Some logical issues in discrete mathematics and algorithmic thinking

• Published in: Teaching Mathematics and Computer Science Vol. 18; no. 4; pp. 243 - 258
• Main Author: Durand-Guerrier, Viviane
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Debrecen University of Debrecen 04.11.2020
• Subjects: Algorithms; Calculus; Combinatorics; Computer science; Computer Science Education; Controversial Issues (Course Content); Curricula; Didacticism; Educational Change; Heuristics; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hungarian; Logic; Logical Thinking; Mathematical Logic; Mathematics; Mathematics education; Mathematics Instruction; Pragmatics; Research Methodology; Research Problems; Science education; Science Instruction; Semantics; Semiotics; Sentences; Syntax; Validity; Hungary; France; algorithmic thinking; logic; semantics; didactics of mathematics; discrete mathematics
• ISSN: 1589-7389; 2676-8364; 2676-8364
• DOI: 10.5485/TMCS.2020.0474

The role of logic in mathematics education has been widely discussed from the seventies and eighties during the “modern maths period” till now, and remains still a rather controversial issue in the international community. Nevertheless, the relevance of discrete mathematics and algorithmic thinking for the development of heuristic and logical competences is both one of the main points of the program of Tamás Varga, and of some didactic teams in France. In this paper, we first present the semantic perspective in mathematics education and the role of logic in the Hungarian tradition. Then, we present insights on the role of research problems in the French tradition. Finely, we raise some didactical issues in algorithmic thinking at the interface of mathematics and computer science. Subject Classification: 97E30