This curated collection covers a selection of PRIMUS articles published over a roughly 12-year period that focus on modeling and applications. The collection includes sections on individual projects, courses with a significant modeling component, and modeling and applications in extracurricular settings and throughout the curriculum.

In this paper, we present an overview of a series of 1-credit applied problem solving courses. The goal of these courses was to help students develop their oral and written communication skills, ability to work as a team, and general problem solving skills through preparation and participation in the Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) and…

Transforming an observable phenomenon into a tractable model is a challenging process, from determining the appropriate modeling scale to making realistic simplifying assumptions. However, many modeling texts are anchored around problems that have already been synthesized into a digestible format, which inhibits an opportunity to engage students…

The aim of the exploratory method research centered on the presence of mathematical tools in STEM through three main questions: Is mathematics an essential tool in the field of STEM? Can mathematics complete projects solely with mathematical and digital tools? Does understanding mathematical modeling affect STEM teaching? A better understanding of…

Here, we present an interdisciplinary educational project intended for high school chemistry that is focused on the establishment of a mathematical model to describe the relationship between conductivity and concentration, while linking chemistry to mathematics with the help of computer software. The project was designed to help high school…

The Mathematics Practicum has been offered at St. Olaf College for over 30 years. The Practicum is a 4-week, January Interim course where three teams of five students work on consulting problems solicited from area businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. These problems have significant mathematical, statistical, and…

James Madison University faculty team-teach an interdisciplinary mathematical modeling course for mathematics and biology students. We have used two different project-based approaches to emphasize the mathematical concepts taught in class, while also exposing students to new areas of mathematics not formally covered in class. The first method…

Mathematics plays a crucial role in physics. This role is brought about predominantly through the building, employment, and assessment of mathematical models, and teachers and educators should capture this relationship in the classroom in an effort to improve students' achievement and attitude in both physics and mathematics. But although there…

In this article we discuss the possible uses of NetLogo as an educational tool for High School and early-years undergraduate students. The paper is geared towards teachers from all disciplines who require students to problem solve, be quantitative and logical but want a project orientated platform to build or reinforce knowledge. The tools and…

The advent of integrated multidisciplinary research has given rise to some of the most important breakthroughs of our time, but has also set significant challenges to the current educational paradigm. Current academic education often limits cross-discipline discussion, depends on close-ended problems, and restricts utilization of interdisciplinary…

Math in the City is an interdisciplinary mathematics course offered at University of Nebraska-Lincoln in which students engage in a real-world experience to understand current major societal issues of local and national interest. The course is run in collaboration with local businesses, research centers, and government organizations, that provide…