Two mathematical gestalts for computer theory

Authors:
Kirby McMaster;Brian Rague;Steven Hadfield
Affiliations:
Weber State University, Ogden, UT, USA;Weber State University, Ogden, UT, USA;Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Venue:
Proceedings of the 40th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
Year:
2009

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Abstract

Many Computer Science educators have campaigned to increase mathematical content in the computing curriculum. However, mathematical concepts are often presented in a manner that conflicts with the general mental framework, or gestalt, of CS students. Fortunately, there is more than one gestalt in mathematics. In previous research, we developed two scales for measuring mathematical gestalt in books-a Logical Math scale and a Computational Math scale. In this paper, we apply our two scales to current Computer Theory books to assess the relative emphasis these books give to each gestalt. Our findings have relevance in the development of approaches for teaching mathematical topics in computer courses, especially Computer Theory courses.