Learning mathematics through the r programming language in secondary education

Abstract

Learning to program using computers constitutes a great advantage for students in order to gain competencies nowadays. Furthermore, programming can help them to develop skills such as logical reasoning, structured and/or even creative thinking from an educational point of view. Therefore, the first objective of this work is to review several studies that discuss the multiple benefits that students can obtain from learning to program in secondary education. The second and main purpose of this study seeks to show the possibility of learning mathematical concepts with the aid of one of the most popular programming languages currently available, R. This is especially interesting because some mathematical contents in the curriculum are easy to teach via algorithmic design and experimentation. Besides, these contents are unable to be taught in this way when using traditional teaching methods. This learning methodology was tested with 33 students from Spain aged 14-15 years, which used the R programming language to study polynomial equations. The experience provided sufficient information for observing great advantages and yet some disadvantages for certain students due to the intrinsic complexity of programming, as it was revealed through the correlational analysis of the survey that was taken by the participants. In any case, these disadvantages would likely be solved by a longer implementation of the methodology.