A Mathematical-Logic Technique Facilitating Good Teaching (Invited Paper)

Russell Jay Hendel

This paper presents a teaching strategy for topics in undergraduate courses which require simultaneous consideration of several parameters. Such topics present several challenges: i) initial learning is difficult because of the multiple issues (parameters) that must be checked, ii) covering all cases can leave students confused, leading to omission of certain details, iii) it is not clear what presentation vehicle is best for learning. This paper proposes a mathematical-logic technique, the prime implicant normal form, PINF, to address these problems. The PINF method can easily be mastered without technical knowledge. Familiar examples are provided from Statistics and English Grammar. A survey of alternate presentation methods, gleaned from a simple Google search, reveals several advantages of using the PINF method.

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