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Visualization in syllogistic reasoning Osana, Helena Patricia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of three different methods for teaching syllogistic reasoning. Two of the instructional methods contained visual constructs and the other consisted only of non-visual (verbal) explanations. The literature suggested that visual aids enhance performance in problem solving tasks. Of primary concern, therefore, were the effects of the visual methods compared to the non-visual approach. All methods were developed for the micro-computer. The visual approaches were modelled after two theories of syllogistic reasoning behaviour. Erickson (1974) provided the basis for the Venn diagram method and Johnson-Laird & Steedman (1978) developed the necessary details for the Sample Representation method. The findings of this study were: (1) The Venn diagram method resulted in significantly greater syllogistic reasoning than both the Sample Representation and the Non-visual methods. (2) Surprisingly, the Non-visual method resulted in significantly greater syllogistic reasoning than the Sample Representation method.

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