Numerical Modelling with Spreadsheets as a Means to Promote STEM to High School Students
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Jan Benacka 1 *
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1 Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background:
The article gives an account of an experiment in which sixty eight high school students of age 16 – 19 developed spreadsheet applications that simulated fall and projectile motion in the air.

Materials and methods:
The students applied the Euler method to solve the governing differential equations. The aim was to promote STEM to the students and motivate them to study STEM at universities. A questionnaire survey was carried out to find out if the participants' opinion of the lessons.

Results:
The result is that 97% of the students found the lessons interesting, 93% understood the algorithms and 85% would like to continue with a more complicated task.

Conclusions:
The result implies that developing spreadsheet applications that model real dynamic systems by using the Euler method of solving the governing differential equation has the potential to promote STEM to high school students. The method can make lessons interesting, benefits the learning of the topics and contributes to the scientific and technological knowledge of the students.

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License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 12, Issue 4, April 2016, 947-964

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1236a

Publication date: 02 Mar 2016

Article Views: 2691

Article Downloads: 3109

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