CODEE Journal

Aims & Scope

The CODEE Journal is a peer-reviewed open access publication that showcases original materials that promote the teaching and learning of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The working language of the journal is English.

Content in the CODEE Journal generally falls into one of two categories: Articles and Projects.

Articles. Expository articles that advance the art and practice of the teaching and learning of ODEs are welcome in the CODEE Journal. Some possible topics for such articles include ideas for student research projects, mathematical content that is uncommon but could be incorporated in ODEs courses, pedagogical strategies for teaching ODEs, descriptions of best practices for the use of a particular software or technology in an ODEs course, or presentations of research on the teaching and learning of ODEs. Articles that reflect and draw on findings from the mathematics education literature are especially welcome.

Projects. The CODEE Journal also welcomes projects and activities that instructors of ODEs can use in their classrooms. The goal of CODEE is to advance the teaching and learning of ODEs, primarily through encouraging the use of modeling projects and computer experiments, so projects that involve modeling and/or computer experimentation are especially welcome. Interdisciplinary projects are also highly desirable.

Manuscripts submitted to the CODEE Journal under this category of Projects should consist primarily of a narrative that describes the project or activity with sufficient detail for other instructors to successfully implement it. At minimum, authors should include these elements in their narrative: (a) motivation (why should instructors and students use these materials?), (b) target audience of project or activity (for example, mathematics majors in an advanced ODEs course or STEM majors in an introductory ODEs course), (c) prerequisite knowledge required (particularly if knowledge from disciplines other than mathematics is required), (d) learning outcomes (what should students be able to do or know after completing this activity or project?), (e) detailed descriptions of the project or activity itself, along with specific ideas for implementation. The narrative may also include lesson plans, assessment strategies, assessment results, sample student work, ideas for further student exploration or suggestions on presentation of the material.

The typical project will occupy one or several meetings and/or homework assignments of an ODEs course. Authors can increase the utility of their project or activity, by suggesting several possible ways of using their materials. For example, the author of an activity on the Duffing oscillator might suggest that instructors wishing to focus on stability and Lyapunov functions use questions 1-4 whereas instructors wishing to focus on the chaotic behavior of the system use questions 3-8. Suggested adaptations to help instructors meet various class time constraints are also particularly helpful.