Modelling a Zombie Apocalypse with Differential Equations
- Topic:
- Differential Equation, Equations
In this talk I outlined the main results of my teaching differential equations with GeoGebra in the Swedish top math course (Ma5) in High School, yr12. The group was mixed ability. Teaching focused completely on formulating DE's from problems, solving them in GG (and W|A in some cases) and then analyzing resulting solutions with sliders. We used container diagrams and y' or y'/y vs y or t diagrams as mind tools to help translate problems to DE's. The curriculum does not include solving systems of first order ODE's but this was easily done with container diagrams and GeoGebras NSolveODE command. Some (top) students really got the hang of it and were able to freely modify and create new models to great success. Some students still struggled with the basic material, but to some extent, GeoGebra helped us to go beyond the curriculum and motivate the students.
The updated powerpoint itself can be found at https://www.dropbox.com/s/n7dk74xa2f600ai/Zombies%20Tartu%202019.pptx?dl=0
