Automated Generation of User Guidance by Combining Computation and Deduction

Herewith, a fairly old concept is published for the first time and named "Lucas Interpretation". This has been implemented in a prototype, which has been proved useful in educational practice and has gained academic relevance with an emerging generation of educational mathematics assistant...

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Main Author: Walther Neuper
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Open Publishing Association 2012-02-01
Series:Electronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science
Online Access:http://arxiv.org/pdf/1202.4832v1
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author Walther Neuper
author_facet Walther Neuper
author_sort Walther Neuper
collection DOAJ
description Herewith, a fairly old concept is published for the first time and named "Lucas Interpretation". This has been implemented in a prototype, which has been proved useful in educational practice and has gained academic relevance with an emerging generation of educational mathematics assistants (EMA) based on Computer Theorem Proving (CTP). Automated Theorem Proving (ATP), i.e. deduction, is the most reliable technology used to check user input. However ATP is inherently weak in automatically generating solutions for arbitrary problems in applied mathematics. This weakness is crucial for EMAs: when ATP checks user input as incorrect and the learner gets stuck then the system should be able to suggest possible next steps. The key idea of Lucas Interpretation is to compute the steps of a calculation following a program written in a novel CTP-based programming language, i.e. computation provides the next steps. User guidance is generated by combining deduction and computation: the latter is performed by a specific language interpreter, which works like a debugger and hands over control to the learner at breakpoints, i.e. tactics generating the steps of calculation. The interpreter also builds up logical contexts providing ATP with the data required for checking user input, thus combining computation and deduction. The paper describes the concepts underlying Lucas Interpretation so that open questions can adequately be addressed, and prerequisites for further work are provided.
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spelling doaj.art-31d1dbd398c641d49a80152c670843ac2022-12-22T00:12:36ZengOpen Publishing AssociationElectronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science2075-21802012-02-0179Proc. THedu 20118210110.4204/EPTCS.79.5Automated Generation of User Guidance by Combining Computation and DeductionWalther NeuperHerewith, a fairly old concept is published for the first time and named "Lucas Interpretation". This has been implemented in a prototype, which has been proved useful in educational practice and has gained academic relevance with an emerging generation of educational mathematics assistants (EMA) based on Computer Theorem Proving (CTP). Automated Theorem Proving (ATP), i.e. deduction, is the most reliable technology used to check user input. However ATP is inherently weak in automatically generating solutions for arbitrary problems in applied mathematics. This weakness is crucial for EMAs: when ATP checks user input as incorrect and the learner gets stuck then the system should be able to suggest possible next steps. The key idea of Lucas Interpretation is to compute the steps of a calculation following a program written in a novel CTP-based programming language, i.e. computation provides the next steps. User guidance is generated by combining deduction and computation: the latter is performed by a specific language interpreter, which works like a debugger and hands over control to the learner at breakpoints, i.e. tactics generating the steps of calculation. The interpreter also builds up logical contexts providing ATP with the data required for checking user input, thus combining computation and deduction. The paper describes the concepts underlying Lucas Interpretation so that open questions can adequately be addressed, and prerequisites for further work are provided.http://arxiv.org/pdf/1202.4832v1
spellingShingle Walther Neuper
Automated Generation of User Guidance by Combining Computation and Deduction
Electronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science
title Automated Generation of User Guidance by Combining Computation and Deduction
title_full Automated Generation of User Guidance by Combining Computation and Deduction
title_fullStr Automated Generation of User Guidance by Combining Computation and Deduction
title_full_unstemmed Automated Generation of User Guidance by Combining Computation and Deduction
title_short Automated Generation of User Guidance by Combining Computation and Deduction
title_sort automated generation of user guidance by combining computation and deduction
url http://arxiv.org/pdf/1202.4832v1
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