RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
Examining Novice and Experienced Programmers’ Use of Python in a Combinatorial Context
Page: 504
In this report, we seek to add to the literature about the use of computational tools and techniques to enrich student’s mathematical reasoning in combinatorics by contrasting novice and experienced programmers in their exploration of combinatorial tasks in the context of Python. Drawing upon Lockwood’s model of combinatorial thinking, we present data from interviews with students who were engaging with a set of modules in Python designed to help students solve counting problems. We contrast pairs of students who had different levels of prior experience with coding, and we highlight aspects of the experienced coders’ solution that reflects ways in which their experience with coding arose in their combinatorial solution.