Abstract. This paper presents a result of preliminary study conducted to measure Mathematics students' perceptions towards programming, and the activities of programming in general. Sample group were students who were currently pursuing their second year degree in Mathematics with Computer Graphics (MCG) programme, who took Computer Interface Programming (CIP) course during their first semester in their current academic year. The study was conducted after a realisation that the students were reluctant in attempting programming problems in their coursework that caused a large drop in their assessments marks. The instrument used was adopted from a survey which measured students’ attitudes towards Computer Science. The survey was modified such that to reflect students’ programming perceptions instead. The instrument seeks to measure several perception components which were: Confidence (C), Attitude (A), Usefulness (U) and Motivation (M). With 24 items in the questionnaire and 34 respondents, the reliability test conducted had an average value of Cronbach's Alpha α =0.762. Data was analysed using Principle Factoring of Factor Analysis. The total variance was 70.869% while the Keiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test gave a value of 0.515. The Bartlett's test of sphericity had a significant p-value of less than 0.05. Three new factors were identified to contribute to the perceptions components. It could then be concluded that the students had negative perceptions towards programming. It was thus suggested that further research should be done to other batches of Mathematics students. Keywords and Phrases: Computer Programming Survey, Mathematics students, Programming Perceptions, Factor Analysis. 1. INTRODUCTION Programming and pr... ... middle of paper ... ...eet, Milton: John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd., 2011. [4] DIANNE H. AND SELBY M., Does It Help to Have Some Programming Experience Before Beginning a Computing Degree Program?, Proceedings of ITiCSE 2000, pp 25-28, 2000. [5] OP’T EYNDE, P. AND DE CORTE, E., Students’ Mathematics-Related Beliefs: Design and Analysis of a Questionnaire, Paper presented at annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL, 2003. [6] SANTOS, J. R., Cronbach’s Alpha: A Tool for assessing the reliability of scales, Journal of Extension [On-line], Vol. 37, No. 2, 1999. [7] TONNY J., The Motivation of Students of Programming, Proceedings of ITiCSE 2001, pp 53-56, ACM, 2001. [8] WIEBE, E., WILLIAMS, L., YANG, K. AND MILLER, C., Computer Science Attitude Survey, Technical Report, Department of Computer Science, NC State University, Raliegh, NC, TR-2003-01, 2003.
Mathematics education has undergone many changes over the last several years. Some of these changes include the key concepts all students must master and how they are taught. According to Jacob Vigdor, the concerns about students’ math achievements have always been apparent. A few reasons that are negatively impacting the productivity of students’ math achievements are historical events that influenced mathematics, how math is being taught, and differentiation of curriculum.
When schools make computer science fun and relevant, it becomes a tangible and desirable possibility for students. Kids who love playing video games might be interested in going “behind the scenes” -- the Angry Birds themed coding game presented during The Hour of Code could be a big hit! A budding artist might be enraptured by Autodesk or Adobe. And students who think computer science and athletics don’t mesh have obviously never seen a RoboCup soccer match. Regardless of the situation, it’s important to show kids how math and science play a role in their everyday lives.
Larson et al. (2012) maintain that having a productive disposition is related to persevering to solve problems. Productive disposition is defined by Kilpatrick et al. (2001) as “habitual inclination to see mathematics as sensible, useful, and worthwhile, coupled with a belief in diligence and one’s own efficacy” (p. 5). Kilpatrick et al. report that students are excited about mathematics when they first come to school but that, unfortunately, our present school system is making most students lose this disposition. They call for teachers to change their practices to make mathematics more
Smith (2004) believes that mathematics is important to the structure of society. It is an important tool for the citizens of any society as users of the end product. Smith (2004: p. 13) believes that both children and adults should have a fundamental knowledge of mathematics
Dawn Rosenberg McKay. "Computer Programmer Career Information." About Career Planning. January 30 2014. About.com. 9 April 2014. .
For some time I have dreamt of becoming a good Maths teacher. In the Sixth Form, my interest was aroused by the passion shown by my Maths teacher who is also my main source of inspiration. I was impressed with her effective methods of teaching and her enthusiasm in making the lessons interesting regardless of how dull the topic was. Brunei is lacking effective Maths teachers so I would like to add to the existing few and improve Maths education in my country. I realised that students in Brunei tend to dislike Maths because they were taught through memorisation rather than grasping the Mathematical concept. Thus, when I graduated as a Maths teacher, I hope to change the mindset of teachers and students so that they will be enchanted in learning Maths and enjoy exploring the subject. For these reasons I have chosen to pursue a degree course in Mathematics and Computing.
Using literacy strategies in the mathematics classroom leads to successful students. “The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 1989) define mathematical literacy as an “individual's ability to explore, to conjecture, and to reason logically, as well as to use a variety of mathematical methods effectively to solve problems." Exploring, making conjectures, and being able to reason logically, all stem from the early roots of literacy. Authors Matthews and Rainer (2001) discusses how teachers have questioned the system of incorporating literacy with mathematics in the last couple of years. It started from the need to develop a specific framework, which combines both literacy and mathematics together. Research was conducted through
(2013). Introduction to Computer Science. In M.-H. Education, Introduction to Computer Science (pp. 30,-220). McGraw-Hill.
Knowing the side of the learners why they dislike Mathematics is important in order for the learners to resolve it. There are many theories developed and studies conducted to identify the reasons why particular students hate Mathematics subject. We have cited some theories to which this study was anchored.
• Rich encounter in programming improvement for an extensive variety of organizations and huge scale associations worldwide.
Fifteen years ago, I proudly walked across the stage at Milwaukee Trade & Techincal High School, having victoriously earned my High School Diploma. At that time, I was only naively aware of the road that lied ahead. I would soon begin the pursuit of a degree in Computer Science at Marquette University, but my first semester would be interrupted by legal troubles and further hindered by the untimely realization that I’d prefer not to spend the rest of my life “alone in a room,” performing what I had begun to perceive as the tedious and antisocial task of computer programming.
The field of Computer Science is based primarily on computer programing. Programming is the writing of computer programs using letters and numbers to make "code". The average computer programer will write at least a million lines of code in his or her lifetime. But even more important than writting code, a good programer must be able to solve problems and think logicaly.
As a mathematics educator, I’m always confronted with the dilemma of learners’ attitude and learner achievement. There will always be a certain percentage of learners that will be successful in mathematics, while a certain percentage will be experi...
Towers, J., Martin, L., & Pirie, S. (2000). Growing mathematical understanding: Layered observations. In M.L. Fernandez (Ed.), Proceedings of the Annual Meetings of North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Tucson, AZ, 225-230.
After my twelfth grade, the inherent ardor I held for Computer Sciencemotivated me to do a bachelors degree in Information Technology. Programming and Math, a paragon of logic and reasoning have always been my favorite subjects since childhood. I still vividly remember the time during my graduation,when I was successful in creating a simple calculator application as a class assignment.The joy I derived from creating something that is used by a lot of people to help them perform complex calculations,made me realize the power of computing in its true sense.It was also in my graduation that I developed an immense interest in programming languages such as Java, C++ an...