Logic training through algorithmic problem solving

Available for individual study only.Although much of mathematics is algorithmic in nature, the skills needed to formulate and solve algorithmic problems do not form an integral part of mathematics education. In particular, logic, which is central to algorithm development, is rarely taught explicitly at preuniversity level, under the justification that it is implicit in mathematics and therefore does not need to be taught as an independent topic. This paper argues in the opposite direction, describing a one-week workshop done at the University of Minho, in Portugal, whose goal was to introduce to high-school students calculational principles and techniques of algorithmic problem solving supported by calculational logic. The workshop resorted to recreational problems to convey the principles and to software tools, the Alloy Analyzer and Netlogo, to animate models.On- going collaboration with Roland Backhouse is deeply acknowledged. This research was supported by the MathIS project under contract PTDC/ EIA/ 73252/ 2006. The first two authors were further supported by FCT grants SFRH/ BD/ 24269/ 2005 and SFRH/ BD/ 29553/ 2006, respectively