I’ve been submitting syllabi for classes to the powers-that-be, recently. The last two (the Human System Dynamics class I taught at Olin, and a “How Power Works” class) I submitted because I thought they’d be fun, but I think I’ve found one that would be much more useful.<\/p>\n
It’s a Computational Tools class, for to-be researchers in sustainable development (or really anything at the intersection of social science and earth science). The idea is to give an introduction to all the tools (or the subset I know about) that can be at a researcher’s fingertips, from an understanding of XHTML to extract data from webpages to the basics of inversion theory. Simultaneously, the class provides a
\nsemester-long education in the thought processes behind programming, computation, and modeling, using the various tools as both examples and building blocks.<\/p>\n
Here are all the topics I’ve come up with, and I’m interested in any other ideas!<\/p>\n
unix and shell scripting
\nGIS
\ntechniques in programming: working with data files, data structures, algorithms, ideas of modern languages
\nuseful Matlab toolboxes
\nintroductory R
\nintermediate stata
\ntechniques in network theory: metrics, algorithms
\ntechniques in inversion theory
\nsystem dynamics: elements, insights
\nagent based modeling
\nxhtml for web data collection
\nalgorithms from numerical analysis
\nsource control and project management systems
\nrelational databases
\nspectral analysis and tools from signal processing
\ndata collections and organizations to know
\nLaTeX and beamer
\nusing the econ cluster
\ntools from “Structure and Interpretation of Classical Mechanics”
\ninsights from nonlinear dynamics and chaos<\/p>\n
If it’s not designed for people in my program, I would add the following:
\nOLS, GMM, VAR
\nOptimization Problems
\nOptimal Control<\/p>\n
In addition, there would be an ongoing project, where each student to chooses a field (like climate or child health) and expands a collective wiki by finding good data sources, modeling tools, and techniques used in that field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’ve been submitting syllabi for classes to the powers-that-be, recently. The last two (the Human System Dynamics class I taught at Olin, and a “How Power Works” class) I submitted because I thought they’d be fun, but I think I’ve found one that would be much more useful. It’s a Computational Tools class, for to-be … Continue reading Idea for a Tools Class<\/span>