The origins of the emphasis on formal proof are discussed as well as more recent views. Factors in acceptance of a proof and the social process of acceptance by mathematicians are included. The impact of formal proof on the curriculum and implications for teaching are given. (DC)

This set of transparencies shows how the manipulation of combinatorial structures in the context of modern combinatorics can easily lead to interesting teaching and learning activities at every level of education from elementary school to university. The transparencies describe: (1) the importance and relations of combinatorics to science and…