SIMIODE

It's the end of week two!

The end of week one was focused on direction fields -- I tell students about the following links:

Slopes (for Apple IOS): https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/slopes-differential-equations/id1136920301?mt=8

DESMOS: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/p7vd3cdmei

dfield: https://math.rice.edu/~dfield/dfpp.html

On Tuesday, I taught separable equations, followed by a group quiz with the Dog Drug scenario (1-16-Dog Drugs).  As usual, once I showed them how to solve separable equations, all they could see when setting up the Differential Equations was e to the stuff.  I kept pointing out those would be solutions to a DE, not the DE itself. The class finally got the concept, not being able to believe it was "that easy".  I then taught Linear Equations.

Today, students did more examples of Linear Equations (on the boards -- even though the class is small, they now prefer to get up on the boards (#vnps!).  After that, I did a crazy thing - I tried a Scenario cold.  I read it, it caught my attention, and I told the class we were going to try something totally new to me.

The scenario I tried was 1-111-T-SpreadOfInformation.  Instead of coins, I used cards (since I didn't have that many coins in my office).  I had students do Part 1, we discussed if the graph of the derivative and if it made sense.  We then went to Google Trends and looked up 'Corona Virus' and then 'white or gold dress'.  I then walked through setting up the discrete equation with help from the class.  I'll be writing up a project for them to finish solving (it's solvable by separation of variables) tomorrow, due next week.

I think the class is now fully established with working together and modeling!