About This Project

I'm studying how to introduce basic programming concepts along side Algebra for middle school math education. The ability to translate story problems into working programs is a cornerstone of modern math literacy. The final product would be a book of story problems accessible to middle school students along with data on how it changed the classroom experience for teachers who used it.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

I was astounded at how programming was removed from the Middle School curriculum since the 1980s. There is scant literature on teaching Functional Programming with Algebra.

Does et al. "The Haskell road to logic, maths and programming." Texts in Computing 4 (2012).

Lawvere et al. Conceptual mathematics: a first introduction to categories. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Abramovich et al. "Spreadsheets as generators of new meanings in middle school algebra." Computers in the Schools 13.1-2 (1997): 13-25.

Kieran, Carolyn. "The learning and teaching of algebra." Handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (1992): 390-419.

NOSS, RICHARD (1986). CONSTRUCTING A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA THROUGH LOGO PROGRAMMING. EDUCATIONAL STUDIES IN MATHEMATICS, 17(4), 335-357.

What is the significance of this project?

There are books like "The Haskell Road to Logic, Maths, and Programming" and Lawvere's "Conceptual Mathematics"; but they are aimed at High School or University level readers. The mental plasticity of Middle School students is such that they will be able to go into High School and beyond knowing how to reason algorithmically, and be compfortable with programming as a form of modern technical communication. It is a game changer for students out of High School to enter a technical career path without the need for a four year degree.

What are the goals of the project?

Experimental design will be iterative surveys of how the various story problems played to the students. Eliminating, defining, refining, and reordering story problems so that they flow in a manner that yields sustainable progressive mastery.