Introductory Computer Programming Courses in Mathematics Curriculum

• Published in: Teaching Mathematics and Computer Science Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 19 - 30
• Main Authors: Jones, Leslie, Smith, Tim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Debrecen University of Debrecen 12.10.2020
• Subjects: College students; Colleges & universities; Computer programming; Computer science; Core curriculum; Degree Requirements; Feedback; Internet; Introductory Courses; Java; Mathematics; Population; Programming languages; Schools; Undergraduate Students; United States > US
• ISSN: 1589-7389; 2676-8364; 2676-8364
• DOI: 10.5485/TMCS.2020.0470

We present the results of surveys and curricular research on introductory computer programming courses that are required or recommended for mathematics degrees at U.S. colleges and universities. Our target schools were those with populations between 5,000 and 20,000 undergraduate students. A key result is a synopsis of programming languages in use in these introductory courses with Java, Python and C + + holding the top three spots. We found that 85% of the 340 schools in our pool require or recommend an introductory programming course as a component of a mathematics degree. Furthermore, most of these introductory programming courses are taught by faculty outside of the mathematics department. These results indicate that mathematics faculty value computer programming and should be actively involved in setting learning outcomes, incorporating skills and concepts learned in introductory programming courses into subsequent mathematics courses, and determining programming languages in use. Subject Classification: 97D30, 97P20, 97P40