Student Perceptions of Connections Between an Introductory Dynamic Systems Class and Co-Op Work Experience

This is an evidence-based paper. At a number of universities, a co-op work experience is either mandatory or highly encouraged for undergraduate students. At these universities, the co-op experience is seen as complementary to the classroom education, with both components contributing to students' development as future professionals. Students, however, may not always see how those two components of their education interact, or how they could apply material from classes in the work setting. This may be particularly true in more theoretical or abstract classes, such as one that focuses on the mathematical modeling of dynamic systems, particularly if their entire co-op work experience has focused on other aspects of the field. Therefore, students in this class were assigned to write a short essay focusing on the links they see between the class and their co-op work experience, either in the area of course content or focused on problem-solving techniques. As students in this course are typically second term juniors or first term seniors, they had a wealth of co-op experience to draw on in attempting to make these links. After completing the essay assignment, students had the option to allow the professor to use their essays for this research study. To ensure that their choice had no influence on the course grade, consent forms were collected by the laboratory instructor and not turned over until the completion of the class. The collection of assignment essays was analyzed to determine what connections the students saw between the course and their work experience. The results of this analysis can be used to show students in future classes, or similar classes, how and why the material presented is relevant to them, and may increase their motivation to learn it. In addition, instructors for other courses may find the essay assignment relevant in their own attempts to prompt students to make connections of this nature between their formal classroom experiences and co-op or internship experiences.