Faculty-led Inquiry into Reflective and Scholarly Teaching (FIRST)
Date of this Version
2016
Document Type
Portfolio
Citation
Course portfolio developed as part of the UNL Peer Review of Teaching Project (peerreview.unl.edu)
Copyright (c) 2016 Adam Larios
Abstract
My intention in this portfolio is to highlight various approaches to teaching higher-level mathematics with a programming component that I tried in a course on nonlinear optimization. There is a particular focus on students with little or no previous programming experience. Several case studies are done using "pre- and post-course" surveys which examined items such as student confidence in programming, and particular programming skills. Sample examples and sample homeworks are presented and discussed. Also presented are several materials I designed to lead students into programming and shed light on certain problems. These Materials assume some basic mathematical reasoning and knowledge, and therefore may be best suited to students in STEM fields. Moreover, learning outcomes are described and assessed with quantitative data. A coding contest for motivating students is also discussed.