Computational Modeling withVPython
Geoff Schmit Naperville North High School
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What is Computational Modeling?
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WolframAlpha
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Molecular Models
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Examples from Fermilab
Monte Carlo simulations to predict
Milky Way simulations interferometer frequency of decay products from other particles when looking for Higgs
dark matter distribution throughout the design and tuning of 40-m long
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High-Altitude Balloon Path
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Finite Element Analysis
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Politics
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Black Box Trading (Algo Trading)
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Rapunzels Hair
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More Than Programming
computational thinking is knowing when and how to use a computer to solve a problem mapping from the problem space to the
solutions space by creating an algorithm
programming is just one part
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More Than Running Simulations
not sufcient to develop computational
thinking
students need to modify, extend, and
create their own computational models
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Why Teach Computational Modeling?
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Increase Understanding
multiple representations of concepts verbal, mathematical, graphical,
the future and explaining the past
diagrammatical, and computational
reinforce key idea of models predicting encourages exploration (what if?)
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Authenticity
enable students to explore more
complex problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of their current course
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Next Generation Science Standards
Science and Engineering Practices Analyzing and Interpreting Data Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking Developing and Using Models refer to computational thinking and
students using and creating computational models and simulations
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[Link]
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Resources
Georgia Tech PER Group [Link]
id=projects:hscomp:physutil
my GitHub [Link] John Burks blog [Link]
computational-modeling/
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Papers
Integrating Numerical Computation into
the Modeling Instruction Curriculum Caballero, Burk, et al. [Link]
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