Authors:
Rafael del Vado Vírseda
;
Fernando Pérez Morente
and
Eduardo Berbis González
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
Keyword(s):
Software Tools, Semantic Tableaux, Verification, Debugging, Invariants.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Assessment Software Tools
;
Computer-Supported Education
;
Learning/Teaching Methodologies and Assessment
;
Ubiquitous Learning
;
Virtual Labs and Virtual Classrooms
Abstract:
While Computational Logic plays an important role in several areas of Computer Science (CS), most educational
software developed for teaching logic is not suitable to be used directly in other portions of the CS
education domain where the application of logical notions is usually required. In this paper we describe the
logic teaching tool TVT based on semantic tableaux that has been developed to help the students to use logic as
a formal proof technique in other advanced topics of CS, such as the verification of algorithms, the algorithmic
debugging of imperative programs, the formal design of invariants, and the design and derivation of algorithms
from logical specifications, which are at the basis of the formal learning of programming techniques and good
development of software. We present the design, implementation, and results of the evaluation of this tool by
means of several educational experiences during the academic courses 2009/2010 and 2010/2011. From the
results of these e
xperiences we conclude that the use of the TVT tool in the current CS teaching can help our
students to understand more advanced CS concepts and to clarify the formal process involved in the design
and analysis of correct and efficient imperative programs.
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