Five component problem-solving skills (general strategy, planning, logical thinking, algebraic variables, and debugging) were identified as common elements of both computer programming and mathematical problem-solving. Based on the similarities of these general skills in specific contexts, a theory was generated that the skills would transfer and that experience in computer programming would cause an improvement in mathematical problem-solving achievement.
A path model was constructed to illustrate this hypothesized causal relationship between computer programming and mathematical problem-solving achievement. In order to control for other relevant variables, the model also included mathematics experience, access to a home computer, ability, socioeconomic status, and gender. The model was tested with a sample of 800 high school students in seven southwest Virginia high schools.
Results indicated that ability had the largest causal effect on mathematical problem-solving achievement. Three variables had a moderate effect: computer programming experience, mathematics experience, and gender. The other two variables in the model (access to a home computer and socioeconomic status) were only very slightly related to mathematical problem-solving achievement.
The conclusion of the study was that there was evidence to support the theory of transfer of skills from computer programming experience to mathematical problem-solving. Once ability and gender were controlled, computer programming experience and mathematics experience both had causal effects on mathematical problem-solving achievement. This suggests that to maximize mathematical problem-solving scores, a curriculum should include both mathematics and computer programming experiences. / Ed. D.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/64669 |
| Date | January 1987 |
| Creators | McCoy, Leah Paulette |
| Contributors | Curriculum and Instruction, Dodl, Norman R., Burton, John K., Weber, Larry J., Brown, Catherine A., Garrison, James W., Wolfle, Lee M. |
| Publisher | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation, Text |
| Format | ix, 97 leaves, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | OCLC# 16668565 |
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