Simulation as an Education Tool

Tennó Daiki, Péter Szlávi, László Zsakó

Western-style scientific methods put a lot of emphasis on the comprehension and theoretical explanation of phenomena, that is, on the accurate modelling of factors that govern system operations. There are a great number of phenomena which are difficult even for well-equipped specialists to observe directly. Our paper, on the one hand, will present the role of informatics in these fields; on the other hand, we will offer a possible methodological structure that can be used both in the classes of informatics (programming) and in the education of the specific field.

In our view, developing programs for the purposes of simulation is an excellent task in the education of programming, because, for one, it is motivating for the students and, for two, it is possible to introduce each linguistic tool to the extent that the students can not only create but also use the program. In our paper we will demonstrate how a few-line-long program can be used to model phenomena taking place inside a container of gas particles and how specific effects like acceleration or force field can be considered.

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