 0.14 0.000, p< 0.001 0.133, p= 1.00 0.0005, p= 0.57
Wo king on he
con ex ualized
ques ion helped me
see some hing new
abou he social
alue o enginee ing
in gene al
0.006, p= 0.53 0.0003, p= 0.06 0.05, p= 0.45 0.0000, p= 0.02
Wo king on he
con ex ualized
ques ion helped me
eel mo e p epa ed
o he cou se exam
0.022, p= 0.82 0.009, p= 0.66 0.002, p= 0.02 0.0017, p= 0.88
