Presenting practical application of Mathematics by the use of programming software with easily available visual components

摘要

One of the biggest problems in teaching Mathematics is the motivation of students (Kloosterman, 1997; Lambić, 2008). The core of this problem is insufficient comprehension of reasons by students, why they want to learn Mathematics and in which way they could apply acquired knowledge of Mathematics (Southwell, 1994; Musto, 2008). Since programming is closely connected to Mathematics, this try has been compiled to make Mathematics closer to students with a help of working with software C++ Builder. The students from higher grades of elementary schools, high school students and university students have been participating in this project. Without previous knowledge of programming languages, the students were given tasks to create a certain computer program. The students have been making programs by inventing algorithms and setting visual components of the program, while the teacher, on their request, has been doing programming as part of the work. At the end of the project, the students have shown much better attitude towards the Mathematics class than before, and they have also obtained certain skills and knowledge in the programming field.