Motivating students in math classroom about computational science

Mathematical questions - what skills do we need to teach in schools?
Present concept of modeling to K-12 students such as cause and effect
Present computational science concepts to grades 6-12 students

Panoff: Language of computational science is fractions, percents, reading and interpreting graphs

**** importance of reasoning and computational thinking in schools
without this understanding, computational science is nothing!

In SC, you see powerful problem solving machines; "All the preparation work to be done is to be done by people who sit in your classrooms"

Do different disciplines define computational science?
No, different scientists work on different problems; vocabs are different (That's all)

Algorithm:
In addition to IO, should we add SQL?
Parallel programming:
Where do we learn?
Not widely taught yet.

http://www.shodor.org
Some of you are here to work
Some of you are here to shop
Shop for products that exist as resources
Then we will look at pathways to supercomputing
Pathways are components of national science digital library
Did you solve the problem right? - verification
Did you solve the right problems? - validation
Is the right problem for my children to attempt to solve - accreditation
Both are different.
What is the right learning object?

What is the work that we could be doing in the next few years?





Desktop to grid in mathematics
Shodor.org
Math as a way of communicating patterns
We use equations all the time.
Force causes mass to accelerate; there is a language of mathematics
F=ma
Not just measurement only; what is the language of this math concept

3
Plus
2
Times
6
Calculator = 30
Scientific calculator understands order of operation
Computer algebra system versus computer assisted algebra systems
64/16 =4 (did we get this by canceling 6?)

Math exercise
Zoomit – zooms like mac
It is not dynamic when you do a movie like mac

In google search window
If you do 3+2*6
Gives the scientific calc
III+II+VI
Three plus two times six
Google does simple calculations

Minus 4 squared
Google does this as -16
Excel makes it 16
Representation is algorithmic

Properties.xls
355/113
101/113
52/103
Three times of 101 plus 51
Excel does not do it correctly numerically even though algebraic representation is correct

Base 2 versus base 10 – differences

10 in A1
9.8 in A2
Use fill in
Great pattern
Now put your mouse on each cell
Notice the numbers of each cell example may be 5.20000000000001 and not 5.2
As you go, it is worse

How good an answer do you need?
What kind of answer did you have in mind?
Arithmetic computing in computer may be different from your representation.
Satisfaction is reality divided by expectation
Lower your expectation, every one is satisfied

http://Shodor.org/talks/ncsi
Interactivate

Simple plot
Function flyer
Look at mathtools for precollege level

MathDL for college level
Tools for the classroom

Fractal microscope
Grid math resource – because any one on the Internet can use Interactivate resources like fractal microscope