Commenting on Written Arguments as a Part of Argumentation Skills — comparison between students engaged in traditional vs on‐line study

Abstract

ABSTRACT The use of computer‐mediated communication (CMC) has increased in the area of education. This article reports a study whose aim was to improve the argumentation and scientific thinking skills of university students through argumentative on‐line studying. The research problems dealt on the one hand with learning outcomes in terms of subject content and on the other hand with argumentation skills. The results were compared between on‐line students and students who studied in a traditional way. The results indicated that the traditional group got better learning outcomes than the on‐line students who, by contrast, succeeded better in the tasks of argumentation skills. The findings suggest that the argumentative on‐line studying method would be suitable when trying to improve argumentation skills.