ABOUT SIMIODE
SIMIODE is a community of practice for learning and teaching differential equations through modeling.
Your memories of differential equations may evoke images of a board filled with equations or a book filled with chapter after chapter of techniques for solving textbook problems. Too often such experiences create a disconnect between being able to solve a textbook equation and understanding how differential equations appear in actual applications. Furthermore, a course focused solely on techniques can lack student engagement, which hinders learning.
SIMIODE — Systemic Initiative for Modeling Investigations and Opportunities with Differential Equations — believes that helping students discover how a differential equation arises and build their own equations will motivate them to learn techniques and provide them with real-world understanding of the power of differential equations.
After using a modeling-first method for over 20 years of undergraduate teaching at United States Military Academy, West Point, Dr Brian Winkel, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, founded SIMIODE in 2013 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We are an organization of teaching professionals helping other teaching professionals.
Free Resources
Our organization’s primary goal is to provide support and materials to help professionals adopt this teaching strategy. We also encourage students to understand how differential equations arise in real-world situations. These goals are supported through the following free resources:
- Technique Narratives (peer-reviewed traditional instructional text material)
- Modeling Scenarios (peer-reviewed class-room ready investigative scenarios)
- Potential Scenario Ideas
- Archive of Articles and Presentations
- Rich website with peer Forums and Blogs
- Engagement opportunities at national math association meetings
Currently SIMIODE houses over 285 Modeling Scenarios under Creative Commons licensing so you can adapt them for your particular classroom. If you have a scenario to share, we encourage you to publish with us where your material will be peer-reviewed and receive a DOI for your CV.
Sustainability
SIMIODE's operating expenses are raised through the modest fees generated by SCUDEM, our textbook, and EXPO. Operating expenses for SIMIODE include web hosting costs, website development and maintenance, and technical staff wages.
We provide further opportunities for engagement through our sustainability efforts:
- SCUDEM — SIMIODE Student Challenge using Differential Equations Modeling
- Our student team challenge, gives students a taste of a multi-faceted real-world problem and asks them to create a solution and present it on video. To date over 2000 students have participated.
- Textbook — Differential Equations: A Toolbox for Modeling the World
- Kurt Bryan, emeritus Professor of Mathematics, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute IN USA, wrote this textbook to support SIMIODE's mission and showcase a modeling-first approach.
- SIMIODE EXPO
- A yearly online conference to showcase modeling to motivate, teach, and learn differential equations.
Get Involved
- Become a Member of our group here at QUBEShub.org
- Participate in SCUDEM as a Coach, Challenger, or Judge
- Purchase our textbook, or consider adopting it for your class
- Attend the SIMIODE EXPO in February
- Publish with us — write up your Modeling Scenario
- Donate — all donations will receive a receipt for tax purposes, as well as our sincere thanks