Investigating the effects of a systematic and model-based design of computer-supported argument visualization on critical thinking

Abstract

Computer-supported argument visualization (CSAV) is an educational technology that has been identified in many studies to be effective in stimulating university students' critical thinking (CT) skills. However, the instructional design principles and strategies that are effective in enhancing students' CT with CSAV have not been sufficiently explored. This study investigated the effectiveness of a systematic and model-based design of CSAV-based CT instruction on the enhancement of university students' CT skills. Two groups of students (experimental and comparison) were recruited at a Chinese university to participate in a preparatory course, Modern Education Technology (MET). The experimental group, which comprised 39 students, was fully engaged with CSAV cooperative activities designed systematically based on the First Principles of Instruction model. The comparison group, which comprised 31 students received a regular instruction designed by the subject teacher. Participants in both groups were pre- and post-tested with the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment (HCTA) test. Findings disclosed that participants in the experimental group significantly outperformed the comparison group in overall CT performance, and especially in hypothesis testing, problem-solving, and argument analysis sub-skills of the HCTA test. This result suggests that a systematic and model-based approach of designing CSAV-based CT instruction is effective in developing university students' CT skills. Implications of the findings for designing CT-supportive subject-matter instruction in line with the CSAV strategy are discussed.