Introduction from the Editor-in-Chief
Computational science is an increasingly important interdisciplinary field as scientists, engineers, and social scientists apply modeling and simulation techniques to gain insights on the behavior of complex systems, accelerate the rate of discovery, and design new approaches to a variety of problems. Modeling has become the third approach to scientific advancement along with theory and experimentation. As a result, an increasing number of institutions have begun academic programs in computational science ranging from minor and certificate programs for undergraduates to specialized undergraduate and graduate degree programs. At the same time, the inquiry-based approach to computational science is helping to reform the approach to instruction at both the university and K–12 levels. This approach engages students in the learning process and helps them to understand both the basic and more advanced concepts in mathematics and science by providing real-world examples and visualizations of the nature and form of those relationships.
The Journal of Computational Science Education is intended to provide an outlet for high quality papers describing successful computational science instructional materials and projects and research on the efficacy of instruction with computational science. Articles will be accepted from faculty describing instructional materials and/or the impacts of those materials on student learning and from students presenting successful projects and their assessment of what was learned.
We have assembled an editorial board of scientists, mathematicians, and engineers with a broad array of experiences from their own disciplines. They will lead the peer review process for journal submissions. If you have the background and experience to be a reviewer for the journal, we encourage you to volunteer to do so. We hope the review process will provide an incentive for faculty who have been using computational science to share their classroom successes and will also encourage other faculty to devote some additional time to the development of such materials.
In closing let me note the sad passing of one of our founding content editors, Shawn Sendlinger, Professor of Chemistry at North Carolina Central University, where he enjoyed teaching chemistry, ran a lab for research, served as department chairman, and participated in community education by supporting his local Science Bowl and teaching educational workshops across the country through the Shodor Foundation.
David Joiner
Editor-in-Chief
Kean University
admin@jocse.org