A Mathematical Modeling Project using MATLAB®

Abstract

Mathematical software has been playing an important role in teaching and learning. This paper reports the students' performance and reaction on the use of MATLAB for a modeling project at the National Taiwan Normal University. It was the first time a mathematical modeling project had been incorporated into the Applied Mathematics course for such students at this University. It was also the first time the students experiencing applied mathematical modeling as well as using the mathematical software. The outcomes of the project were encouraging and the approach of using MATLAB seems to be an effective method in learning mathematics.