Overcoming Non-numerical Challenges in an Engineering Numerical Methods Course

This paper addresses the application of some of the current pedagogical practices in an engineering numerical methods course. The paper describes the course and explains its challenges. It then briefly goes over the theoretical framework and the engineering accreditation requirements which shape its design and development. The course design, its implementation, and observations performed by a third-party research assistant are listed next. In particular, instructional remedies developed in order to improve students’ learning experience are detailed. Lastly, the course instructor and the research assistant discussed some of the improvements and unforeseen student behaviour. Note that the course instructor is a new engineering educator who would like to share his course design, get feedback on the implemented course developments, and in general use this as an opportunity to self-reflect on the changes made to the course and how they can be scaled for other offerings of the course in the future.