Want to model the progress of a disease over a month's time? 聽Sure, just write聽a聽calculus equation that would聽model the statistics of the disease's progression for one hour at a time. 聽Got that done? 聽Now, just solve the problem聽over and over again until...Did you fall asleep yet? 聽Oops. 聽I forgot to tell you that you could write a computer program to solve it for you. 聽You just need calculus, statistics, and some life science knowledge. 聽In Dr. Eric Stade's Math 1310 Calculus, Systems, and Modeling course, that's just what you'll need. 聽Math 1310 is designed for life聽science students to learn to apply calculus concepts to natural or earth science phenomena like RNA sequencing or the spread of the disease over time. 聽Stade says that calculus is important for creating the mathematical聽models that study of the life sciences require.
Stade recognizes what a transferable skill programming is, and he teaches students how to write their own code using programming software like Math Studio or Sage Open Mathematics Software to solve problems. 聽Stade聽says that this technology is helpful to complete dull repetitive equations. 聽He encourages students to break down a question into smaller questions, like in the case of the spread of a disease over time. 聽"We try to teach [programming]聽in a user-friendly environment," he says. 聽The process of writing a program requires, "Quite a bit of planning, thought, and logical reasoning," he says. 聽"Often, students are聽resistant聽at the outset of the course...Students are intimidated by programming," Stade says. 聽That's why, "In this course, we ease them into it," he says, first providing a completed program for students to use to solve a problem. 聽Then, Stade teaches students to write a program to solve a problem, step-by-step. 聽"From there, students get more confidence and familiarity with programming," he says. 聽Ultimately,聽students in his class learn to write their own programs.
Graphic of the evolution of a disease over time, Contributed by Dr. Eric Stade
Stade says that he must聽constantly educate himself in the natural sciences to keep course material relevant for聽life science majors. 聽"I spend a lot of time preparing for class," he says, and he collaborates with Professor David Webb in the School of Education and Professors Mike Klymkowsky and Robin Dowell of the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Graduate Program. 聽Stade's commitment is evident, and students nominated him聽for a Spring 2013 ASSETT Teaching with Technology Award. 聽One student wrote:
Through this technology, we were able to use existing models to learn real-life applications of calculus, and by the end [of the course] were able to create our own models for phenomena using math studio coding and class-taught calculus. 聽This was extremely useful, not only in helping us better learn the material, but also in seeing the ways the material will be ... useful in our future careers as medical and science professionals.
Additionally, Stade uses a tablet device聽to write and project lecture notes and to do demonstrations聽in class. 聽He聽is interested in how students learn, and he wants to continue to create a more interactive classroom. 聽"The math department is moving toward an active learning model, which would be more participatory," Stade聽says. 聽Stade is working on pre-designed lessons in which he would create skeletal lecture notes written out before class. 聽Stade would project the notes onto the board, and students would help him fill in the blanks during class. 聽"Students could talk in small groups, and we would fill in notes on the iPad...In the end, there can be a complete set of notes that can be posted on the web for reference," he says.
