Summary: Strategic Thinking:
Educational Use & Cognitive Foundation*
Abstract. Strategic thinking is at the intellectual core of the calculus for the 21st century,
which is not the mathematical calculus that emerged in the 17th century, but rather the
logical calculus that was conceived in the same period by Leibniz, one of the two
inventors of the mathematical calculus. Leibniz put great emphasis on a universal
language to organize concepts, on rules to guide thinking and on mechanical algorithms
to solve problems. The idea of the logical calculus came to theoretical fruition in the
first half of the 20th century; it became absolutely vital during the second half of that
century in the context of the computing revolution.
Proofs, functions and computations are the fundamental components of the
logical calculus, but are scattered in logic, mathematics and computer science.
Thorough familiarity with these concepts is no longer a privilege of a first rate
education cutting across the boundaries of the three disciplines. On the contrary, it is a
practical necessity for computer scientists and for students whose subject involves
computational modeling, be they biologists, psychologists or economists. For students
who reflect on the social impact of computers or conceive of mental processes as
computations, it is equally central.
Our work aims to contribute to educational practice and research. It contributes