A proposal for using problem posing to connect learning of basic theory with engineering design

There is a need for educational methods that enable transfer of academic content to engineering practice. Such methods appear frequently in freshman and senior design courses (cornerstone and capstone courses), but not so often in basic theory courses, such as calculus, probability, and statistics. This paper presents a proposal for methods to achieve this connection, and the author's experience with using the proposed methods in applied probability courses. The essence of the proposal is that learners should be doing engineering while learning basic theory.