Something of interest to think about. Before you can mathematically model a system, you must first construct a conceptual model, hence Wilson's comments. Just like most sports where defense is half the game, and you can be a defensive specialist, a non-hitting pitcher (in american league) or a designated batter who never fields; in science you can become a conceptual or mathematical specialist.
Having said this, my advice to all students is to keep taking math until you stop getting Cs. If you get a C (or even lower) in an advanced math course, few are going to ask why you got the lower grade, and most will admire that you gave it a shot. On Fri, Apr 12, 2013 at 5:29 PM, Trish Hunt <[email protected]> wrote: > Jacksonville University offered a course in Statistics for the Biological > Sciences. I learned a lot from that course and desperately wished that there > was a similar Calculus course. I would really like to advance my knowledge > in Calculus so that I may continue to Calc II and III, just to open the door > for a Meteorological Masters, but I totally did NOT understand my required > general Calc class. I worked "around" my calc test problems using any method > I could remember from Algebra, Geometry, Trig, or trial and error in order to > get a correct answer. I just didn't understand how Calc worked. I know I > will eventually retake it in order to replace the low C I earned in the > class...but I hope to find a biological/marine science geared Calculus course > so that I can better understand the material....now that I know those > specialized courses in Calc exsist! Thank you for starting this thread! I > had no idea such a course existed. > > Cheers! > Trish > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Robert Ford <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Friday, April 12, 2013 10:44 AM > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Calculus for Biology Majors > > > I would love if more institutions offered math courses tailored to specific > fields of study. > > I can say that as an undergraduate, I did not fair well in my general > calculus course because I did not see the application of it for the natural > resources realm. I also feel that teachers/teaching assistants play a huge > factor. For my one required calculus course, I had a teaching assistant that > was not fluent in English that taught my recitations as well as the teacher, > and it was incredibly difficult to understand concepts and how they might > apply. That opens up a whole different can of worms, but the general > principle is that teachers should try to meet students half-way when it comes > to enthusiasm and real world applications. > > I feel that tailored math courses would help many students realize why math > is so important in the first place. > > Rob > > > ________________________________________ > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news > [[email protected]] on behalf of Sarah Shannon [[email protected]] > Sent: Friday, April 12, 2013 8:51 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Calculus for Biology Majors > > When I was getting my B.S. in Plant Biology at the University of California, > Davis, we were required to > take a full year of Calculus. They had an excellent course called "Calculus > for Biology Majors". It was > quite rigorous, and required a lot of work from us, but was the best math > course I've ever taken. All > questions were in the form of word problems (e.g., given the following > information, how often must a > patient take the drug to maintain a concentration level above 100ppm in the > blood?). I highly > recommend courses like this for biology programs. I can think of ways to > adapt physics and statistics > courses in a similar manner. > > Sarah Shannon > Indiana University -- Malcolm L. McCallum Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry School of Biological Sciences University of Missouri at Kansas City Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
