Programming for learning in mathematics and science
Sylvia A. Shafto · ACM SIGCSE Bulletin · 1986
This paper presents a learning-research based argument for the integration of computer programming into the science and mathematics curricula in pre-college education as well as college. Students who generate solutions to science and mathematics problems develop a procedural understanding of the fundamental theories of these disciplines. Students should be taught to use programming languages for these solutions for the same reasons they are taught the universal tools of arithmetic and algebra, and because only a computer provides the means to describe solutions in explicit, correct, and executable form. Programming should be integrated into all mathematics and science teaching from the earliest years. In precollege education, programming should be taught over a period of eight to ten years, rather than as a 6-12 week separate topic, and should be matched to the level of complexity of the science and mathematics content.