Functional programming, in which the connection to mathematics is simple and direct, is described. A language such as Logo illustrates the relationship between functional programming and mathematics in more detail. (MNS)

Revised material from earlier Project Solo newsletters is presented here. The revised material updates programs to explain the law of sines and cosines and to apply the idea of rectangular coordinates approach to aircraft navigation systems such as VORTAC. A brief discussion of the value of off-line as opposed to on-line activity is also…

Three Project Solo modules are presented. They are designed to teach the concepts of elementary matrix operation, matrix multiplication, and finite-state automata. Together with the module on communication matrices from Newsletter #17 they form a well motivated but structured path to expertise in this area. (JY)

An exercise simulating the tossing of N dice is described. Calculation of expected gain and extension to a two-person game are each discussed. (MNS)

Some techniques for managing the classroom and teaching programing that have worked well are described. Hardware placement and use, classroom management, instructional recommendations, and programing ideas are each discussed. (MNS)

Provides tips to help primary-aged students with computer keyboarding skills (suggesting the use of color codes and listing currently available software). Also describes (and lists) a program which helps test students' understanding of IF-THEN statements and illustrates some hazards of "spaghetti programming" (debugging). (JN)

Two uses of computers are outlined. The first discusses and presents a model of a program which is designed to teach students the reasoning involved in solving certain problems. The second looks at the ability of computers to count at high rates of speed, as a start for student explorations. (MP)

A teaching strategy for problem solving with computers is detailed. The approach provides a "midline" level of help that encourages exploratory activity yet provides enough guidance to increase chances of pupil success. (MP)

Computer programing and problem-solving steps in mathematics are viewed to have related concepts. Some heuristics are compared with some suggestions for structured programing. The one fundamental difference between problem solving in general and when using the computer is seen as the computer solution must be finite. The computer is viewed as a…

A teacher's description of how the microcomputer was integrated into her school, first in programming courses and later into other curriculum areas. (Author/JM)

APL was invented specifically as a mathematical teaching tool, and is an excellent vehicle for teaching mathematical concepts using computers. This article illustrates the use of APL in teaching many different topics in mathematics, including logic, set theory, functions, statistics, linear algebra, and matrices. (MNS)

This study concerned conceptual difficulties of college students learning programming and ways the teacher can simplify the process. An analysis of general strategies used in solving problems involving loops is given, with four types of hierarchical strategy categorized. Students had difficulty transforming their algebraic descriptions into…

A method for motivating programing techniques in a computer science class which uses alphametics, mathematical puzzles where words or phrases represent numerals or arithmetic operations, is given. (MK)

A program written in PASCAL designed to find the number of binary trees possible for a given number of nodes is presented. The problem was found to be highly motivating and exciting for the group of introductory computer science students with whom it was used. (MP)

Seven graduate students in a seminar on classroom computing received instruction in LOGO programming. Programming protocols were collected periodically and examined for errors and misconceptions; in-depth interviews were conducted in order to understand specific misconceptions better. As novice students transit from instruction to experience in…