Learning goals
==============

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

- Solve partial differential equations using the finite-difference method
- Differentiate between and implement various boundary and initial conditions in numerical geodynamic models
- Create their own 1D geodynamic models and know how to use modern 3D numerical geodynamic modelling software to simulate common physical processes in the Earth (heat transfer, rock deformation, etc.)


.. 
    After each week you should be able to achieve following learning goals.

.. 
    +---------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    | Class                           | Learning goals                                                                      |
    +=================================+=====================================================================================+
    | 1.                              |  - Explain the basic concepts of a                                                  |
    |                                 |        1. computer,                                                                 |
    |                                 |        2. a program, and                                                            |
    |                                 |        3. a programming language                                                    |
    |                                 |  - Define & use variables                                                           |
    |                                 |  - Describe the concept of a data type                                              |
    |                                 |  - Know how to determine a data type in Python                                      |
    |                                 |                                                                                     |
    +---------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    | 2.                              |  At the end of class 2 you should be able to:                                       |
    |                                 |     - Access your user space in Github.com                                          |
    |                                 |     - Explain the concept of an index value                                         |
    |                                 |     - Use Spyder IDE to create, edit and test scripts                               |
    |                                 |                                                                                     |
    +---------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    | 3.                              |  At the end of class 3 you should be able to:                                       |
    |                                 |    - Create a for loop and use it to repeat a section of code                       |
    |                                 |    - Use if, elif, and else statements to make decisions in their programs          |
    |                                 |    - Explain how values can be compared using comparison operators                  |
    |                                 |                                                                                     |
    +---------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    | 4.                              |  At the end of class 4 you should be able to:                                       |
    |                                 |    - Explain how functions are used and why they are so useful                      |
    |                                 |    - Create your own functions to calculate an output value based on an input value |
    |                                 |    - Save functions to a script file for future use                                 |
    |                                 |                                                                                     |
    +---------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    | 5.                              |  At the end of class 5 you should be able to:                                       |
    |                                 |    - Explain what a Python module is and how they can be used                       |
    |                                 |    - Read data from a .csv text file into a program using Pandas                    |
    |                                 |    - Do simple data analysis using pandas data structures and related functions     |
    |                                 |                                                                                     |
    +---------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    | 6.                              |  At the end of class 6 you should be able to:                                       |
    |                                 |    - Analyze tabular data in Python (using skills you have learned)                 |
    |                                 |    - Understand common Python errors                                                |
    |                                 |    - Follow a simple set of guidelines to debug programs efficiently                |
    |                                 |                                                                                     |
    +---------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    | 7.                              |  At the end of class 7 you should be able to:                                       |
    |                                 |    - Make basic x-y plots of data using Pandas                                      |
    |                                 |    - Manipulate plot formatting                                                     |
    |                                 |    - Save plots as image files                                                      |
    |                                 |                                                                                     |
    +---------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+