Integrating Computing with Mathematics and Science Education: Case Studies of Student Understanding and Teaching Design

Abstract

Computing (such as programming) has revolutionised the way mathematicians and scientists work, and has also changed the way we teach mathematics and science. However, relatively little is known about how the changes to teaching impact students’ understanding. To learn more, we designed teaching experiments and interviewed first-year university students. In these interviews, we found rich examples of the ways in which students use mathematics and computing together, including what helps and hinders them in making sense of what they do. One of our main findings is that we saw certain patterns in students’ use of mathematics and computing that may support their understanding. Additionally, we present three tutorials that we designed for this purpose, and share what we learned in the process.