Teaching numerical methods with open, executable notebooks

Abstract

Executable notebooks let students see numerical methods run, edit parameters, and observe convergence directly. We report a semester of teaching introductory numerical methods with a set of open notebooks covering root finding, interpolation, and ordinary differential equations. Compared with a prior cohort taught with static notes, students using notebooks scored higher on applied problems and reported greater confidence implementing methods. We share the notebook set and describe the assessment design.

Keywords: Numerical methods, Education, Open notebooks, Reproducibility