102,663 research outputs found

    Programming as a mathematical activity

    Get PDF
    Programming in undergraduate mathematics is an opportunity to develop various mathematical skills. This paper outlines some topics covered in a second year, optional module ‘Programming with Mathematical Applications’ that develop mathematical thinking and involve mathematical activities, showing that practical programming can be taught to mathematicians as a mathematical skill

    Motivating Students to Learn a Programming Language: Applying a Second Language Acquisition Approach in a Blended Learning Environment

    Get PDF
    Learning a programming language typically involves acquisition of new vocabulary, punctuation, and grammatical structures to communicate with a computer. In other words, learning a programming language is like learning a human language. A recent study showed that programmers use language regions of the brain when understanding source code and found little activation in other regions of the brain devoted to mathematical thinking. Even though programming code involved mathematical operations, conditionals, and loop iterations, researchers found that programming had less in common with mathematics and more in common with human language

    Features of Programming Languages and Algorithm for Calculating the Effectiveness

    Get PDF
    The article provides information on the basics of software engineering, programming and programming languages. Software engineering is also defined as a systematic approach to the analysis, scheduling, design, evaluation, implementation, testing, service and software upgrading. Thinking and the peculiarities of the algorithmic peculiarities are clarified, and the mechanism of their use in programming is explained. Programming theory incorporates the formal methods based on software specifications and the method based on the mathematical subjects and provides program development using mathematical symbols and ensures the accuracy to obtain the required results on the computer. The principles of using graphs in programming and dynamic programming are analyzed. The concepts of programming technology and programming languages ​​are described. The criteria for evaluating the programming languages ​​are identified and an algorithm is developed for calculating the effectiveness

    Types of mathematical thinking implemented in the learn process of functional programming

    Get PDF
    Context: This article presents and analyzes the results of a research carried out in a classroom, in the context of the learning of functional programming at university level in Systems Engineering and Computing program, from the application of the types of mathematical thinking and their use in the DrRacket programming language. The purpose was to establish links between the types of mathematical thinking and computer programming (for first-semester students). Methodology: For the development of the research, we worked with a group of first-year students, applying the proposed methodology of mathematical thinking. The evaluations, based on the types of mathematical thinking, were made in another group that was receiving the subject by conventional methods. In this group only the evaluative tests were carried out; no monitoring of their learning was done. Results: The results show great advantages when articulating mathematics and computer programming within the context of a subject that gives meaning to both areas. Conclusions: It is concluded that functional programming is learned in an easier way when it is related to the types of mathematical thinking and vice versa

    Characterising algorithmic thinking: A university study of unplugged activities

    Get PDF
    Algorithmic thinking is a type of thinking that occurs in the context of computational thinking. Given its importance in the current educational context, it seems pertinent to deepen into its conceptual and operational understanding for teaching. The exploration of research shows us that there are almost no studies at university level where algorithmic thinking is connected to mathematical thinking, and more importantly, to characterise it and be able to analyse and evaluate it better. The aim of this research is to characterise algorithmic thinking in a university context of the Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics by unplugged tasks, offering a model of analysis through categories that establish connections between mathematical and algorithmic working spaces in three dimensions, semiotic, instrumental and discursive. The results confirm the interaction between these dimensions and their predictive value for better programming performance. The study also adds novel considerations related to the role and interaction of mathematical and computational thinking categories involved in algorithmic thinking.Instituto de Matemática Interdisciplinar (IMI)Fac. de Ciencias MatemáticasTRUEUnión EuropeaMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovaciónpu

    Beyond jam sandwiches and cups of tea: An exploration of primary pupils' algorithm‐evaluation strategies

    Get PDF
    The long-standing debate into the potential benefit of developing mathematical thinking skills through learning to program has been reignited with the widespread introduction of programming in schools across many countries, including England where it is a statutory requirement for all pupils to be taught programming from five years old. Algorithm is introduced early in the English computing curriculum, yet, there is limited knowledge of how young pupils view this concept. This paper explores pupils’ (aged 10-11) understandings of algorithm following their engagement with one year of ScratchMaths (SM), a curriculum designed to develop computational and mathematical thinking skills through learning to program. 181 pupils from six schools undertook a set of written tasks to assess their interpretations and evaluations of different algorithms that solve the same problem, with a subset of these pupils subsequently interviewed to probe their understandings in greater depth. We discuss the different approaches identified, the evaluation criteria they used and the aspects of the concept that pupils found intuitive or challenging, such as simplification and abstraction. The paper ends with some reflections on the implications of the research, concluding with a set of recommendations for pedagogy in developing primary pupils’ algorithmic thinking

    Post-secondary students’ enactment of identity in a programming and mathematics learning environment

    Get PDF
    International audienceThis paper draws from year one of a 5-year research study that seeks to examine how post- secondary mathematics students learn to use programming as a computational thinking instrument for mathematics. It focuses on how post-secondary mathematics students’ identities as mathematics learners are enacted as they engage in a programming-based mathematical investigations and applications learning environment. Specifically, the paper offers a discussion of a case of one student’s enactment of his identity while simultaneously learning to program and to use it for this kind of mathematical work. This paper highlights the importance of identity in learning mathematics and its role in the development of productive dispositions in learning to program for mathematics investigation and modeling

    Una propuesta didáctica para perfeccionar la algoritmización computacional

    Get PDF
    In this article is proposed a didactics procedures system for improving computational algorithmization, which enhances a dual modelling (mathematical and computational) that characterizes the solving computer programming problems. The system was structured in four procedures: logical-mathematical construction, mathematical-algorithmic orientation, algorithmic – generalizing structure and algorithmic-computational validation, which favour the development of an algorithmic-computational thinking. The feasibility and relevance of the system was confirmed by performing a pedagogical experiment. The statistical analysis in this experiment showed that this system provides sufficient evidence about their ability to improve the algorithmization process and develop an algorithmic-computational thinking in students who are new to programming

    Supporting the Algebra I Curriculum with an Introduction to Computational Thinking Course

    Get PDF
    The Louisiana Workforce Commission predicts a 33.6% increase in computer science and mathematical occupations by 2022 and the Bureau of Labor Statistics foresees a 16% increase in computer scientists from 2018-2028. Despite these opportunities for job and financial security, the number of Louisiana students enrolled in a nationally accredited computing course is less than 1%, compared to national leaders California and Texas which have 3% and 3.8% of students respectively. Furthermore, the international assessments of mathematical literacy, PISA and TIMMS, both report American students continue to fall further behind their international peers in mathematics achievement. This thesis rejects these statistics as definitive and attempts to contribute to an expansion of the mathematical libraries of a computational thinking course that a teacher could use to support a standards-based Algebra I course. The framework presented in this thesis supports the Louisiana State University (LSU) STEM Pathway course entitled Introduction to Computational Thinking (ICT). The course introduces students to a systematic problem-solving approach in which they learn to solve problems computationally, that is, through abstraction, decomposition, and pattern recognition. ICT utilizes the functional programming language Haskell in the educational programming environment “CodeWorld” in order to create pictures and animations. Jean Piaget, the great child cognitive development psychologist, proclaimed “The goal of intellectual education is not to know how to repeat or retain ready-made truths”; rather, one becomes educated by “learning to master the truth by oneself” (Piaget, 1973). Because of the graphical outputs that one can easily code in CodeWorld, students have the ability to explore an algebraic concept with a computer programmed model, alongside the textbook’s given table, equation and graph. This thesis provides additional projects for supporting the Algebra I curriculum through LSU’s ICT course and an overview of the history of computing with an emphasis on highlighting some of the attempts that were undertaken within the past 80 years to use computational thinking and programming to support problem solving across disciplines, including the humanities, math and sciences
    corecore