M50: An Introduction to Mathematica in the Classroom

Course Objective This one-day course provides high school and community college instructors an introduction to using Mathematica to prepare course materials and student activities.

Target Audience The course is designed for teachers at the high school or community college level who are new to Mathematica or who consider themselves to be relatively inexperienced at using Mathematica. The course covers topics commonly encountered in the mathematics and science classrooms.

Delivery Type Courses are delivered as instructor-led classes in computer classroom facilities or as online classes delivered over the web. Course topics are presented with alternating sessions of lectures and exercises.

Syllabus

Introduction
Introduction to Mathematica, including how to get Mathematica up and running as well as basics of Mathematica syntax, with no previous knowledge of the program assumed
Lists
Structure of lists in Mathematica (one of its most commonly used structures), how they are used to represent various objects in programs, and ways of manipulating lists and applying functions to list elements
Graphing in Two Dimensions
Examination of various ways of creating two-dimensional plots, scaling axes, adding text and legends, and plotting data
Graphing in Three Dimensions
How to create three-dimensional plots including intersecting surfaces, contour and density plots, and paths in space
Working with Notebooks
Using notebooks to create teaching materials, including the preparation of handouts, exercise sets, examinations, and slide shows using Mathematica
Programming I
Gentle introduction to programming in Mathematica to allow you to take advantage of the power of the program--defining and using functions, simple recursive techniques, and building up calculations
Working with Rules
Introduction to rules and rule-based programs, using rules to modify expressions, and the importance of rules as a tool
Programming II
Introduction to more useful concepts in a functional programming language: applying functions to the elements of lists and matrices, quick ways of defining functions that will be used only once, and an introduction to iteration along with some examples including fractals

Course Materials Each attendee will be provided with Mathematica course notebooks and access to the current version of Mathematica. The course notebooks require Mathematica or Mathematica Player. For attendees participating in classroom-based sessions, course materials are distributed in print and on CD-ROM, and are yours to keep; a computer running Mathematica is available for your use during class. For attendees participating in online classes, a download of the course materials is provided; a temporary Mathematica training license is provided upon request.

Prerequisites Course attendees are expected to have experience with common features of modern computer software. Also helpful, but not required, are knowledge of mathematics through elementary calculus and experience with computer programming at the level of an introductory course in any computer programming language. No prior Mathematica experience is required.