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Full-Text Articles in Education
Applying The Sir Model: Can Students Advise The Mayor Of A Small Community?, Carrin Goosen, Mark I. Nelson, Mahime Watanabe
Applying The Sir Model: Can Students Advise The Mayor Of A Small Community?, Carrin Goosen, Mark I. Nelson, Mahime Watanabe
CODEE Journal
This is an account of a modelling scenario that uses the sir epidemic model. It was used in a third year applied mathematics subject. All students were enrolled in a mathematics degree of some type. Students are presented with the results of a test carried out on 100 individuals in a community containing 3000 people. From this they determined the number of infectious and recovered individuals in the population. Given the per capita recovery rate and making a suitable assumption about the number of infectious individuals at the start of the epidemic, they then estimate the infectious contact rate and …
Solar Panels, Euler’S Method And Community-Based Projects: Connecting Differential Equations With Climate Change, Victor J. Donnay
Solar Panels, Euler’S Method And Community-Based Projects: Connecting Differential Equations With Climate Change, Victor J. Donnay
CODEE Journal
How does mathematics connect with the search for solutions to the climate emergency? One simple connection, which can be explored in an introductory differential equations course, can be found by analyzing the energy generated by solar panels or wind turbines. The power generated by these devices is typically recorded at standard time intervals producing a data set which gives a discrete approximation to the power function $P(t)$. Using numerical techniques such as Euler’s method, one can determine the energy generated. Here we describe how we introduce the topic of solar power, apply Euler’s method to determine the energy generated, and …
Modeling The Spread And Prevention Of Malaria In Central America, Michael Huber
Modeling The Spread And Prevention Of Malaria In Central America, Michael Huber
CODEE Journal
In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that there were 216 million cases of Malaria reported in 91 countries around the world. The Central American country of Honduras has a high risk of malaria exposure, especially to United States soldiers deployed in the region. This article will discuss various aspects of the disease, its spread and its treatment and the development of models of some of these aspects with differential equations. Exercises are developed which involve, respectively, exponential growth, logistics growth, systems of first-order equations and Laplace transforms. Notes for instructors are included.
Linking Differential Equations To Social Justice And Environmental Concerns
Linking Differential Equations To Social Justice And Environmental Concerns
CODEE Journal
Special issue of the CODEE Journal in honor of its founder, Professor Robert Borrelli.
A Model Of The Transmission Of Cholera In A Population With Contaminated Water, Therese Shelton, Emma Kathryn Groves, Sherry Adrian
A Model Of The Transmission Of Cholera In A Population With Contaminated Water, Therese Shelton, Emma Kathryn Groves, Sherry Adrian
CODEE Journal
Cholera is an infectious disease that is a major concern in countries with inadequate access to clean water and proper sanitation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "cholera is a disease of inequity--an ancient illness that today sickens and kills only the poorest and most vulnerable people\dots The map of cholera is essentially the same as a map of poverty." We implement a published model (Fung, "Cholera Transmission Dynamic Models for Public Health Practitioners," Emerging Themes in Epidemiology, 2014) of a SIR model that includes a bacterial reservoir. Bacterial concentration in the water is modeled by the Monod …
Sir Models: Differential Equations That Support The Common Good, Lorelei Koss
Sir Models: Differential Equations That Support The Common Good, Lorelei Koss
CODEE Journal
This article surveys how SIR models have been extended beyond investigations of biologically infectious diseases to other topics that contribute to social inequality and environmental concerns. We present models that have been used to study sustainable agriculture, drug and alcohol use, the spread of violent ideologies on the internet, criminal activity, and health issues such as bulimia and obesity.
A Note On Equity Within Differential Equations Education By Visualization, Younes Karimifardinpour
A Note On Equity Within Differential Equations Education By Visualization, Younes Karimifardinpour
CODEE Journal
The growing importance of education equity is partly based on the premise that an individual's level of education directly correlates to future quality of life. Educational equity for differential equations (DEs) is related to achievement, fairness, and opportunity. Therefore, a pedagogy that practices DE educational equity gives a strong foundation of social justice. However, linguistic barriers pose a challenge to equity education in DEs. For example, I found myself teaching DEs either in classrooms with a low proficiency in the language of instruction or in multilingual classrooms. I grappled with a way to create an equity educational environment that supported …
Experiences Using Inquiry-Oriented Instruction In Differential Equations, Keith Nabb
Experiences Using Inquiry-Oriented Instruction In Differential Equations, Keith Nabb
CODEE Journal
Student-centered instruction can be a challenging endeavor for teachers and students. This article reports on the use of the Inquiry-Oriented Differential Equations (IO-DE) curriculum (Rasmussen, 2002) in an undergraduate differential equations course. Examples of student work are shared with specific reference to research in mathematics education.
Teaching Differential Equations Without Computer Graphics Solutions Is A Crime, Beverly H. West
Teaching Differential Equations Without Computer Graphics Solutions Is A Crime, Beverly H. West
CODEE Journal
In the early 1980s computer graphics revolutionized the teaching of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Yet the movement to teach and learn the qualitative methods that interactive graphics affords seems to have lost momentum. There still exist college courses, even at big universities, being taught without the immense power that computer graphics has brought to differential equations. The vast majority of ODEs that arise in mathematical models are nonlinear, and linearization only approximates solutions sufficiently near an equilibrium. Introductory courses need to include nonlinear DEs. Graphs of phase plane trajectories and time series solutions allow one to see and analyze the …