RESEARCH AND EVALUATING OF HYPOTHETICALLY-DEDUCTIVE STUDENT REASONING IN REPUBLIC SERBIA

Abstract

The goal of this research is an examination of the degree of development of hypothetical-deductive reasoning in general high schools (“gymnasiums”) in the Republic of Serbia. Hypothetical-deductive reasoning is one of the categories of scientific reasoning that can be measured by the Lawson test. The main characteristic of this reasoning is the indication of the degree of development of abstract thinking in adolescents. Adolescents who have developed this method of reasoning can "operate" statements, establish complex relationships among them, and combine them in a systematic way by reaching a set of all possible combinations. Hypothetical-deductive reasoning is especially important during experiments in physics teaching. It is therefore important to examine how many students have reached this level of reasoning, and find a way to increase the level of scientific reasoning of students. The research involved 654 high school students from Novi Sad and Backa Palanka. The results of the study showed that around 13% of gymnasiums answered correctly all questions related to hypothetical-deductive reasoning. The obtained data indicate that for most students, hypothetical-deductive reasoning has not been developed. The paper presents the way in which hypothetical-deductive reasoning can be developed or stimulated.