How to Increase Interest in Studying Functional Programming via Interdisciplinary Application

TL;DR

This paper explores using interdisciplinary applications, specifically ray tracing, to boost student interest in functional programming, demonstrating positive educational outcomes through a teaching experiment.

Contribution

It introduces a novel interdisciplinary teaching approach using ray tracing to increase interest in functional programming among students.

Findings

Positive student feedback on the interdisciplinary approach

Increased engagement and interest in functional programming

Effective use of ray tracing as an educational tool

Abstract

Functional programming represents a modern tool for applying and implementing software. The state of the art in functional programming reports an increasing number of methodologies in this paradigm. However, extensive interdisciplinary applications are missing. Our goal is to increase student interest in pursuing further studies in functional programming with the use of an application: the ray tracer. We conducted a teaching experience, with positive results and student feedback, described here in this paper.