The purpose of this quantitative research study was to compare Chinese and American students’ inclined level of critical thinking using the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) (Insight Assessment, 2013). The literature of Paul and Elder (1996, 2000, 2005, 2010), Facione and Facione (1992, 1996) and Brookfield (2005, 2010, 2013) and the conceptual framework in this study provided the foundation for the main research question of whether there are differences between Chinese and American students’ scores on the seven individual scales and their total score on the CCTDI. The Sample included 41 Chinese and 50 American undergraduate and graduate students at Florida Atlantic University, a regional research university located in southeast Florida. Independent t-tests concluded that there were no differences between the 41 Chinese students and the 50 American students regarding their critical thinking dispositions on each of seven scales on the CCTDI. A factorial analysis of variance measured moderator questions to determine whether there was a difference between Chinese and American students’ CCTDI scores based on student gender, discipline of study, undergraduate or graduate status, or enrollment as an undergraduate within the United States. There were significant differences between the critical thinking dispositions of Chinese and American undergraduate and graduate students when comparing the scale of open mindedness and gender. There were also significant differences for the scale of confidence in reasoning and discipline. For the remaining questions, there were no significant differences. A Pearson’s correlation determined that there was no relationship between the length of time students had been in the United States and their scores on the CCTDI. Educational implications include that when problem-solving skills are developed in the college setting, critical thinking can be cultivated to help prepare students for work in future employment settings. Social implications include the use of critical thinking when faced with decision making in adults’ lives, as well as in their daily work. This study may be the foundation for future studies. Finally, educators may find the CCTDI helpful in positioning students’ critical thinking dispositions prior to learning or training activities. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The role of representation in reasoning has been long and widely regarded as crucial. It has remained one of the fundamental considerations in the design of information-processing systems and, in particular, for computer systems that reason. However, the process of change and choice of representation has struggled to achieve a status as a task for the systems themselves. Instead, it has mostly remained a responsibility for the human designers and programmers. Many mathematical problems have the characteristic of being easy to solve only after a unique choice of representation has been made. In this thesis we examine two classes of problems in discrete mathematics which follow this pattern, in the light of automated and interactive mechanical theorem provers. We present a general notion of structural transformation, which accounts for the changes of representation seen in such problems, and link this notion to the existing Transfer mechanism in the interactive theorem prover Isabelle/HOL. We present our mechanisation in Isabelle/HOL of some specific transformations identified as key in the solutions of the aforementioned mathematical problems. Furthermore, we present some tools that we developed to extend the functionalities of the Transfer mechanism, designed with the specific purpose of searching efficiently the space of representations using our set of transformations. We describe some experiments that we carried out using these tools, and analyse these results in terms of how close the tools lead us to a solution, and how desirable these solutions are. The thorough qualitative analysis we present in this thesis reveals some promise as well as some challenges for the far-reaching problem of representation in reasoning, and the automation of the processes of change and choice of representation.

Wai-shing Lee. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Contents --- p.i / List of Figures --- p.iv / List of Tables --- p.v / Abstract --- p.vi / Acknowledgement --- p.vii / Chapter Chapter 1. --- Layout of the thesis --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2. --- Introduction --- p.3 / Chapter 2.1 --- What is the reasoning problem? --- p.3 / Chapter 2.2 --- Fundamental nature of Knowledge --- p.4 / Chapter 2.3 --- Fundamental methodology of Reasoning --- p.7 / Chapter 2.4 --- Our intended approach --- p.9 / Chapter Chapter 3. --- Probabilistic reasoning networks --- p.11 / Chapter 3.1 --- Overview --- p.11 / Chapter 3.2 --- Causality and influence diagrams --- p.11 / Chapter 3.3 --- Bayesian networks - influence diagrams endowed with a probability interpretation --- p.13 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- A detour to the interpretations of probability --- p.13 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Bayesian networks --- p.15 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Acyclicity and global probability --- p.17 / Chapter 3.4 --- Reasoning on probabilistic reasoning networks I - local updating formulae --- p.17 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Rationale of the intended reasoning strategy --- p.18 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Construction of the local updating formula --- p.19 / Chapter 3.5 --- Cluster graphs - another perspective to reasoning problems --- p.23 / Chapter 3.6 --- Semi-lattices - another representation of Cluster graphs --- p.26 / Chapter 3.6.1 --- Construction of semi-lattices --- p.26 / Chapter 3.7 --- Bayesian networks and semi-lattices --- p.28 / Chapter 3.7.1 --- Bayesian networks to acyclic semi-lattices --- p.29 / Chapter 3.8 --- Reasoning on (acyclic) probabilistic reasoning networks II - global updating schedules --- p.29 / Chapter 3.9 --- Conclusion --- p.30 / Chapter Chapter 4. --- Cyclic reasoning networks - a possibility? --- p.32 / Chapter 4.1 --- Overview --- p.32 / Chapter 4.2 --- A meaningful cyclic structure - derivation of the ideal gas law --- p.32 / Chapter 4.3 --- "What's ""wrong"" to be in a cyclic world" --- p.35 / Chapter 4.4 --- Communication - Dynamics - Complexity --- p.39 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Communication as dynamics; dynamics to complexity --- p.42 / Chapter 4.5 --- Conclusion --- p.42 / Chapter Chapter 5. --- Cyclic reasoning networks ´ؤ error-control application --- p.43 / Chapter 5.1 --- Overview --- p.43 / Chapter 5.2 --- Communication schemes on cyclic reasoning networks directed to error-control applications --- p.43 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Part I ´ؤ Local updating formulae --- p.44 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Part II - Global updating schedules across the network --- p.46 / Chapter 5.3 --- Probabilistic reasoning based error-control schemes --- p.47 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Local sub-universes and global universe underlying the error- control structure --- p.47 / Chapter 5.4 --- Error-control structure I --- p.48 / Chapter 5.4.1 --- Decoding algorithm - Communication between local sub- universes in compliance with the global topology --- p.51 / Chapter 5.4.2 --- Decoding rationales --- p.55 / Chapter 5.4.3 --- Computational results --- p.55 / Chapter 5.5 --- Error-control structure II --- p.57 / Chapter 5.5.1 --- Structure of the code and the corresponding decoding algorithm --- p.57 / Chapter 5.5.2 --- Computational results --- p.63 / Chapter 5.6 --- Error-control structure III --- p.66 / Chapter 5.6.1 --- Computational results --- p.70 / Chapter 5.7 --- Error-control structure IV --- p.71 / Chapter 5.7.1 --- Computational results --- p.73 / Chapter 5.8 --- Conclusion --- p.74 / Chapter Chapter 6. --- Dynamics on cyclic probabilistic reasoning networks --- p.75 / Chapter 6.1 --- Overview --- p.75 / Chapter 6.2 --- Decoding rationales --- p.76 / Chapter 6.3 --- Error-control structure I - exact solutions --- p.77 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Dynamical invariant - a key to tackle many dynamical problems --- p.77 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Dynamical invariant for error-control structure I --- p.78 / Chapter 6.3.3 --- Iteration dynamics --- p.79 / Chapter 6.3.4 --- Structure preserving property and the maximum a posteriori solutions --- p.86 / Chapter 6.4 --- Error-control structures III & IV - exact solutions --- p.92 / Chapter 6.4.1 --- Error-control structure III --- p.92 / Chapter 6.4.1.1 --- Dynamical invariants for error-control structure III --- p.92 / Chapter 6.4.1.2 --- Iteration dynamics --- p.93 / Chapter 6.4.2 --- Error-control structure IV --- p.96 / Chapter 6.4.3 --- Structure preserving property and the maximum a posteriori solutions --- p.98 / Chapter 6.5 --- Error-control structure II - exact solutions --- p.101 / Chapter 6.5.1 --- Iteration dynamics --- p.102 / Chapter 6.5.2 --- Structure preserving property and the maximum a posteriori solutions --- p.105 / Chapter 6.6 --- A comparison on the four error-control structures --- p.106 / Chapter 6.7 --- Conclusion --- p.108 / Chapter Chapter 7. --- Conclusion --- p.109 / Chapter 7.1 --- Our thesis --- p.109 / Chapter 7.2 --- Hind-sights and foresights --- p.110 / Chapter 7.3 --- Concluding remark --- p.111 / Appendix A. An alternative derivation of the local updating formula --- p.112 / Bibliography --- p.114

In the century or so that syllogisms have received the attention of psychologists, their interpretation both as and within particular types of discourse has been largely downplayed. A significant element in the guidance of interpretation is information structure as expressed in prosody. This thesis explores the role of intonation in syllogistic discourse and its effect on reasoning. A theoretical analysis of the information structures of syllogisms is presented which produces two classes of intonation patterns, the 'contextually concordant' (CC) and the 'contextually neutral' (CN), putatively corresponding to two discourse types. These are then investigated in a series of experiments. The initial observational study aims at confirming the use and significance of CC and CN patterns in a syllogism solving task. The remaining two experiments employ a purpose-built voice synthesiser to investigate the effects of imposing CC and CN contours on premises, first in a syllogism solving task and then in a syllogism evaluation task. The results show that both CC and CN intonation patterns are indeed used by participants and bear a systematic relationship to both the number and accuracy of conclusions they draw. When used in the presentation of syllogisms, however, these patterns do not influence the production of conclusions, only the evaluation of them. It is therefore argued that the discourse types to which they relate depend upon whether the syllogism is interpreted as a proof or as a problem. Further work based on these findings could aim to probe the informational links between conclusions and premises and thereby elucidate the coherence of arguments.

This study examines whether middle-school students' dense, extended engagement in an argumentation curriculum promoted development of argument skills, specifically increased use of direct counterargument and improved argument evaluation skill. A total of 56 students in two classes participated twice a week for three years (grades 6, 7, and 8) as part of their regular school curriculum. Students attended an urban middle school affiliated with a large university and were predominantly Hispanic and African-American and from lower and lower-middle socioeconomic backgrounds; 20% were from middle-class Caucasian families. In addition to its central element - electronically conducted pair dialogs on social issues - the curriculum encompassed a range of activities including small group preparation of arguments and reflective activities. A third class of 23 served as a comparison group; they also met twice a week over the same time period. They addressed similar social issues in more traditional whole-class discussion and wrote essays. Assessments of dialogic argumentation skill and argument evaluation skill initially and at the end of each of the three years indicated that that the curriculum promoted the use of counterargument generally and the direct counterargument skill specifically. Performance of the experimental group increased over time in both respects and exceeded that of the comparison group. Students participating in the intervention also engaged in more sustained direct counterargument sequences than did students in the comparison group at the final assessment. Parallel improvements in argument evaluation skill of the experimental group relative to the comparison group suggest that evaluation skill responds to practice much the same way as does argumentation performance. Theoretical implications for our understanding of developmental mechanisms are considered, as well as educational implications.

Argumentive writing is not an easy skill to master. Students from middle school through college demonstrate weaknesses. In particular they fail to take a dialogic perspective, emphasizing their own position without considering addressing alternatives. Research has shown that engaging in dialog with peers is effective in enhancing students’ argumentive thinking and writing. The present study examines whether college students (n=30) show similar benefits when asked to engage individually in a dialogic argumentive writing task. They were asked to construct a dialog between two people holding opposing positions on an issue. Students in a comparison group (n=30) were asked to write an essay on the same issue. Subsequently students in both groups were asked to write a brief TV script conveying their view. Differences in students’ argumentive skills produced in the dialogs and essays were examined. Results showed that the dialog group more frequently included opponent-directed statements (sum of Critical single evaluation, Compare, Integrate other, and Integrate own/other) and integrative statements (sum of Integrate own, Integrate other, and Integrate own/other) in their writing, compared to the essay group. Differences in students’ writing of their TV scripts were also examined. On this assessment, the effect of the dialog largely disappeared, with students in both the essay and dialog groups focusing largely on their own position. Students’ level of epistemological understanding was also examined – that is, whether they regarded knowledge claims as largely facts (absolutist level), opinions (multiplist level), or judgments subject to scrutiny in a framework of alternatives and evidence (evaluativist level). Level of epistemological understanding was assessed immediately after the writing task to determine if constructing a dialog influenced students to take on a more evaluativist perspective in which the need for comparison of multiple perspectives is recognized. Students who had constructed a dialog were more often assessed to be at the multiplist or evaluativist levels of epistemological understanding (and never at the absolutist level), compared to students who had written an essay rather than constructed a dialog. Although the benefit of the dialogic writing task largely did not generalize to the more self-focused TV script writing task, these findings indicate that promoting a dialogic perspective, even without engaging in dialog with an actual person, can be beneficial in supporting argumentive thinking and writing and mature epistemological understanding.

Building on the success in a previous study in engaging the underserved middle-school population in the practice of science through individualized scaffolding, the current study sought to examine an automated-agent, Astro-world, developed to provide real-time guidance to students in order to increase the scalability of the intervention while maintaining the benefits of the individualized format. Through practices of argument and counterargument in advancing and challenging claims, the agent focused on coordination of multiple variables affecting an outcome, rather than only the foundational and more extensively studied strategy of controlled experimentation, in the context of a scenario in which students had to investigate multiple factors affecting the performance of potential astronauts in a space simulator. The intervention sought to help students see the purpose and value of scientific practices using social science content rather than traditional science topics. In addition to adapting the technology into a regular classroom setting in which the teacher is actively engaged (teacher-involved condition), the study included a second condition to determine if the technology could be used effectively without active teacher involvement (tech-only condition). Delayed far-transfer assessments showed that only students in the teacher-involved condition (but not the tech-only condition) outperformed those in a non-participating control group in recognizing the need for evidence and considering all contributing factors in making predictions. Furthermore, post-hoc analysis showed that these significant differences occurred predominantly among those who mastered the foundational control of variable skills. Possibilities are considered as to why teacher involvement was critical to effectiveness, and implications for classroom practice are addressed.

Despite recent efforts to promote scientific argumentation, and to achieve reconceptualized views of the nature of science, including sociocultural accounts, little is known about In-service Secondary Science Teachers’ understanding of the nature of science and cognate aspects. This includes sociocultural aspects and competence in engaging in scientific argumentation about socio-scientific issues. Moreover, there is limited information on how in-service secondary science teachers’ views of the nature of science and their competence in generating scientific argumentation about socio-scientific issues are related, if at all. This also includes their professional skills in applying modern views of scientific argumentation in teaching science. This study of 13 in-service secondary science teachers used a mixed-methods approach. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were utilized to analyze data collected using the Scientific Epistemological Views instrument for evaluating teachers’ views of nature of science from a sociocultural perspective. Responses from the socio-scientific issue item – Global Warming – for evaluating teachers’ competence in understanding scientific argumentation were analyzed using a three-point scale rubric. Correlation analysis between five domains of the Scientific Epistemological Views survey and three components of argumentation and interview data were used to determine the relationship between teachers’ understanding of nature of science and competence in generating scientific argumentation. To future explore the evidence showing that these teachers could learn some of the basic modern ideas about scientific argumentation, I designed an online learning module with pre-post questionnaires assessing learning gains. Findings of this study highlighted that this group of teachers had an appreciable prior understanding of certain aspects of nature of science and scientific argumentation. The multi-correlation network diagrams generated from analyzing the in-service secondary science teachers’ responses to the Scientific Epistemological Views survey items highlighted the cohesiveness of their group-based percepts regarding the nature of science. It also showed that there were two content themes in the organization of the network diagrams; i.e., 1) the epistemological bases and 2) methodological aspects of the practices of science. Nevertheless, few science teachers were able to generate a cohesive explanation for the set of informed components of scientific argumentation. It was also found that an informed view of the nature of science did not necessarily indicate informed understanding of scientific argumentation. A further correlation analysis (one-tailed, p < 0.05) between results of the Scientific Epistemological Views survey and components of scientific argumentation showed that the invented and creative and changing and tentative features of science significantly related to Argument and Counterargument, respectively. Close examination of written responses to the Scientific Epistemological Views survey and socio-scientific issues items, as well as interview data from selected in-service secondary science teachers, further supported the above finding. The changing and tentative (CT) feature of science is found to be significantly and positively related to the total score participants received in the Global Warming questionnaire (one-tailed, p < 0.05). Regarding the online learning module about scientific argumentation, pre- and post- surveys of learning outcomes showed good gains from a theoretical perspective after the science teachers completed the online learning module, despite relatively high scores on pre-test items. The learning objectives created by the participants showed that they value students’ use of valid evidence in the process of supporting their claims, though the focus of such process varied. Further, in their reflective evaluation of the learning module, teachers prefer the addition of workshops that could provide them with practical techniques and related resources for facilitating scientific argumentation within their classrooms.

Analogical reasoning is a foundational skill necessary for enabling learners to draw inferences about new experiences, to transfer learning across contexts, and to make abstractions based on relevant information from daily experiences. Linguistic and executive function (EF) skills may support analogical reasoning ability, as both these skill sets have previously been shown to influence other higher-order cognitive abilities, such as perspective taking. Outside influences such as socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds may also influence analogical reasoning, as they have been shown to affect other cognitive processes. At present, current research offers little information about developmental relations among SES, language, EF and analogical learning. The purpose of this dissertation research was to explore the extent to which the provision of relational language facilitates children’s analogical reasoning, and to investigate the influence of SES, executive function and language skills in regard to such facilitation. Results indicate that the use of relational language indeed aids analogical reasoning. SES significantly predicted analogical reasoning, but interestingly, this was so only when relational language was absent. These findings support that relational language plays a key role in scaffolding analogical reasoning, and this support is particularly beneficial to children whose cognitive skills may be influenced by SES.

This thesis is about automated reasoning in quantified modal and temporal logics, with an application to formal methods. Quantified modal and temporal logics are extensions of classical first-order logic in which the notion of truth is extended to take into account its necessity or equivalently, in the temporal setting, its persistence through time. Due to their high complexity, these logics are less widely known and studied than their propositional counterparts. Moreover, little so far is known about their mechanisability and usefulness for formal methods. The relevant contributions of this thesis are threefold: firstly, we devise a sound and complete set of sequent calculi for quantified modal logics; secondly, we extend the approach to the quantified temporal logic of linear, discrete time and develop a framework for doing automated reasoning via Proof Planning in it; thirdly, we show a set of experimental results obtained by applying the framework to the problem of Feature Interactions in telecommunication systems. These results indicate that (a) the problem can be concisely and effectively modeled in the aforementioned logic, (b) proof planning actually captures common structures in the related proofs, and (c) the approach is viable also from the point of view of efficiency.