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This paper investigates the perceived relevance of foundational theory courses (discrete math, probability) to computer science students' future careers. The authors introduced real-world application-based homework questions related to court cases, code correctness, and machine learning ethics into introductory theory courses. Surprisingly, pre- and post-term surveys revealed that only a small minority of students (less than 7%) considered the material irrelevant, suggesting students generally recognize the importance of foundational theory.
Students already believe foundational theory is relevant to their careers, so adding real-world examples may not be the best way to increase student buy-in.
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.
