Teaching differential equations in different environments: A first approach

Abstract

The use of specific softwares was the basis for a new approach for teaching ordinary and partial differential equations, in the field of heat transfer and fluid mechanics. The main objective was to enhance learning effectiveness of Numerical Methods in the post-graduate course of Polymers Engineering at the University of Minho. This degree takes place into two different environments: at the university campus and at the industrial field. Different commercial codes were used, namely EXCEL, MATLAB, and FLUENT, as well as two tools developed in house at University of Minho: CoNum and a graphics application PDE v.1. Lectures were based on videoconferencing and other web utilities. The teaching methodology presented and discussed in this article was well received and accepted by the post-graduate students, motivating teachers to improve their teaching/ learning strategies.

Using a free open source software to teach mathematics

“…In this article, we show how one can use an open source CAS to create teaching scenarios similar to those developed by other authors using alternative systems (e.g., Refs. ).…”

On the solutions of fluid flow problems with a Chebyshev collocation method using Mathematica

“…The work devoted to teaching numerical methods for solving partial differential equations is of particular interest [10,26]. For this task, different software was used, namely EXCEL, MATLAB, and FLUENT, as well as in‐house developed tools.…”

“FEApps”: Boosting students’ enthusiasm for coding and app designing, with a deeper learning experience in engineering fundamentals

“…Some instructors created their own graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and provided them to students as tools closely related to their course materials. For example, GUI for differential equations was used in , GUI for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was created in , GUI for control systems was presented in , among many others. However, teaching students to create their own GUIs or applications has not been addressed extensively.…”