Introduction to Math Modeling for Middle School

​September 24th
An overview of the math modeling process, focusing mainly on making assumptions and defining the problem. We will use open ended word problems to get students thinking about what assumptions they could make to solve the problems. This will be useful to help show students that in math modeling there is not one right answer and that many different approaches and assumptions can provide interesting and useful models.

​October 22nd
Introduction to agent based modeling. In the beginning of the session we will cover some of the basics and then do an example model or two as a group. We will use a simple example trying to model traffic on a one lane road. After having a discussion about assumptions and defining a clear problem we will use NetLogo online to have students experiment with changing parameter values and seeing how these changes impact the model. Students  can experiment with NetLogo since there are already existing models but if students are interested they can try their hand at designing their own in the future.