Enhancing the quality of learning and understanding of first-year mathematics for computer science related majors

Abstract

Most courses on discrete mathematics are designed to emphasize knowledge acquisition, and are given to large first year classes, in general. When the goal is to cover the content, the understanding takes a second place. This practice leads to non-enjoyment of the course, a great deal of anxiety, poor performance and a large percentage of failures. In fact, given the choice, most first year students would not do the discrete mathematics course. The opposing beliefs and expectations of the instructors and the students make it a difficult course to teach. However, irrespective of the geographical locations, as instructors, we all share a common goal: we would like our students to acquire the skills to perform complex mental operations so that they will be successful in the classroom as well as their future careers. This paper presents a way to enhance the learning and understanding of discrete mathematics.