Teaching Calculational Logic
David Gries · 1998
For the past four years, we have been teaching logic and discrete math at the freshman-sophomore college level using an approach that regards logic as a basic tool —instead of as just another academic subject. We strive to give students a skill in using the propositional and predicate calculi and then to exercise that skill thoroughly in teaching other topics of discrete math. Almost all proofs are done formally, using a calculational logic in which substitution of equals for equals is the main inference rule. In this talk, we present the calculational logic and discuss our experiences with the approach. Our main message is that this approach can do far better than the conventional one in dispelling students’ fears of math and in turning students on to logic.