Learning mathematics with recursive computer programs

Peelle, Howard A.

doi:10.1145/800107.803461

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For instance, some researchers have been promoting a greater presence of discrete mathematics and proof techniques in secondary schools (Abramovich and Pieper, 1996, da Rosa, 2002, Rosenstein et al, 1997, Kaiser, 2004a, as well as the creation of computing clubs with activities about recursion (Gunion et al, 2009a). Others have emphasised the duality between recursive programming and mathematical induction (Peelle, 1976, Ford, 1984, Leron and Zazkis, 1986, Anderson, 1992, Brandt and Richey, 2004, Polycarpou, 2006, which may be used as means to a transfer of skills from secondary mathematics, as is, into college informatics. Even a reverse transfer of skills, from recursive programming to problem solving in mathematics, has been envisaged by Hausmann (1985).…”

Section: Curricular Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Survey on Teaching and Learning Recursive Programming

Rinderknecht¹

2014

Informatics in Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We survey the literature about the teaching and learning of recursive programming. After a short history of the advent of recursion in programming languages and its adoption by programmers, we present curricular approaches to recursion, including a review of textbooks and some programming methodology, as well as the functional and imperative paradigms and the distinction between control flow vs. data flow. We follow the researchers in stating the problem with base cases, noting the similarity with induction in mathematics, making concrete analogies for recursion, using games, visualizations, animations, multimedia environments, intelligent tutoring systems and visual programming. We cover the usage in schools of the Logo programming language and the associated theoretical didactics, including a brief overview of the constructivist and constructionist theories of learning; we also sketch the learners' mental models which have been identified so far, and non-classical remedial strategies, such as kinesthesis and syntonicity. We append an extensive and carefully collated bibliography, which we hope will facilitate new research.

show abstract