Abstract
A course developed by Robert Y. Lewis, Floris van Doorn, and the author serves as an undergraduate introduction to mathematical proof, symbolic logic, and interactive theorem proving. The treatment of each topic on its own is routine, and the novelty lies in the way they are combined to form a multifaceted introduction to mathematical reasoning and argumentation. Students are required to master three different languages: informal mathematical language, formal symbolic logic, and a computational proof language that lies somewhere in between. Experience teaching the course suggests that students have no trouble keeping the languages distinct while at the same appreciating the relationships between them, and that the multiple representations support one another and provide a robust understanding of mathematical proof.
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Notes
- 1.
Logic-based software is also often used to teach other topics in logic and computer science. The web page https://avigad.github.io/formal_methods_in_education/ provides links to some resources.
References
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Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Mateja Jamnik and Keith Jones for helpful comments, corrections, and suggestions.
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Avigad, J. (2019). Learning Logic and Proof with an Interactive Theorem Prover. In: Hanna, G., Reid, D., de Villiers, M. (eds) Proof Technology in Mathematics Research and Teaching . Mathematics Education in the Digital Era, vol 14. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28483-1_13
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