INTRODUCTION
The following is an example of a computational science course that has been successfully implemented by several schools in Alabama. The course description is presented as a guide to use in the development of a course for your school. Please feel free to duplicate or adapt the material in any manner that suits your particular situation. This material describes a course taught in a 6 or 7 period day, modifications will need to be made for block schedule or 4 period day schedules.
The course description is presented along with the prerequisites for the course. These are given to the students on the first day of class along with the course outline, course requirements, and a letter to parents. The students and parents are then aware of what they can expect from the course as well as what is expected from the students.
The computer lab worksheets in the lessons are prepared for use in a computer lab with a direct connection. Modifications should be made if you are accessing the network via modem or multiplexer and modem. Using a networked computer students simply login to their account and type their program using a text editor. If you are accessing via modem the students prepare their Fortran or C program on a PC or Macintosh using a word processor, save the program to a disk, then upload or transfer it to the Laser computers or the Cray to be compiled and executed. Data generated by the program may be put into a file and downloaded to the PC or Macintosh to be saved to a disk for printing or later use. This will save valuable time if you have only a limited number of stations or computers accessing the network. If your school has a networked lab where many stations can simultaneously access the network, you will be much less constrained by this bottleneck. A Fortran compiler in the lab would also help but is not a requirement. Any word processor or editor available for your computer system may be used to write the source code for the Fortran program. An editor with full page editing and column numbers displayed on the screen will make life easier for the students. If a word processor is used to write the Fortran code on the PC or Macintosh, it should be saved as a text file before uploading it to the network.
The text used for Fortran instruction is FORTRAN The Easy Way by Leff and Podos. The approach to the material is as though the students have never had any computer programming and as though their math background is no higher than Algebra I. Many feel that projects at this level are impossible. This is not the case and recent educational findings have shown that developing projects is an ideal method of assessing a students knowledge of a subject matter. The project development approach to teaching science and math builds confidence in the students and develops the skills needed to design programs for the more complex projects.
When the students are ready to choose their projects, their math background becomes more important but does not limit their choices; it only determines the level of difficulty for the student to overcome. Obviously, the better the math and science background, the easier it will be for the students to develop the project and less will be required from their mentors. However, some of the best projects have come from Algebra II students who became excited by the discovery of new mathematics with scientific applications. The need for a better background in math and science is brought sharply to their attention as they realize that what appear to be simple problems require complex math and physics in order to determine a solution. Their realization of this lack of knowledge combined with their desire to accomplish the task encourages them to learn. Using this approach, students are not frustrated by their inability; rather they are eager to correct their deficiency. That is why many students complete the course with a strong desire to take the course again, take an advanced computational science course, and even pursue a career in science or engineering.
The sample labs range from the beginning of the course to the end in order to give an idea of how the material was covered. Working knowledge criteria are included at the beginning of each lab to aid in determining what lesson should precede the lab.
Within each unit of the course, additional information is given on the development and use of the material presented at that time.
The rest of the chapter gives sample materials covering the first four weeks of the year. You may wish to use some or all of this in your implementation of computational science.
By the end of the second six weeks, all essentials of Fortran have been covered and students should be writing portions of their projects.
Detailed lesson plans for the first five units are located in the Course Implementation chapter. This material covers approximately the first four weeks of the year. A suggested division of these materials is below.