Arguing on the Computer: A Microgenetic Study of Developing Argument Skills in a Computer‐Supported Environment
- 15 September 2008
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Child Development
- Vol. 79 (5), 1310-1328
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01190.x
Abstract
We report a study of a class of 28 sixth graders engaged in an extended computer-supported argumentive discourse activity. Participants collaborated with a same-side peer in arguing against successive pairs of peers on the opposing side of an issue. Meta-level awareness was facilitated by conducting the dialogs via instant messaging software, which made available a transcript of the dialog that was used in additional reflective activities. In the course of dialogs on 3 successive topics, participants showed significant gains in meta-level communications about the discourse, reflecting at least implicit understanding of its goals, as well as in the strategic moves that constituted the discourse. The latter advances remained evident when the social support of a same-side partner was withdrawn.Keywords
This publication has 36 references indexed in Scilit:
- Enhancing adolescent girls’ argument skills in reasoning about personal and non-personal decisionsCognitive Development, 2007
- Evaluating and Selecting CounterargumentsWritten Communication, 2003
- The Development of Argumentive Discourse SkillDiscourse Processes, 2001
- Explanation and Evidence in Informal ArgumentCognitive Science, 2000
- Effects of Dyadic Interaction on Argumentive ReasoningCognition and Instruction, 1997
- The Development of Epistemological Theories: Beliefs About Knowledge and Knowing and Their Relation to LearningReview of Educational Research, 1997
- Who Reasons Well? Two Studies of Informal Reasoning Among Children of Different Grade, Ability, and Knowledge LevelsCognition and Instruction, 1996
- Children's Reasoning about Interpersonal and Moral ConflictsChild Development, 1991
- Children's Reasoning about Interpersonal and Moral ConflictsChild Development, 1991
- Postprimary education has little impact on informal reasoning.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1985