Teaching Computational Modeling to Non-Computer Scientists

Most courses on computational modeling involve having students skilled in the computer science implement various computational models. Here, a course is presented which is aimed at students with minimal programming background. The focus is on using a large number of different models on various problems. Students learn how well various algorithms work, rather than how to implement them. They are provided with simple implementations and sample code that makes use of these implementations, and are then asked to adapt the given system to deal with other problems. This material is presented as part of the ongoing development of this course, and it is hoped that others may find it useful for their own courses and research