CS382:Topics Matrix

When it's ready to be reviewed update the Status to be "Ready". This is the only signal that the reviewers will look for. When it's being reviewed the status will be "In Review" and then "Done".

Topic Matrix

Week	Topic	Unit(s)	Who	Discipline(s)	Skill(s)	Tool(s)	Notes	Status
1	What's a Model?	Foundations	Sam, Mikio	Generic	TBD	TBD		Ready
2	Building a Static Model	Area	Philip, Bryan	Generic	Accuracy, precision, estimation	Mashup	Software and physical	Lab ready for review, other is not.
3	Using a Dynamic Model	Fire	Fitz, Vlado	Forestry	Critical parameter, parameter sweep	Cellular Automata, NetLogo		Lab and other ready review, lab is ready to do.
4	Visualizing Data	Mashup	Matt, Nate	TBD	TBD	Mashup	Tufte based approach?	Lab ready for review, other is not.
5-6	Structural Modeling	Bridge	Bryan, Dylan	Bridge Building	Physics	Simulation	Computational and physical models	Lab ready for review, other is not.
7-8	Equation Modeling	Rocket	Vlado, Sam	Math, Physics	Math, estimation skills and physics	Simulators provided, rocketry craftsmanship outside	Software and physical	Ready
9	Agent Based Modeling and Computational Sociology	People	Nate, Philip	Sociology	TBD	Agent modeling, NetLogo	Consider Josh McCoy's message	Lab is ready for review, other is not.
10-11	Modeling Predator-Prey Interactions	Lynx and rabbits	Dylan, Matt	Biology	TBD	Systems dynamics modeling, NetLogo, and Agent-based		Lab is ready for review, other is not.
12-13	Chaotic Systems	Climate	Mikio, Fitz	Lots	TBD	TBD		Lab is ready for review, other is not.
14	End Notes	Wrap-up and review	TBD	Lots	TBD	TBD

Concepts, Techniques and Tools

There are a number of recurring themes, standard scientific techniques, and tools for doing science both in the real world and with a computing system contained in this course. Many of them are seen at more than one point.

The plan is to introduce all of them at the start of the course, call them out whenever we encounter them during the course, and then review all of them as a group at the end of the course.

Concepts

• Using models, modifying models, developing models
• Data -> information -> knowledge
• Algorithmic thinking
• Computational thinking
• Abstraction
• Accuracy vs precision

Techniques

• Validation and verification
• Interpreting a graph
• Creating a graph
• Basic statistics
• Estimation
• Parameter sweep
• Data collection

Tools

• Spreadsheet; {Open, Neo} Office
• Plotting; Sigma plot, gnuplot (?!), PlotDrop. Why not just use the spreadsheet's tool?
• Equation-based modeling; spreadsheet?
• Agent-based modeling; NetLogo or AgentSheets
• Systems-based modeling; Vensim
• Visualization/visual modeling
• Mashups and Google Earth

Potentially:

• SecondLife or OpenSim

Overall Context

• Pedagogical
  • Inquiry based learning
  • Scaffolded
  • Open-ended to a degree
  • Using science to illustrate the diversity and complexity of the world around us
• Structural
  • Metric system
  • OSX, Windows, Linux whenever possible (lab sizes and locations)
  • Classroom response system - questions for each unit, participation/attendance measured by response rate?

Items to be sorted

• Quantitative reasoning
• Using tools, broadly defined

Mechanical and structural stuff:

• Scales well, say 20-80 students
  • Automated assessment tools
  • Effective use of TAs

• What data do I need to collect, how do I collect it accurately, and then how do I build it
  • Perhaps one unit where they have to go out and collect data to see how hard it really is, how about modeling campus (rectangle and heart)
• Data collection: sensor nets, lasers

Total Gen Ed Coverage

Total Geneds