Rigor of TP in Educational Engineering Software

The discipline of Computer Theorem Proving (TP) distinguishes itself by formal rigor in doing mathematics in various application domains [1]. This short paper is, however, not on TP but on educational software based on TP components. Such software promises advantageous features [7] some of which are demonstrated by a prototype [3] called Isac. Isac is based on the TP Isabelle [2] and generates dialogues similar to interaction with chess software: moves in chess are considered as rigorous formal as steps in calculations are when solving problems in engineering disciplines. Isac checks input of students by use of Isabelle’s automated provers, which in turn are provided with necessary logical context by Lucas-Interpretation [6]. This interpreter also allows to propose next steps towards a solution, so roles can be arbitrarily switched between student and system. This paper reports work in progress in cooperation with universities of applied sciences in Austria. The work concerns a feasibility study on how Isac could serve in engineering education at these universities. Since Isac has been designed for “pure” mathematics, the study encounters several challenges. Below one running example presents three major challenges for discussion; the example is from [9] and slightly changed for reasons discussed in §2: