Visual Thinking Research Articles

Alexithymia, Inner Thinking Patterns, and Perceptions of Mental Health Therapy Strategies Among Autistic Adults.

Autistic adults are at high risk for mental health challenges, yet there has been limited research on mental health interventions for this population. Individual differences in how thoughts and emotions are perceived may directly relate to the success of specific therapy strategies. This study examined whether alexithymia and inner thinking patterns relate to helpfulness and ease of use of mental health therapy strategies among autistic adults. Participants (n = 269 autistic adults, ages 21-77) completed questionnaires assessing alexithymia, inner thinking patterns (i.e., self-talk, verbal thinking, visual thinking), and experiences with mental health therapy strategies. Ordinal logistic regressions were used to examine associations between alexithymia, inner thinking, and perceived helpfulness and ease of use of therapy strategies. Autistic adults with greater alexithymia found cognitive strategies more difficult to use, while those with greater frequency of self-talk found them easier to use. By contrast, autistic adults with greater visual thinking found guided imagery strategies easier to use. There were no associations between alexithymia or inner thinking and perceived helpfulness or ease of use of behavioral strategies (exposure, behavioral activation), mind-body relaxation strategies (deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation), or mindfulness meditation. The findings suggest that some mental health strategies may be more difficult to implement for some autistic adults, depending on individual thinking profiles. However, alexithymia and inner thinking patterns were unrelated to the perceived helpfulness of mental health strategies. Overall, this highlights the importance of providing individualized supports and accommodations to optimize mental health therapy for autistic adults.

Inner experiences, mental health, and well-being in autistic and non-autistic adults.

The nature of autistic adults' everyday inner experiences has been largely unstudied. The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of inner experiences and how they relate to mental health and wellness among autistic and non-autistic adults. Autistic (n = 303) and non-autistic (n = 289) adults (ages 21-82) completed online surveys assessing their anxiety, depression, happiness, life satisfaction, and inner thinking patterns, (inner speaking [i.e., verbal thinking], inner seeing [i.e., visual thinking], unsymbolized thinking, feelings, sensory awareness, self-talk). Group differences in inner thinking were examined using Mann-Whitney U and chi-square tests. Correlations and multiple linear regressions examined associations between inner experiences, mental health, and well-being. Autistic adults had greater use of inner speaking and sensory awareness, compared to non-autistic adults. The most common primary mode of inner experience for both groups was inner speaking, while fewer autistic adults reported that experiencing thoughts as feelings was their primary modality. Autistic adults reported greater use of self-talk for social assessment, self-criticism, and self-management purposes, compared to non-autistic adults. Experiencing thoughts as inner speech and as feelings were associated with anxiety in both groups. Using self-talk for social assessment and self-criticism purposes was correlated with anxiety and depression in both groups, while using self-talk for self-management was associated with depression and anxiety only among autistic adults. The results suggest that autistic and non-autistic adults have similarities in overall patterns of inner thinking, yet autistic adults may be more likely to engage in self-talk as a strategy to manage challenging day-to-day experiences.

Enhancing Mathematical Skills of Learners in the Early Childhood Phase Through Play-Based Learning: A Review of Literature

This theoretical article examines the crucial role of play-based learning (PBL) in enhancing the mathematical skills of children in the Early Childhood Phase, referred to as Foundation Phase (Grade R-3) learners, within a South African context. The article argues that the traditional approach to teaching early childhood mathematics, where teachers typically instruct while learners listen and repeat, is often rigid and lacks engagement. For learners to thrive in mathematics and truly comprehend the subject, they need to be actively involved in ‘doing’ mathematics. PBL is an approach to teaching and learning that uses various forms of play as a medium for learning. The objectives of the article are: a) to explore alternative methods for teaching mathematics to learners in the Early Childhood Phase, and b) to highlight the benefits and value of play as a mode for teaching and learning mathematics. As a theoretical paper, it does not include a methodology section; rather, relevant literature was analysed to support and justify the claims and to address the research questions. The study found that PBL can enhance the development of the vestibular system, which can positively impact learners’ cognitive abilities, including mathematical skills. The study is significant for both learners and teachers in the Early Childhood Phase, as it provides an opportunity for teachers to utilise alternative, play-related, and enjoyable methods to teach mathematics. The paper concludes that a child-centred, play-based curriculum encourages and promotes learning in a playful setting through discovery, investigation, problem-solving, imaginative thinking, and creative thinking.

AI, Visualization and Leadership: A Nexus for Deeper Impact

Visualizing Meaning and Purpose, an innovative experiential course, blends Appreciative Inquiry, visual thinking and leadership. Our unique design, created by a visual practitioner and leadership faculty member, empowered students to apply their learning directly to real-life leadership challenges. We invite you to get a glimpse of the course and its impact, and ask yourself: How might visualization amplify and deepen my impact as an AI practitioner and leader?

Formation and Development of Professionally Important Qualities of Civil Defense Specialists at Higher Education Institutions

The article deals with the peculiarities of the formation and development of professionally important qualities of civil defense specialists at higher education institutions. Different approaches to the definition of the concept of «professionally important qualities» are analyzed, according to which the concept is considered as biologically determined (physiological, psychological, innate abilities and inclinations), individual and psychological properties of a personality as a specialist as well as personal properties formed and developed in the process of training and professional activities. The author considers some classifications of professionally important qualities of a civil defense specialist. For any type of professional activity, such professionally important qualities as discipline, responsibility, accuracy, attentiveness, observation, sensitivity, punctuality, restraint, ingenuity, ability to self-control and professional self-assessment of one's own states and actions, purposefulness, developed visual and figurative memory and analytical thinking are relevant. Risky professions require physical endurance, coordination of movements, dexterity, ability to tolerate heavy physical loads and high temperatures, determination and courage, mental and emotional stability, risk-taking, ability to switch, distribute, concentrate and hold attention, react quickly to the situation and make independent decisions and act in extreme conditions, a sense of duty, etc. The following groups of professionally important qualities for civil defense specialists are identified and substantiated: psychophysiological, intellectual, emotional and volitional, moral and ethical, managerial and communicative. The possibilities of their formation and development in the process of cadets' professional training at a higher education institution are considered.

Seeing the Futures: Evaluating the Application of Structured Analytic Technique Alternative Futures Analysis

The Structured Analytic Technique (SAT) Alternative Futures Analysis (AFA) is an imaginative thinking technique used by intelligence analysts in circumstances of uncertainty to generate and explore a range of potential future states. Recent literature on SATs has been critical of their use because of an absence of robust evidence of their value. This research observed focus groups which applied AFA to a specific case study and evaluated their outputs. The results suggest AFA can be used less prescriptively than some of the literature sets out in terms of group size and timeframe, while also supporting the recommended use of a facilitator. An understanding of the purpose of AFA as an imaginative thinking technique, intended to explore future possibilities, is vital in applying the technique, evaluating it, and communicating the results. The potential for mismatch between the criteria suggested to analyse SATs in general and the intent of AFA as a technique, undervalues the technique. A key consideration in evaluating AFA, is the need to ensure the technique is applied as intended. Further, this research identifies that the learning context may influence the application of AFA.

A set of pre-design exercises to stimulate imaginative thinking

One of the author's pedagogical methods is presented that stimulates creative and imaginative thinking among students studying in architectural fields. The method consists of a set of sequential pre-design exercises that help to form a figurative, emotional and symbolic understanding of the design site, the context of the place in a broad sense, and the object itself. Exercises include work on the verbal, semiotic, visual and plastic levels. The complex can be considered as the basis for the development of individual teaching methods and practical work in similar areas of creative activity.

Mapping visual-based methods: an interdisciplinary approach

Images are central to our understanding of and learning about our world. We argue that visual training needs to be improved in the higher education system to enhance the potential of visual thinking to mediate productively our relationship with the context we inhabit. Initiatives from the social sciences and humanities since the end of the twenty century have highlighted the importance of training in visual research methods and visual literacy, but they also expose the scarcity of tools for understanding and applying images in research processes. In this paper, we examine the way visual methods were organised and employed in earlier studies and propose a new taxonomy. This classification will map these methods in an interdisciplinary framework that allows practitioners to use images in the development of projects. This proposal also seeks to inform future methodological approaches where images are recognised as a language of knowledge, analogous to numbers or linguistic expressions.

Effectiveness of ethnomathematics-based learning on students’ mathematical literacy: a meta-analysis study

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of ethnomathematics-based learning on students’ mathematical literacy through a meta-analysis study. Primary studies were collected from Google Scholar and ERIC databases based on the inclusion criteria. The results of the literature review obtained 16 studies, either from theses, proceedings, or journal articles. Furthermore, the effect sizes were combined according to the Random Effects Model (REM) and data analysis using CMA v3 and R Studio (Meta Package). The calculation results obtained an overall effect size which indicates that ethnomathematics-based learning has a “strong” effect on students’ mathematical literacy when compared to conventional learning. As a result of the moderator category analysis, it was found that the effect sizes differed significantly according to students’ regional demographics, independent variables, and subject matter. However, it does not show significant differences when based on the duration of the meeting, education level, sample size, experimental design, type and year of publication. Thus, it can be said that ethnomathematics-based learning can be an effective learning model for increasing students’ understanding of mathematical literacy, especially in the Kalimantan Island region, recommended to be integrated with the Ethnomathematics Pop Up Book and Visual Thinking learning model, and Probability & Sets and Transformation Geometry materials, using Nonequivalent Control Group Design are recommended to be taught through this learning model.

From Play to Understanding: Large Language Models in Logic and Spatial Reasoning Coloring Activities for Children

Visual thinking leverages spatial mechanisms in animals for navigation and reasoning. Therefore, given the challenge of abstract mathematics and logic, spatial reasoning-based teaching strategies can be highly effective. Our previous research verified that innovative box-and-ball coloring activities help teach elementary school students complex notions like quantifiers, logical connectors, and dynamic systems. However, given the richness of the activities, correction is slow, error-prone, and demands high attention and cognitive load from the teacher. Moreover, feedback to the teacher should be immediate. Thus, we propose to provide the teacher with real-time help with LLMs. We explored various prompting techniques with and without context—Zero-Shot, Few-Shot, Chain of Thought, Visualization of Thought, Self-Consistency, logicLM, and emotional —to test GPT-4o’s visual, logical, and correction capabilities. We obtained that Visualization of Thought and Self-Consistency techniques enabled GPT-4o to correctly evaluate 90% of the logical–spatial problems that we tested. Additionally, we propose a novel prompt combining some of these techniques that achieved 100% accuracy on a testing sample, excelling in spatial problems and enhancing logical reasoning.

РЕПРЕЗЕНТАЦИЯ ЗДОРОВОГО ЧЕЛОВЕКА В НЕМЕЦКОЙ И АНГЛИЙСКОЙ ФРАЗЕОЛОГИИ

The article provides a comparative study of German and English phraseological units with a zoonymic or phytonymic component representing a healthy person. The analysis is given according to the following two types of cultural codes: 1) zoonymic and 2) phytomorphic. Consideration of comparative phraseological units containing zoonyms and phytonyms in the context of culture allows us to determine the general and the specific in the imaginative thinking of the Germans and the British about health, to explain the peculiarity of their functioning. Studying phraseological units within the framework of the linguistic and cultural paradigm is considered relevant since the zoomorphic and phytomorphic images underlying the formation of phraseological units are the conductors of culture. They transmit valuable information about the geographical and climatic living conditions of a particular ethnic group that helps to identify ethnocultural stereotypes and standards reflecting the collective view of the most valuable human being that is health. Moreover, the very trope (tropeic) essence of a phraseological unit is born from a combination of cultural codes, which are the structure-forming elements of cultural space and are present in the cognitive base of any linguistic and cultural community.

COMPOSITIONAL LITERACY AS A BASIS FOR TRAINING A NOVICE ARTIST-TEACHER

The article raises important problems of compositional work in the preparation of a modern specialist in art education. The authors consider the issues related to the improvement of work in the field of theoretical training, the development of artistic and imaginative thinking among students, the ability to use the experience of leading artists of the past in independent creative work.

Методика «Схематизация» в цифровом формате для оценки уровня развития наглядно-образного мышления старших дошкольников

<p>The development of imaginative thinking is one of the main tasks of educational work with preschoolers, because it allows the child to be successful in preschool activities, where the most favorable conditions for the formation of age new achievements are formed. The need for diagnostic tests to determine the level of imaginative thinking of preschoolers is related both to the need to assess the effectiveness of educational work with children, and to identify the level of development of the child. The most informative and reliable results of the assessment of cognitive processes are provided by the use of standardized test. In Russian psychology, there is only one such test - "Schematization" (author R.I. Bardin). This test was created and standardized at the end of the last century and its psychometric characteristics and assessment standards need to be updated for a modern sample. The article presents the results of the re-standarization of this test. The experimental sample of the study consisted of N = 2425 children of senior preschool age: children 5-6 years old (M = 66 months; SD = 3.09 months; n = 974) and 6-7 years old (M = 77 months; SD = 3.21 months; n = 1451). For psychometric verification, confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega coefficients, Spearman correlation coefficient, Mann-Whitney U criterion and two-factor analysis of variance were used. The norms were calculated using percentile normalization. The obtained results showed the conformity of the test with psychometric requirements and allowed us to determine the current norms for the development of imaginative thinking of older preschool children.</p>

The formation of visual thinking of students in technical universities in the context of higher mathematics education

Abstract The visualisation of teaching higher mathematics as a development of information and communication technologies determines the transition of the educational process to a new level of its development. As a result, it should focus on the visual orientation and modern practice of its use. The question arises as to the formation of students’ visual thinking as a necessary component of the training of a modern specialist. In this context, a study has been conducted on the problem of using visual information and its visual perception in teaching higher mathematics on the example of individual sections, as well as techniques of justification based on visual information. The examples offered in the article form the skills of working with graphic information. Developing visual thinking, they fix attention during the learning process, implicitly and indirectly contributing to the conversion of mental content into a visual image, ensuring the formation of a more complete picture of an image or concept. The article analyses the results of using visualisation in the educational process of students of technical universities. The influence of visualisation on the level of students’ knowledge is analysed. In particular, the ability of a certain contingent of students to perceive and use visual images, their ability to think and express thoughts in images, perceive the content of logic, emotions contained in visual information, as well as the ability to operate with visual images in communication, establish cause and effect relationships and relations between concepts, as well as memorise and reproduce ideas about objects is noted.

Exploring Bias in Health Care: Using Art to Facilitate a Narrative Medicine Approach among Third-Year Medical Students.

Teaching medical students about biases in health care poses challenges due to the complexity of modifying preexisting beliefs and the possibility of triggering strong emotional reactions. Narrative medicine fosters reflection and discussion among healthcare providers, and visual thinking strategies (VTS) enable providers to improve diagnostic ability through close and methodical examination of art. This study investigated the effectiveness of a session integrating narrative medicine and VTS to enhance third-year medical students' understanding of bias in health care. A 90-minute "Narrative Medicine Rounds" session was implemented in the Family Medicine clerkship for all third-year medical students in the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine class of 2024. The session included a faculty-facilitated discussion of Robert Colescott's painting Emergency Room, an overview of narrative medicine principles, and a sharing of student narratives related to bias experienced in the healthcare setting. After the session, students wrote and submitted their narrative essays. Students also completed an anonymous, optional, computer-based evaluation with Likert-type and free-response questions. Likert questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics. For the short-answer questions, teams of two researchers (D.G. and S.E.S., E.E. and M.S.) analyzed responses for themes and subthemes, met to reach consensus on a codebook through discussion, and recoded data as needed until frequencies of themes were mutually determined. Of 101 students, 87 (86%) provided responses to the Likert questions. Seventy percent of respondents agreed that Robert Colescott's Emergency Room was a useful tool for discussing bias in medicine, whereas 25% were neutral. Fifty-one percent of respondents agreed that the session enhanced their understanding of bias in patient care, with 33% being neutral. Forty-seven percent of respondents agreed that the session made them more familiar with narrative medicine as a tool that they can use in patient care, with 28% being neutral. Students identified five themes for recognizing bias: empathy (16%), self-reflection (60%), active listening (17%), communication (13%), and education (7%). When addressing bias, students outlined five strategies: drawing from personal experiences (1%), self-reflection (64%), communication (29%), education (15%), and advocacy (26%). Combining narrative medicine and VTS in a single session offers a promising approach for discussing bias in healthcare education. Through reflective experiences and art interpretation, students demonstrated an awareness of often interconnected strategies to identify and mitigate bias while caring for patients. Future next steps for this study involve exploring longitudinal impacts and integrating narrative medicine strategies throughout the medical school curriculum.

Advancing Education in Challenging Times: A Review of the XVI International Conference on Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (ICon-MaSTEd 2024)

Abstract This paper presents a comprehensive review of the XVI International Conference on Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (ICon-MaSTEd 2024), held from May 15-17, 2024, at Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, Ukraine. The conference, organized in a hybrid format, brought together over 100 attendees from 9 countries, showcasing cutting-edge research and innovations in educational practices amid global challenges. The review synthesizes key themes and findings from 37 selected papers across various domains, including Mathematics Education, Science Education, Computer Science Education, and Educational Technology. Notable trends include the increased integration of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in education, the development of 21st-century skills, and adaptive strategies for education in crises. Particular attention is given to studies addressing the unique educational challenges faced in Ukraine, demonstrating the resilience and innovation of educators and researchers in conflict-affected regions. The paper highlights significant contributions in areas such as online learning environments, visual thinking in mathematics, AI applications in mental health education, and the design of university digital ecosystems.

Framework of Computer Science Learning Through Hybrid Service Learning Oriented Visual Toward the Continuum of Visualization Thinking and Generic Skills

Computer Science learning requires students to think logically and understand its practical implementation in real-life situation clearly. However, the lack of learning activities that bridge the gap between theory and practice hinders their ability to depict learned concepts in real-world scenarios and master generic skills. Therefore, Computer Science education necessitates visualising learning concepts in real-life contexts, such as implementing Service Learning activities. However, in the current post-COVID-19 endemic situation, it is not feasible to implement this approach fully face-to-face. Thus, integrating Service Learning activities through technology-mediated means is essential in Computer Science education. Hybrid Service Learning activities, using technology as a medium, are instructional designs that provide opportunities for students to apply theoretical knowledge practically in real-life situations. Therefore, in this study, Computer Science learning activities were designed with visual materials through a hybrid service learning website to support the continuum of students' visual thinking and their generic skills. Subsequently, the effects of Computer Science learning activities on the continuum of students' visual thinking, level of generic skills, and perception were analyzed. A quasi-experimental study design was used, which involved a total of 27 respondents and took 15 weeks to complete. The research data was analyzed using descriptive analysis and inferential statistics. The results of paired t-test for the continuum of students' visual thinking levels, including visual thinking, visual learning, and visual communication, indicated an improvement with a significant difference of [p<0.05] between the pre- and post-activities. In terms of students' generic skills levels, the paired t-test for the pre-Service Learning [PS], during-Service Learning [DS], and post-Service Learning [AS] phases showed a significant difference of [p<0.05], which indicated an increase in students' mastery of skills and changes between each phase. Furthermore, students' perceptions revealed positive feedback towards hybrid service learning. Overall, based on the findings of this study, a framework for visual-based hybrid service learning was developed as a guide for Computer Science education to support the continuum of students' visual thinking and their level of generic skills.

Organs-without-body: a study on the genealogy of vision leading to the posthuman age

In 1834, an American medical missionary, Peter Parker, arrived in Guangdong and established a hospital. He used his medical skills to evangelise and commissioned a local artist named Lam Qua to paint numerous medical portraits. Previous studies on these portraits have mainly focused on historiography or critical discourse studies, with little attention given to the visual thinking behind them. Therefore, this paper uses Foucault’s archaeology of knowledge to systematically sort out similar images from different periods to demonstrate how the epistemological type brought by medical observation operates and is represented through discursive formation. The study shows that Lam Qua’s medical portraits can be traced back to clinicians’ records of cases and served as ethnographic displays, similar to freak shows. Information gradually becomes emphasised partially due to its detachment from the entity in the dissemination process. This idea inspired Rei Kawakubo’s clothing fashions, while Cunningham’s dance art takes it further by abstracting information from the body, visually representing posthuman thinking. These seemingly unrelated cases belong to the same collection of statements that form a system called organs-without-body in this paper, serving as a metaphor for non-physical information to help us better understand the formation of posthuman thought.

The Research and Analysis of the Application of Artistic Design Thinking in Design

The purpose is to study the application thinking of art design, with the unified expansion of conscious initiative as the core. Start with the essence and connotation of artistic design thinking. This paper discusses the nature, function, and application of artistic design thinking and the value of design. First of all, this paper analyzes “art design thinking”, which is divided into objective content and subjective mind fusion. It is a thinking mode applicable to the field of art, with a certain content of artistic thought and a consistent way of thinking, and emphasizes the principle of people-oriented, focusing on emotional experience and unique aesthetics. The paper explains that the characteristics of art design thinking are to understand things, to change things, and to associate things, and emphasizes that design should return to things eventually. Art design thinking is analyzed from the nature, function, and application of design thinking. Practical value, innovative value. In the design, the effective use of the thinking of art design can optimize the design. Then, it analyzes the original function and play of artistic design thinking in design. This involves the cognition, understanding, and comprehensive thinking of the original thing to combine image and rational thinking to extend and optimize creative ideas. Imagination and artistic thinking are transformed into new practical creativity, and art design thinking is used to optimize the design, so that the design has practical aesthetic value, to meet the needs of consumers. In terms of application analysis, it emphasizes the integration of cultural elements into artistic design thinking. This integration reflects that the designer and the spirit of creation cannot be separated, and the spirit of creation is fully reflected.

In-Depth Assessment of the Influence of Leadership Styles on Team Performance through the Lens of Wisdom Leadership

Examining team efficacy with the lens of leadership styles' effects on team performance of Wisdom Leadership (WL) highlights how different leadership styles impact team performance and highlights the part that WL plays in directing and improving team results through careful, well-considered decision-making. WL can be difficult to assess and use consistently in a variety of circumstances due to its subjective character, and it can ignore environmental considerations and practical limits that impact team effectiveness. There are 195 participants’ data are collected in leadership styles’ impact on team performance through the WL lens was gathered at random. Some questionnaires are also randomly gathered. Decision-making effectiveness (DME), conflict resolution skills (CRS), emotional intelligence (EI), visionary thinking (VT), team cohesion (TC), and employee satisfaction (ES) these factors are used to determine with the lens of WL, how leadership styles affect team performance. The statistical of PLS-SEM, Cronbach's Alpha, discriminate validity tests, Average Variance Extracted (AVE), and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to evaluate leadership styles' impact on team performance, ensuring reliability and theoretical alignment. The results validate all of the hypotheses and demonstrate that variables such as DME, CRS, EI, VT, TC, and ES significantly positively correlate with WL.When examining how team performance is affected by leadership styles through the perspective of WL. The WL approaches provides a supportive and moral atmosphere that greatly improves team performance. The significance of incorporating wisdom into leadership techniques is underscored by the way that type of leadership fosters trust, efficient communication, and sustained success.