Balancing Symbolic and Computational Thinking: Reinforcing Engineering Math Via Programming
Rahul Simha · 2025
This position paper will describe an approach that uses programming to teaching core concepts in mathematics useful to engineering, such as calculus, probability, and linear algebra.The approach is based on the premise that programming is a different and often effective way to learn, both as a form of active learning in class as well as a platform for encouraging explorative thinking via tinkering with code.Because the representation of quantitative concepts in code is markedly different, students get to see very concretely many of the details that are often hidden in the symbolic approach.Combining the two modes, symbolic and computational, and balancing them is the central goal of our approach.The paper and accompanying ASEE talk will describe various topics in continuous mathematics (calculus, probability, linear algebra) taught with the combined symbolic-computational approach, including lessons learned and resources available for others.