The Use of Spreadsheets in Teaching Math and Science

Spreadsheets offer the perfect environment to introduce our students to computational thinking and the increasing role that computer simulations are playing in math and science research. Undergraduate education can be enhanced through the introduction of computer simulations by improving general quantitative skills, ensuring students are more comfortable interpreting the results from computational studies and encouraging students to implement computer models as part of their future research. Spreadsheets are a particularly useful teaching resource because of their wide availability, the use of potential cloud-based collaboration, and the fact spreadsheets are already widely used in education. The benefits and examples of spreadsheet use in undergraduate math and science courses will be discussed, with an emphasis on virtual learning in these difficult times. 

Gavin Buxton is a professor of physics in the science department at Robert Morris University. His research involves the use of computer simulations to elucidate the physics of environmental and biological systems. He is the author of a text book on spreadsheet modeling and teaches a course that uses spreadsheets to model biological and medical systems.