Using argument representations to make thinking visible for individuals and groups (1997)
| Venue: | University of Toronto |
| Citations: | 39 - 2 self |
BibTeX
@INPROCEEDINGS{Bell97usingargument,
author = {Philip Bell},
title = {Using argument representations to make thinking visible for individuals and groups},
booktitle = {University of Toronto},
year = {1997},
pages = {10--19},
publisher = {Press}
}
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Abstract
This paper describes how an argument representation tool called SenseMaker has been used to promote science learning with middle school science students during a debate activity. The argumentation tool is one component of the Knowledge Integration Environment (KIE) Internet-based learning suite for science education. The argument representations make student thinking visible during individual and collaborative activities in the classroom. The paper elaborates on how the cognitive mechanisms and learning goals shaped the design of the SenseMaker software and presents results from several formative classroom trials of the tool. Student arguments vary based on their epistemological beliefs about the nature of science. Students report using the SenseMaker tool to support both individual and collaborative learning during their classroom projects. Keywords—argument-building, classroom debate, conceptual change instruction, knowledge representation tools, Internet, science education SenseMaker Rationale The Web continues to become more ubiquitous in our culture and our schools. Many metaphors have been used to better understand the Web’s role in education, including thinking of it as a library or as an on-line textbook. Although these metaphors may be appropriate for subsets of Web resources, the approach taken by this research is to view the Web as a whole as “evidence”— where students can be actively engaged in interpreting, critiquing, and constructing arguments using these information resources. Over the past three years, the KIE project has taken this approach to build a framework for Internet-based curriculum and custom software tools. The design of KIE has been shaped by cognitive research performed within classroom settings. How can students best be supported (or scaffolded) when engaging in the construction of arguments using scientific evidence from the Web? What do students learn from engaging in such activities? A number of software development efforts—including CSILE (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1991), the Multimedia
