Infusing explicit argumentation in science reading activities: Helping prospective science teachers reduce misconception and foster argumentation skills

2022 Pegem Journal of Education and Instruction  
Science reading activities play an important role in shaping and constructing new knowledge. The enactment of these activities was commonly used to develop scientific literacy and enhance students' understanding. However, lack of the study focuses on reducing misconceptions and developing argumentation skills. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the effect of reading activities infusing argumentation activities in reducing misconceptions and advancing argumentation skills. We employed a
more » ... quasi-experimental (non-equivalent control group design) by involving 72 prospective science teacher students as participants divided into experimental and control groups in the same proportion. The participants in the experimental group were involved to do science reading activities infusing argumentation activities whilst the control group was engaged in only science reading activities. All the groups did these activities for four meetings of which each meeting took 90 minutes. To elicit data, we used a three-tier test to measure students' misconceptions and a student survey to measure argumentation skills; both of which were tested before and after the learning process. The findings of the research showed argumentation activities infused in science reading activities have succeeded to reduce significantly students' misconceptions and develop argumentation skills. In addition, argumentation activities in science reading activities also succeed to drive students to propose comprehensive arguments and to improve the scientific quality of students' arguments. We ultimately discussed the implications arising from this study.
doi:10.47750/pegegog.12.03.19 fatcat:2ccmqt7oavdwpf4dgvmqlmxlnq