Undergraduate Mathematics Students Appropriating Programming as a Tool for Modelling, Simulation, and Visualization: A Case Study

Abstract

In 2011, the European Mathematical Society stated that a third pillar of scientific inquiry of complex systems has emerged in the form of a combination of modelling, simulation, optimization and visualization. This paper presents a naturalistic case study of an undergraduate student enrolled in a sequence of three programming, project-based mathematics courses at Brock University (Canada) where students learn to design, program, and use interactive environments for the investigation of a mathematics concept, theorem, conjecture, or a real-world situation. We argue that these courses instituted in 2001 aim to develop students’ proficiency in the third pillar. Findings from the study suggest that the student engaged in constructionist experiences for learning mathematics through her 14 mathematical programming-based projects, and that she appropriated computer programming as an instrument for engagement in the third pillar.