Some have claimed that critical thinking is not a skill as much as an attitude. A "critical spirit"--whatever that might mean could be simultaneously both a skill and an attitude. Others have suggested that it comprises skills in argumentation, logic, and an awareness of cognitive biases in psychology. Whatever definition one favors, the…

This paper describes an educational argument modeling system, GAIL (Genetics Argumentation Inquiry Learning). Using GAIL's graphical interface, learners can select from possible argument content elements (hypotheses, data, etc.) displayed on the screen with which to construct argument diagrams. Unlike previous systems, GAIL uses domain-independent…

This article describes a five-day online energy module, developed by the Concord Consortium (an educational research and development organization) in which students compare the effects of various energy sources on air quality, water quality, and land use. The module's interactive models explore hydraulic fracturing, real-world data on energy…

Tangible technologies and shared interfaces create new paradigms for mediating collaboration through dynamic, synchronous environments, where action is as important as speech for participating and contributing to the activity. However, interaction with shared interfaces has been shown to be inherently susceptible to peer interference, potentially…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional approach in which students in small groups engage in an authentic, ill-structured problem, and must (1) define, generate and pursue learning issues to understand the problem, (2) develop a possible solution, (3) provide evidence to support their solution, and (4) present their solution and the…

ICT tools have been developed to facilitate web-based learning through and learning about argumentation. In this paper we will present an example of a learning activity mediated by Digalo--software for knowledge sharing through visually supported discussion--developed in a university setting. Our aim is to examine, in particular, socio-cognitive…

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is often based on written argumentative discourse of learners, who discuss their perspectives on a problem with the goal to acquire knowledge. Lately, CSCL research focuses on the facilitation of specific processes of argumentative knowledge construction, e.g., with computer-supported collaboration…

This paper presents a structured environment for Computer-Supported Collaborative Argumentation, which we call the Argumentative Learning Experience (ALEX). The system aims to improve understanding of argumentation and to widen and deepen the space of debate among 16-18-year-old students. To use ALEX users make arguments by selecting and…

Critical reasoning has been recognized as a valuable educational goal since the end of the nineteenth century. However, the educational programs to reach this goal have changed dramatically during the twentieth century and moved to a dialogic approach. The shift to dialogism in programs to promote critical reasoning brings challenges concerning…

For some teachers, the increasing attention to digital and multimodal composing in English and Language Arts classrooms has brought into sharp relief the profession's investment in print as the primary means of expression. Although new forms of communication that combine words, still and moving images, and animation have begun to dominate digital…

In this paper there is a description of a case in which mathematical argumentation emerge and develop between 7th grade students working in an interactive computerized environment without a deliberate mentoring. The computerized environment has its influence on the characteristics of this argumentation which include mathematical regularities based…

Believes that the World Wide Web has great potential for delivering interactive computer-aided instruction using programming language like Java and Javascript. Describes a website on object-oriented microeconomics that integrates a textbook, mini-lecture series, graphical calculator, animated drawing program, spreadsheet, and regression package.…

School- and university-based writing tasks make demands on cognitive processing and socio-cultural knowledge that vary with the discipline in which the writing is situated. The variation in socio-cognitive demands makes the use of self-accessed, computer-mediated writing instruction more promising than conventional, teacher-fronted instruction. To…