Student(s):
Katherine Peterson
Dates of Involvement:
Sept. 2009-December 2009
Faculty Advisor(s):
John Flynt
Graduate Mentor:
Endocytosis and Calculus Exploration Lab Development
Background
Some of the labs being developed focus on endocytosis, which, as explained previously, is process by which cells absorb molecules from outside the cell. Other labs will address areas of calculus that have been found to be conceptually central to success in learning calculus.
Lab Development for Biology and Calculus
I am working to develop educational applications for math and sciences through ActionScript programming. The applications I am developing will be available to biology students as extensions of their physical labs. One goal of the development of the applications is to provide a way that students of biology can develop ways to follow processes characteristic of endocytosis.
Currently I am developing an application to model endocytosis that will complement more mathematically driven work done by team member Ryan Schilt.
Next I will be working on applications to illustrate basic Calculus concepts that have been identified as particularly difficult to understand by educators and students. These learning applications will help students visualize mathematical and scientific concepts and can also serve as a starting point for students to develop basic programming skills as they modify the applications themselves. My first application will teach students about related rates and then show them an animation that allows them to check the results of their equation against the output of a related rates problem, such as a ladder sliding down a wall.
Collaboration
As mentioned previously, I will be working with Ryan Schilt to develop applications that address biological topics. As I develop applications that address calculus, I will be working with other team members who will be focusing on testing and evaluation and development of other applications that target calculus students.
About Katherine Peterson :
Katherine Peterson is a senior in Applied Mathematics with interest in education, programming and physics.
