Does This Even Matter in the Real World? Real World Problems in Foundational Theory Courses

TL;DR

This study integrated real-world applications into foundational theory courses in discrete mathematics and probability to assess their impact on student perceptions and engagement.

Contribution

It introduced real-world application questions into theory courses and evaluated their effect on student attitudes and enjoyment.

Findings

Less than 7% of students initially saw the material as irrelevant.

Students enjoyed the real-world problems and wanted them to continue.

Perceptions of relevance remained low but stable after the course.

Abstract

Discrete mathematics and probability theory contain foundational material for computer scientists. Despite their importance, instructors often worry that students will find these courses to be too abstract and seemingly disconnected from their future careers. For this research project, we introduced homework questions throughout our introductory theory courses based on real world applications of the course content. Areas of application included a court case, code correctness, and machine learning ethics. We surveyed students at the beginning and end of the term on their attitudes toward the relevance of the course material. Our results, surprisingly, indicate that a small minority of students (less than 7%) expected the material to be irrelevant to them at the start of the term, and a similarly small number believed that at the end of the term. Our surveys and qualitative feedback also indicate students enjoyed having the problems and wanted them to continue being offered in future iterations of the courses.