I am João Sarubbi, a Full Professor of Computer Science at CEFET-MG in Brazil, where I teach Operations Research, Discrete Mathematics and Graph Theory. Over the past few years, I have been developing a collection of visual teaching resources on YouTube to support students in these areas.
The channel is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/@joaosarubbi
One of the motivations behind the project came from something I frequently
observe in the classroom. In Operations Research, students may learn how to
perform calculations or reproduce the steps of an algorithm before they fully
understand the structure of the problem they are solving.
They may know what to do next while still having difficulty seeing the
modelling decisions, the relationships between variables and constraints, or
the reasoning behind each step.
For this reason, I have tried to combine mathematical explanation with
visualisation, animations, worked examples and exercises. Rather than
presenting only the mechanics of a method, I try whenever possible to show the
underlying structure of the problem and the logic behind the solution process.
This is especially useful in topics where a diagram, a changing tableau, or
a network representation can make an abstract idea much easier to understand.
The Operations Research material currently covers topics such as:
- Linear Programming
modelling
- The Knapsack Problem
- The Simplex Method
- Duality
- The Transportation Problem
- The Assignment Problem
- The Maximum Flow Problem
The collection is still growing, and I plan to continue adding new topics
and expanding the existing material over time.
The material is organised into thematic playlists, each with its own
teaching sequence. Within a playlist, the videos are intended to be followed in
order because later explanations often build on concepts introduced earlier.
At the same time, lecturers do not need to use the entire collection. They
can select the playlists that are relevant to their own modules and use them
alongside lectures, textbooks, exercises and other teaching activities.
Another important aspect of the project has been language. The videos were
originally produced in Portuguese, but the Operations Research material is now
also available with English and Spanish audio and subtitles. This has made it
possible to share the same visual explanations with students and lecturers in
different countries.
What has been particularly encouraging is seeing how differently colleagues
choose to use the resources. Some use selected playlists as supplementary
material while teaching a topic, while others recommend them for revision or as
an additional explanation alongside their own lectures and exercises.
That flexibility is especially useful because Operations Research appears in
many different academic contexts, including Business Analytics, Industrial
Engineering, Management Science, Computer Science and related programmes.
For colleagues who would like to explore the material, here are a few
examples:
Linear Programming Modelling
https://youtu.be/NJo1TZSo5EI
The Simplex Method
https://youtu.be/sAfRafzOKOQ
Minimum-Cost Transportation
https://youtu.be/nkGxV_ZLWgc
Maximum Flow
https://youtu.be/jLHPgldht5w
The complete Operations Research playlist is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdFLgROzdbuKQ8kUWpFDOPxmaw0FKw9vw
I am continuing to expand the collection and would be very interested in
hearing from colleagues in Business Analytics and Operations Research about how
they use supplementary resources in their own teaching, and which topics their
students tend to find most challenging.
João Sarubbi
Full Professor of Computer Science
CEFET-MG, Brazil