In Spring 2018 for the EML3041 Computational Methods course, I assigned students to write a nursery rhyme on numerical methods using the “one, two, buckle my shoe” prompt. Here is a sample, and more will be shared in the next few weeks.
The students were given the choice of going anonymous, use only initials or their full name as the byline. Some opted not to be published while others added the audio version as well.
One, Two
by Ricardo Z
One, two,
Approximations I do
Three, four,
Opens math doors
Five, six,
Into the matrix
Seven, eight,
Gaussian eliminate
Nine, ten,
LU decomposition
Eleven, twelve,
Into methods, I delve
Thirteen, fourteen,
The trunnions lean
Fifteen, sixteen,
With engineers, I convene
Seventeen, eighteen,
Errors unforeseen
Nineteen, twenty,
Derivations aplenty
PS. The reference to trunnions is the real-life problem we use in the class for the problem-centered (not problem-based) approach for the whole course. The problem deals with the assembly of the fulcrum of bascule bridges.
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Author: Autar Kaw
Autar Kaw (http://autarkaw.com) is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Florida. He has been at USF since 1987, the same year in which he received his Ph. D. in Engineering Mechanics from Clemson University. He is a recipient of the 2012 U.S. Professor of the Year Award. With major funding from NSF, he is the principal and managing contributor in developing the multiple award-winning online open courseware for an undergraduate course in Numerical Methods. The OpenCourseWare (nm.MathForCollege.com) annually receives 1,000,000+ page views, 1,000,000+ views of the YouTube audiovisual lectures, and 150,000+ page views at the NumericalMethodsGuy blog. His current research interests include engineering education research methods, adaptive learning, open courseware, massive open online courses, flipped classrooms, and learning strategies. He has written four textbooks and 80 refereed technical papers, and his opinion editorials have appeared in the St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune.
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