discovering logic through comics
This paper describes a new experimental course introduced in the Spring of 2010 at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. Discovering Logic is an introduction to logic for Computer Science majors in their freshman year. It targets students who have had little or no exposure to logic and has the primary objective of 1) preparing them for sophomore classes which require proficiency with understanding formal statements expressed in English, elementary reasoning skills, and a sense of mathematical rigor. The course is structured as to achieve two additional objectives: 2) develop the students' communication skills, and 3) give them some historical depth into Computer Science and logic. This led to a somewhat unconventional approach that used a comic book, Logicomix, as the course textbook and that empowered the students to be active agents in the learning process through presentations and numerous open discussions. Preliminary analysis hints at an improved performance in follow-up courses, indicating that it may be achieving its primary objective.
logic communication skills comic books logicomix computational thinking history of computer science first-year of college