Examples of applications of equilibrium-based methods for multicomponent separations usually require the use of simulation packages, which do not allow students to follow the involved algorithms step by step. Excel spreadsheets with examples of six such rigorous methods have been used with MSc students of Chemical Engineering of the University of…

Microsoft Excel and Access are widely used in introductory courses designed to teach the fundamentals of spreadsheet and relational database modeling skills in various disciplines. To achieve the targeted learning outcomes, instructors of these courses strive to provide students with guided, frequent, and incrementally fruitful practice with the…

In this paper, we present a simple spreadsheet based simulation activity that can be performed by students at the undergraduate level. This simulation is implemented in free open source software (FOSS) LibreOffice Calc, which is available for both Windows and Linux platform. This activity aims at building the probability distribution for the…

In the teaching of physics at upper secondary school level (K10-K12), the students are generally taught to solve problems analytically, i.e. using the dynamics describing a system (typically in the form of differential equations) to compute its evolution in time, e.g. the motion of a body along a straight line or in a plane. This reduces the scope…

A rapid integration of financial markets has prevailed during the last three decades. Investors are able to diversify investment beyond national markets to mitigate return volatility of a "pure domestic portfolio." This article discusses a simulation project through which students learn the role of international investment by managing…

Students often enter biology programs deficient in the math and computational skills that would enhance their attainment of a deeper understanding of the discipline. To address some of these concerns, I developed a series of spreadsheet simulation exercises that focus on some of the mathematical foundations of scientific inquiry and the benefits…

The purpose of this study is to explore the potential impact of support materials on student spreadsheet skill acquisition. Specifically, this study examines the use of an online spreadsheet simulation tool versus a printed book across two independent student groups. This study hypothesizes that the online spreadsheet simulation tool will have a…

The article presents a method of explaining the principles of 3D graphics through making a revolvable and sizable orthographic parallel projection of cuboid in Excel. No programming is used. The method was tried in fourteen 90 minute lessons with 181 participants, which were Informatics teachers, undergraduates of Applied Informatics and gymnasium…

The author analyzes the inflation-targeting model that underlies recent textbook expositions of the aggregate demand-aggregate supply approach used in introductory courses in macroeconomics. He shows how numerical simulations of a model with inflation inertia can be used as a tool to help students understand adjustments in response to demand and…

Lean manufacturing, an outgrowth of the Toyota Production System, has spread far beyond the automobile industry and is seen by many leaders as a key management philosophy in the battle to compete on an international scale. Successful implementation of lean requires that managers and employees be educated in the proper application of lean tools and…

A major strand of science and technology studies in recent decades has related to the social construction of technology (SCOT) movement, whose adherents maintain that technological systems are determined just as much by social forces as by technological ones. Taking this SCOT notion as a starting point, and putting a focus on the user, this paper…

This teaching brief presents a Microsoft® Excel simulation designed to complement and expand upon the well-known matchstick/die game introduced by Goldratt in "The Goal." This simulation performs 100 replications of a 40-period processing run for low, medium, and high levels of process variation and displays the comparative results…

A simple interface between VPython and Microsoft (MS) Office products such as Word and Excel, controlled by Visual Basic for Applications, is described. The interface allows the preparation of content-rich, interactive learning environments by taking advantage of the three-dimensional (3D) visualization capabilities of VPython and the GUI…

Managing the pedagogical aspects of the "computational turn" that is occurring within the Humanities in general and the disciplines associated with cognitive science and neuroscience in particular, first implies facing the challenge of introducing students to computation. This paper presents what has proven to be an efficient approach to bringing…

A simple, guided-inquiry investigation using stacked sandwich cookies is employed to develop a simple linear mathematical model and to explore measurement error by incorporating errors as part of the investigation. Both random and systematic errors are presented. The model and errors are then investigated further by engaging with an interactive…