Reasoning

While published current literature reveals how the inanimate figure, the action given by manipulation, and the voice performance are perceived by the audience, it does not show how the puppet functions as argument. This thesis seeks to determine if one dramatic form, the puppet play, "The Adventures of Peer Gynt" is an effective forum for argument. "The Adventures of Peer Gynt" is analyzed according to Walter Fisher and Richard Filloy's critical methodology for examining dramatic texts. This analysis reveals that Peer Gynt functions as an effective form of argument. The play argues, through the character of Peer Gynt, that we have choices when confronted with evil, either to follow evil or stay true to our good self. The play teaches us, but children especially, that one must develop the discernment to go beneath the exterior finish to the underlying substance.

Gaining the ability to think logically and to understand
strategies of problem solving is a desired goal of
education. This goal is often expressed as learning to
reason. The programming languages currently being
taught feature a systematic breaking down of a problem
into manageable parts instead of stressing an overview
of the entire problem and all its possible implications
in its environment. PROLOG, a computer language which
allows programming in logic, is a descriptive language.
The goals of including PROLOG in the repertoire of a
student's skills are to build a familiarity with a
logical system to approach open-ended questions and
multistep problems and thereby achieve an enhancement of
reasoning abilities. The text and exercises developed
were used to teach reasoning in PROLOG to three groups
of university level students.