Re: Another try at teaching simulations

[gross]

Rayman,
     You have the same problem faced by educators everywhere trying to
encourage more quantitative thinking on the part of students who typically
have too weak a mathematical background to do much. Many of us are trying
different methods to get around this difficulty, but there is no "quick fix".
What you have to decide is "Exactly what quantitative concepts do I need
the students to comprehend, with how much detail, and how can I best get
these across?" This is very course/professor dependent. Based upon your
brief comments, I'd say that it is time to try something other than the 
classic books by Jay Forrester. I suggest you look carefully at a little
book (unfortunately out of print, but Cornell's Library should have it)
A. M. Starfield, K. A. Smith, and A. L. Bleloch. How to model it: problem 
solving for the computer age. McGraw-Hill, 206p., ISBN 0-07-005897-0, 1990. 
This has spreadsheet modeling, an intro to basic probability, and is 
accessible to students with just high school math. Tony Starfield is on the
EEB faculty at U Minnesota. 
    There are very good simulation people at Cornell, mainly associated 
with the Applied Math program and the Theory Center - you should likely
get in touch with some of these folks for local assistance.
     Cheers,
          Lou Gross
Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
    and Mathematics
Director, The Institute for Environmental Modeling
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
address@hidden
http://www.tiem.utk.edu/~gross/
http://atlss.org/ (ATLSS Project Home Page)
http://archives.math.utk.edu/mathbio/ (Math Archives for Life Sciences)
http://www.tiem.utk.edu/bioed/ (Quantitative Life Sciences Education)
 


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