Joint construction of new knowledge demands that persons can express their statements in a convincing way and explore other people's arguments constructively. For this reason, more knowledge on different means to support collaborative argumentation is needed. This study clarifies whether structured interaction supports students' critical and…

The current study investigates the effects of preparing students for an online debate through a worked example in terms of student perception, participation, and level of cognitive skills. The study found that students prepared for online debate through a worked example participated more frequently, wrote more words or phrases that encouraged the…

Social networking sites may include argumentative writing about particular issues in which participants adopt competing perspective and discourses on those issues. This study examined roles and discourses adopted by high school students participating in an online role-play conducted on a Ning platform regarding their school's Internet policies on…

Reports on a study in which 31 undergraduate students practiced academic argumentation by e-mail. In the two "tutored" e-mail study groups, discussion topics were selected by the tutor, while in the two self-directed "student-led" groups, selection was by the students. Results support the superiority of the student-led mode over the tutor-led mode…

Many consider rich argumentation to be the core of quality discussions and view it as a vehicle to solving problems and clarifying content. This study examined the influence of a discussion leader intervention on the quality of online argumentation and interactivity. Subjects were 44 undergraduate students who participated in online discussions on…