Deepening students' understanding of socio-scientific issues through graph-oriented computer supported collaborative argumentation: An exploratory study

Abstract

Engaging students in the process of argumentation is a productive way to help them deeper the understanding of socio-scientific issues (SSI). This study examined the effect of computer supported collaborative argumentation (CSCA) on Secondary school students’ SSI learning and the behavioral patterns of students’ CSCA. 122 secondary school students participated in this study. They were randomly divided into 29 groups. Through statistical analysis and epistemic network analysis, results showed that CSCA was effective in supporting secondary school students’ evidence-based argumentation skills on socio-scientific issues. The implications of this study are discussed.