Volume 7
Volume 7, Number 68 |
July 1, 2009 |
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Kirby McMaster
Brian Rague
Steven Hadfield
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Abstract: Information Systems and Computer Science educators have campaigned to increase mathematical content in the computing curriculum. Unfortunately, mathematical concepts are often presented in a manner that conflicts with the general mental framework, or gestalt, of IS and CS students. However, there is more than one gestalt in mathematics. In previous research, we developed two scales for measuring mathematical gestalt in books--a Logical Math scale and a Computational Math scale. In this paper, we apply our two scales to current Discrete Math textbooks to assess the relative emphasis these books give to each gestalt. Our findings have relevance in the development of approaches for teaching mathematical topics in computer courses, especially Discrete Math courses.
Keywords: framework, gestalt, discrete math, logical math, computational math
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Recommended Citation: McMaster, Rague, and Hadfield (2009). Two Frameworks for Discrete Mathematics. Information Systems Education Journal, 7 (68). http://isedj.org/7/68/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2008: §3113. ISSN: 1542-7382.)