Colloquium Mathematics - Jim Portegies, Technical University of Eindhoven

Title: Waterproof: transforming a proof assistant into an educational tool

Abstract:

In this talk we demonstrate the educational software Waterproof, that is designed to help students acquiring the skill of writing mathematical proofs. Waterproof is built on top of a proof assistant, software that allows mathematicians to create and verify proofs interactively with a computer. The popularity of proof assistants has increased rapidly over the past years, and Waterproof fits into a trend of educators trying to use the benefits of proof assistants for education. In the talk, we aim to place Waterproof in this larger context, illustrate its main features and some of the technical aspects, explain how we use it in class and share results of our educational evaluation.