Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Vol. 15 No. 41 (2024)
Desarrollo, cognición y educación en la era digital: Retos y oportunidades para la formación de estudiantes y sociedades del siglo XXI más justas y equitativas

Temática central

Argumentation and Knowledge Construction in Higher Education: A Vygotskian Perspective

https://doi.org/10.19053/uptc.22160159.v15.n41.2024.16647

Published 2024-10-18

  • Ingrid Noemí González Palta
    • ,
  • Antonia Larrain Sutil

Ingrid Noemí González Palta
Universidad Alberto Hurtado

Antonia Larrain Sutil
Universidad Alberto Hurtado

Abstract

Empirical research indicates that the utilization of argumentation as an educational strategy fosters the acquisition of argumentation skills and disciplinary knowledge. Furthermore, there is evidence to show that argumentation skills development mediates the effect of oral argumentation on disciplinary knowledge. However, studies have also shown that argumentation is scarce in higher education and that although lecturers see argumentation as a relevant pedagogical goal, they think that students need to first acquire knowledge in order
to develop argumentation skills. Therefore, a crucial pedagogical resource to promote scientific knowledge in higher education is being overlooked. This paper is aimed at shedding light onto argumentation as a key practice in higher education teaching, disputing the idea that to argue, students first need to acquire knowledge. We elaborate further on Vygotsky’s notion of scientific concepts, highlighting their dialectic structure, which accounts for the epistemic potential of argumentation. This paper extends an invitation to higher education lecturers to prompt argumentation in classrooms as a form of disciplinary learning. Limitations and implications are discussed throughout the paper

Keywords

argumentation, scientific concepts, knowledge, higher education teaching

PDF HTML EPUB

References

  1. Andrews, R. (2009). Argumentation in Higher Education: improving practice through theory and research. 1st Ed. Routledge. ISBN 13: 978-1-135-27651-5 ePub
  2. Andrews, R., Bilbro, R., Mitchell, S., Peake, K., Prior, P., Robinson, A., Huat, B., Torgerson, C. (2006). Argumentative skills in first year undergraduates: A pilot study. Higher Education Academy. https://www.advance he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/argumentative-skills-first-year-undergraduates-pilot-study
  3. Antonio, R. P., & Prudente, M. S. (2021). Metacognitive Argument-Driven Inquiry in Teaching Antimicrobial Resistance: Effects on Students Conceptual Understanding and Argumentation Skills. Turkish Journal of Science Education, 2. https://doi.org/10.36681/tused.2021.60
  4. Archila, P. A., Molina, J., & Truscott de Mejía, A.M. (2020). Using Historical Scientific Controversies to Promote Undergraduates’ Argumentation. Science & Education, 29 (3), 647-671. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-020-00126-6
  5. Asterhan, C., & Schwarz, B. (2016). Argumentation for learning: Well-trodden paths and unexplored territories. Educational Psychologist, 51 (2), 164-187. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2016.1155458
  6. Bakhtin, M. (1981). The dialogical imagination. 1st Ed. University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-71527-7
  7. Bertau, M. (2011). Language for the Other: Constructing Cultural- Historical Psycholinguistics. Tätigkeitstheorie: E-Journal for Activity Theoretical Research in Germany, (5), 13-49.
  8. Billig, M. (1996). Arguing and thinking: A rhetorical approach to social psychology. 2nd Ed. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9780521567398
  9. Blunden, A. (2012). Concepts: A critical approach. 1st Ed. Brill. ISBN: 978-90-04-22847-4
  10. Børte, K., Nesje, K., & Lillejord, S. (2020). Barriers to student active learning in higher education, Teaching in Higher Education, 1–19. doi:10.1080/13562517.2020.1839746
  11. Buitrago, Á., Mejía Cuencua, N. M. M., & Hernández, R. H. (2013). La argumentación: De la retórica a la enseñanza de las ciencias. Innovación Educativa, 13 (29) . https://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1665 26732013000300003
  12. Bulgren, J. A., Ellis, J. D., & Marquis, J. G. (2014). The use and effectiveness of an argumentation and evaluation intervention in science classes. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 23(1), 82-97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-013-9452-x
  13. Daniels, J. (2017). Professional learning in higher education: Making good practice relevant. International Journal for Academic Development, 22 (2), 170-181. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2016.1261352
  14. Daumiller, M., Rinas, R., Olden, D., & Dresel, M. (2021). Academics’ motivations in professional training courses: Effects on learning engagement and learning gains. International Journal for Academic Development, 26 (1), 7-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2020.1768396
  15. de Vries, E., Lund, K., & Baker, M. (2002). Computer-mediated epistemic dialogue: Explanation and argumentation as vehicles for understanding scientific notions. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 11, 63-103.
  16. Domínguez, M., & Conforti, C. M. (2019). ¿Por qué Lógica y Teoría de la Argumentación?, Andamios Revista de Investigación Social,16 (41), 163-173. https://doi.org/10.29092/uacm.v16i41.720
  17. Driver, R., Newton, P., & Osborne, J. (2000). Establishing the norms of scientific argumentation in classrooms. Science Education, 84 (3), 287.
  18. Fan, Y., Wang, T., & Wang, K. (2020). Studying the effectiveness of an online argumentation model for improving undergraduate students’ argumentation ability. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. 36 (4), 1-14.
  19. Fraser, K., Ryan, Y., Bolt, S., Copeman, P., Cottman, C., Fisher, M. B., Fleming, J., & Luzeckyj, A. (2019). Contemporary induction to teaching in Australian universities. International Journal for Academic Development, 24 (3), 286-300. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2019.1612751
  20. Gutiérrez, G., & Carrasco, A. (2021). Chile’s enduring educational segregation: A trend unchanged by different cycles of reform. British Educational Research Journal, 47 (6), 1611-1634.
  21. Guzmán, V.F., González-Palta, I., Larrain, A.S. (2022). Concept Formation. In: Glăveanu, V.P. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible. Palgrave Macmillan.
  22. Hasnunidah, N., Susilo, H., Irawati, M., & Suwono, H. (2020). The contribution of argumentation and critical thinking skills on students’ concept understanding in different learning models. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 17 (1), https://doi.org/10.14453/jutlp.v17i1.6
  23. Iordanou, K., Kuhn, D., Matos, F., Shi, Y., & Hemberger, L. (2019). Learning by arguing. Learning and Instruction, 63, 101207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.05.004
  24. Ives, J., & Castillo-Montoya, M. (2020). First-Generation College Students as Academic Learners: A Systematic Review. Review of Educational Research, 90 (2), 139-178. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319899707
  25. Jiménez-Aleixandre, M. P. & Erduran, S. (2008). Argumentation in science education: An overview. In S. Erduran & M. P. Jiménez Aleixandre (Eds.), Argumentation in science education: Perspectives from classroom-based research. Springer.
  26. Kuhn, D. (2010). Teaching and learning science as argument. Science Education, 94 (5), 810-824. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20395
  27. Kuhn, D. (2018). A Role for Reasoning in a Dialogic Approach to Critical Thinking. Topoi, 37, 121-128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-016-9373-4
  28. Kuhn, T. S. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press
  29. Larrain, A. (2017). Argumentation and concept development: The role of imagination. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 32 (4), 521-536. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-016-0316-7
  30. Larrain, A., & Burrows, F. (2020). Las pautas sí importan. Efecto del uso de pautas sobre la calidad de la escritura argumentativa en la universidad. Formación universitaria, 13(1), 115-126. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-50062020000100115
  31. Larrain, A., & Haye, A. (2014). A dialogical conception of concepts. Theory & Psychology, 24(4), 459-478. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354314538546
  32. Larrain, A., Brasi, L. D., Calderón, M., & Calzetta, A. (2021). Creencias docentes acerca de la enseñanza de la argumentación en el ciclo básico de formación. Formación universitaria, 14 (1), 99-110. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-50062021000100099
  33. Larrain, A., Freire, P., López, P., & Grau, V. (2019). Counter-Arguing During Curriculum-Supported Peer Interaction Facilitates Middle-School Students’ Science Content Knowledge. Cognition and Instruction, 37 (4), 453-482. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2019.1627360
  34. Larrain, A., Freire, P., Moretti, R., Requena, M., & Sabat, B. (2015). ¿La universidad en Chile promueve las habilidades de argumentación escrita? Un estudio exploratorio comparativo de estudiantes de educación universitaria y educación técnica. Calidad en la educación, (43), 201-228.
  35. Larrain, A., Singer, V., Strasser, K., Howe, C., López, P., Pinochet, J., Moran, C., Sánchez, Á., Silva, M., & Villavicencio, C. (2020). Argumentation skills mediate the effect of peer argumentation on content knowledge in middle-school students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113 (4), 736–753. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000619
  36. Leitão, S. (2000). The Potential of Argument in Knowledge Building. Human Development, 43 (6), 332- 360. https://doi.org/10.1159/000022695
  37. Leitão, S. (2007). La dimensión epistémica de la argumentación. En E. Kronmüller y C. Cornejo (eds) Ciencias de la mente: Aproximaciones desde Latinoamérica, JC Sáez Editor. ISBN: 978-956-306-034-8
  38. Mok, K. H., & Marginson, S. (2021). Massification, diversification and internationalisation of higher education in China: Critical reflections of developments in the last two decades. International Journal of Educational Development, 84, 102405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102405
  39. Mulyati, Y., & Hadianto, D. (2023). Enhancing Argumentative Writing Via Online Peer Feedback-Based Essay: A Quasi-Experiment Study. International Journal of Instruction, 16(2), 195-212. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2023.16212a
  40. Ndebele, Clever. (2022). Examining the efficacy of professionalizing university teaching through formal teaching qualifications at a historically disadvantaged university in South Africa. The Independent Journal of Teaching and Learning, 17 (1), 23-38.
  41. Nnanyereugo, P., & Bolaji M. (2020). Effects of Dialogical Argumentation Instructional Model on Pre-service Teachers’ Ability to Solve Conceptual Mathematical Problems in Physics, African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 24 (1), 129-141, doi:10.1080/18117295.2020.1748325
  42. Osborne, J. (2010). Arguing to learn in science: The role of collaborative, critical discourse. Science, 328, 463-466. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1183944
  43. Pabuccu, A., & Erduran, S. (2017). Beyond rote learning in organic chemistry: The infusion and impact of argumentation in tertiary education. International Journal of Science Education, 39 (9), 1154-1172. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2017.1319988
  44. Piaget, J. (2001). The language and thought of the child. 1st Ed. Routledge. ISBN 9780415267502.
  45. Quintana, R., & Correnti, R. (2019). The right to argue: Teaching and assessing everyday argumentation skills. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 43(8), 1133-1151. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2018.1450967
  46. Schwarz, B. (2009). Argumentation and learning. In N. Muller Mirza & A. Perret-Clermont (Eds.), Argumentation and education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-98125-3
  47. Si, J., Kong, H.-H., & Lee, S.-H. (2019). Developing Clinical Reasoning Skills Through Argumentation with the Concept Map Method in Medical Problem-Based Learning. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 13 (1). https://doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1776
  48. Sönmez, E., Kabataş Memiş, E. & Yerlikaya, Z. (2021). The effect of practices based on argumentationbased inquiry approach on teacher candidates’ critical thinking, Educational Studies, 47 (1), 59-83, doi: 10.1080/03055698.2019.1654364
  49. Tiruneh, D. T., Verburgh, A., & Elen, J. (2014). Effectiveness of Critical Thinking Instruction in Higher Education: A Systematic Review of Intervention Studies. Higher Education Studies, 4 (1), 1-17.
  50. Vogel, F., Wecker, C., Kollar, I., & Fischer, F. (2017). Socio-Cognitive Scaffolding with Computer-Supported Collaboration Scripts: A Meta-Analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 29(3), 477-511. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9361-7
  51. Vandelannote, I., & Demanet, J. (2021). Unravelling socioeconomic school composition effects on higher education enrollment: The role of students’ individual and shared feelings of futility and self-efficacy. Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 24(1), 169–193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-021-09608-z
  52. Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and Language. The MIT Press. ISBN 13 978-0-262-22029-3
  53. Wittgenstein, L. (1953). Investigaciones filosóficas. 3rd Ed. Crítica. ISBN 84-7423-343-7

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Similar Articles

<< < 6 7 8 9 10 11 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.