- Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
- Argumentation, Bayesian, Bayesian Networks, Stephen Toulmin, Douglas Walton, Climate Change Adaptation, and 23 moreClimate Change Education, Science Education, Conceptual Change Approach, Concept Learning, Conceptual change, Problem solving (Cognitive Psychology), Problem solving (Education), Critical Thinking, Argumentation Theory and Critical Thinking, Science Education, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), Computer-Supported Collaborative Argumentation, Educational Technology, Instructional Design, Distance Education, Online Learning, Cooperative Learning, Persuasion (Psychology), Argumentative Writing, Argumentation in Science Education, Environmental Education, Serious Games, Critical Thinking and Creativity, Argumentation Theory, and Critical Thinking Skillsedit
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This study examines the interaction of political orientation with academic discipline on beliefs in anthropogenic climate change (ACC) among higher education faculty. Over 300 faculty members at two research institutions in the United... more
This study examines the interaction of political orientation with academic discipline on beliefs in anthropogenic climate change (ACC) among higher education faculty. Over 300 faculty members at two research institutions in the United States were surveyed on topics concerning ACC and the results were analyzed with multiple regression. Even among professors, there was a strong relationship between political orientation (liberal versus conservative) and belief in ACC; however, the relationship was substantially attenuated among professors who taught courses in liberal arts and education. On the other hand, the relationship between political orientation and ACC belief was much stronger among faculty teaching business and hotel management, compared to faculty teaching other subjects. Finally, there was a main positive effect for teaching science. The results suggest that outreach efforts to encourage more faculty to include climate change relevant information in their courses might give high priority to faculty in liberal arts and education.
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1. Levels of Measurement, Probability, and the Binomial Formula 2. Estimation and Hypothesis Testing 3. Random Variables and Probability Distributions 4. Contingency Tables: The Chi-Square Test and Associated Effect Sizes 5. Contingency... more
1. Levels of Measurement, Probability, and the Binomial Formula 2. Estimation and Hypothesis Testing 3. Random Variables and Probability Distributions 4. Contingency Tables: The Chi-Square Test and Associated Effect Sizes 5. Contingency Tables: Special Situations 6. Basic Nonparametric Tests for Ordinal Data 7. Nonparametric Tests for Multiple or Related Samples 8. Advanced Rank Tests (for Interactions and Robust ANOVA) 9. Linear Regression and Generalized Linear Models 10. Binary Logistic Regression 11. Multinomial Logistic, Ordinal, & Poisson Regression 12. Loglinear Analysis 13. General Estimating Equations 14. Estimation Procedures 15. Choosing the Best Statistical Technique. Answers to Odd Numbered Problems
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ABSTRACT Participation in collaborative learning environments has demonstrated significant learning advantages due to opportunities for group members to contribute to shared problem-solving processes, shared goals, and co-elaboration of... more
ABSTRACT Participation in collaborative learning environments has demonstrated significant learning advantages due to opportunities for group members to contribute to shared problem-solving processes, shared goals, and co-elaboration of knowledge. Furthermore, research has shown that higher levels of social perceptiveness are positively correlated with higher levels of group performance. However, collaboration is not always successful, sometimes exhibiting imbalances of power and status. In this study, positioning theory and interaction analysis were used to investigate (a) interactions in four racially and gender-mixed groups (of three university students each) working with technology and (b) their negotiated positions of power and status. Results showed that racial minority group members experienced a lower status as measured by behavioural indicators and rated participation as more inequitable. Results were exacerbated when minorities were also females Findings demonstrate the usefulness of positioning theory for examining collaborative interactions and have important implications for future CSCL research in both organisational and classroom settings.
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The Critical Questions Model of Argument Assessment (CQMAA) poses questions for evaluating arguments. Seven secondary science teachers completed a year-long professional learning program on using the CQMAA with argument pedagogy.... more
The Critical Questions Model of Argument Assessment (CQMAA) poses questions for evaluating arguments. Seven secondary science teachers completed a year-long professional learning program on using the CQMAA with argument pedagogy. Participants designed and implemented three argument-based lessons. We surveyed (pre/post) teacher and student confidence with using argument pedagogy; students also completed a test assessing their use of critical questions (CQs). We found improvements in teacher and student confidence, and students also became better at critiquing premises (especially analogies). Results regarding evidence critiques and considering alternative explanations were mixed. Also, the teachers reported that the critical questions (CQs) deepened students’ reasoning, but some CQs were more useful than others. The research suggests that developing teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge regarding scientific argumentation is a lengthy process, and that more (video) examples of expert teachers using argument pedagogy are needed, but the CQs are useful tools for both teachers and students.
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ABSTRACT I n the social sciences, researchers often use variables that take the form of counts, such as the number of self-explanations gener-ated in a think-aloud protocol, number of teachers leaving the profession in a given year, and... more
ABSTRACT I n the social sciences, researchers often use variables that take the form of counts, such as the number of self-explanations gener-ated in a think-aloud protocol, number of teachers leaving the profession in a given year, and number of student absences per semester. Counts are typically treated as interval/ratio variables because the distances between points on these variables are constant and they have a true zero point. These variables are then usually analyzed using traditional methods such as t tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), or regres-sion by ordinary least squares (OLS). Unfortunately, count data are often highly skewed, making it more appropriate to use Poisson methods to analyze these variables, specifically measuring degree of fit to a Poisson distribution and using Poisson regression. The Poisson is a skewed, nonnegative distribution that is especially suited for low-frequency count variables when many of the counts are zero and/or when the distribution is positively skewed. Poisson methods are often more statis-tically powerful than traditional methods with count variables when the population distribu-tion is skewed and the distribution approxi-mates the Poisson distribution. Unfortunately, use of Poisson methods in social science research has been relatively rare to date, primar-ily because of a lack of understanding of the underlying theory. 1 This chapter therefore provides an introductory overview of Poisson regression.
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This study examined a new prewriting tool, argumentation vee diagrams (AVDs), which are used to write reflective opinion essays. AVDs are based on the theoretical concept of argument–counterargument integration, which involves evaluating... more
This study examined a new prewriting tool, argumentation vee diagrams (AVDs), which are used to write reflective opinion essays. AVDs are based on the theoretical concept of argument–counterargument integration, which involves evaluating and integrating both sides of an issue before developing a final conclusion on a controversial question. In a test of the effectiveness of AVDs, 45 undergraduates at a
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In F. Paglieri (Ed.), The psychology of argumentation. London, England: College Publications. Certain classroom programs that engage students in argumentive discourse over an extended period of time have been shown to result in far... more
In F. Paglieri (Ed.), The psychology of argumentation. London, England: College Publications. Certain classroom programs that engage students in argumentive discourse over an extended period of time have been shown to result in far transfer effects in other disciplines. For example, argumentation-rich teaching in science classes or mathematics has resulted in higher student achievement in English Language Arts. In this chapter, we review previous explanations for these effects rooted in theories of development, argumentation schema, ACT-R theory, motivation, and situativity. We then extend these accounts by proposing that in these programs, students discover and practice “proactive executive control strategies.” These strategies involve intentionally activating or inhibiting a certain cognitive process, such as protection from interference. The acquisition and strengthening of these strategies has been used to explain far transfer effects from working memory training to tests of fluid intelligence, based on a cognitive architecture proposed by Taatgen (2013). We propose that similar processes may be at work in argumentive learning environments. For example, when one is considering someone else’s counterargument, one has to protect the mind from interference by one’s own argument, and then switch attention back to one’s argument to advocate or evaluate it. Our account is consistent with those explaining far transfer effects from the generation of general production rules (Koedinger & Stampfer, 2015) as well as the acquisition of conceptual agency through participation in conversations that matter (Greeno, 2006). Our theory also has the advantage, however, of uniting various levels of cognitive analysis, from the micro to the more molar.
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Although the Toulmin model (1958) has dominated argumentation research, it does not provide many tools for evaluating argument quality. Towards that end, we draw on work in philosophy on argument schemes, and critical questions for... more
Although the Toulmin model (1958) has dominated argumentation research, it does not provide many tools for evaluating argument quality. Towards that end, we draw on work in philosophy on argument schemes, and critical questions for evaluating those schemes. In our approach, we integrate the teaching of critical questions with argumentation vee diagrams (AVDs) and with oral and written discourse. AVDs are graphic organizers that prompt students to write arguments and counterarguments on different sides of the vee, and at the bottom of the vee, an integrative paragraph supporting a final conclusion. The present study was conducted in three sections of an undergraduate general education seminar. Two sections, comprising the experimental group, used AVDs containing a critical questions box reflecting questions for the arguments from consequence scheme (Walton, 1996). One section used AVDs without the critical question box. Students completed AVDs prior and during class discussions on social issues (e.g., drug legalization). Over time, students in the experimental group included more refutations related to the critical questions compared to the control group. The effect transferred to an in-class essay where no question prompts were provided, but not to a course paper written on whistleblowing. However, students in the experimental condition did include in their papers more explicit mention of moral principles. We explain these effects in relation to argument schema theory, in particular the development and automatization of a weighing schema. The critical questions appeared to provide students with a structure for evaluating arguments and counterarguments.
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Plausibility judgments rarely have been addressed empirically in conceptual change research. Recent research, however, suggests that these judgments may be pivotal to conceptual change about certain topics where a gap exists between what... more
Plausibility judgments rarely have been addressed empirically in conceptual change research. Recent research, however, suggests that these judgments may be pivotal to conceptual change about certain topics where a gap exists between what scientists and laypersons find plausible. Based on a philosophical and empirical foundation, this article presents a theoretical model of the role of plausibility judgments in conceptual change (PJCC) with implications for epistemic cognition. The PJCC moves beyond the limitations of cold cognitive processing by incorporating the warmer constructs of affect, motivation, and motivated reasoning. We review recent research in plausibility judgments that informed the PJCC's development and discuss components of the model. Of particular note is the importance of using explicit critical evaluation to reappraise plausibility judgments that may have been originally made through implicit cognitive processes. We also suggest potentially productive areas of future research based on the PJCC model.
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Page 1. Argumentation Vee Diagrams (AVDs) Enrich Online Discussions E. Michael Nussbaum, Denise L. Winsor, Yvette M. Aqui, & Anne M. Poliquin, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Box 453003, Las Vegas, NV 89141 nussbaum ...
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ABSTRACT This research explored disparities between how students with different degrees of extroversion and introversion engaged in small-group discussions requiring the construction and critique of arguments. 2 studies were conducted. In... more
ABSTRACT This research explored disparities between how students with different degrees of extroversion and introversion engaged in small-group discussions requiring the construction and critique of arguments. 2 studies were conducted. In the first study, 8 sixth-grade students from 2 classes discussed urban planning dilemmas in 2 small groups outside the classroom. Discussions were videotaped. Based on student responses to a short personality questionnaire, the 8 target students were selected from the extremes of the classroom distribution (4 extroverts and 4 introverts). The more extroverted students made significantly more contradictions and counterexamples during small-group discussions with other extroverts, indicating a greater tendency to use conflictual discourse. In contrast, the more introverted students worked with one another collaboratively to develop creative solutions. A replication study was conducted using 16 preservice teachers enrolled in an introductory educational psychology course; this study yielded similar results. Possible explanations of these findings are discussed.
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Research Interests: Critical Theory, Psychology, Design practice, Critical Thinking, Argumentation, and 13 moreCritical Thinking and Creativity, Argumentation Theory, Social Studies, Argumentation Theory and Critical Thinking, Intervention, Critical Thinking Skills, Critical Thinking in Education, Visual Argumentation, Dialogic argumentation, Design Practice, Logical Thinking, Collaborative Reasoning, and Experimental Group
The article examines the claim of Anderson et al. (2001) that students engaged in small-group discussions will tend to imitate and appropriate argument stratagems and other discourse behaviors from one another when it is appropriate to do... more
The article examines the claim of Anderson et al. (2001) that students engaged in small-group discussions will tend to imitate and appropriate argument stratagems and other discourse behaviors from one another when it is appropriate to do so. In a study involving 67 5th- and 6th-grade students engaged in numerous small-group discussions, some evidence of appropriation was obtained, especially in regards to asking other students for reasons (“support requests”). There were several cases, however, in which students did not appear to use these requests appropriately. These cases are analyzed from the standpoint of both speech act theory and argumentation frames. The analyses indicate that students experienced a conflict between frames associated with traditional, ritualized participant structures and open, collaborative discussions. The danger of teachers and students mixing discourse frames in alternative learning environments is discussed.
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The potential of on-line discussions to prompt greater reflection of course material is often stymied by a tendency of students to agree with one another rather than to formulate counter-arguments. This article describes an experiment... more
The potential of on-line discussions to prompt greater reflection of course material is often stymied by a tendency of students to agree with one another rather than to formulate counter-arguments. This article describes an experiment using note starters and elaborated cases to encourage counter-argumentation and examines interactions with personality characteristics. Participants were 48 undergraduates who wrote on-line discussion notes in response to two issues in educational psychology. Participants also completed a personality survey, based on McCrae and Costa's (1997) five-factor personality model. There was a significant positive main effect of note starters on the frequency of disagreement, as well as personality-treatment interactions between note starters and several personality characteristics, The results suggest that note starters are most useful for students with low degrees of curiosity (“openness to ideas”) or assertiveness, and who are not overly anxious. Note st...
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We surveyed 178 undergraduates to investigate whether differences exist between traditional and nontraditional students' goal orientations and/or coping strategies and to investigate relationships between... more
We surveyed 178 undergraduates to investigate whether differences exist between traditional and nontraditional students' goal orientations and/or coping strategies and to investigate relationships between goal orientations and coping strategies. Using the variables age, marital status, parental status, and whether time was ever taken off from school, a cluster analysis was used to identify traditional and nontraditional students. Results from a
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Research Interests: Computer Science, Educational Technology, Distance Education, Electronic publishing, Critical Thinking, and 13 moreComputer Supported Collaborative Learning, Argumentation, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning CSCL, Computer Mediated Communication, Online Education, Online and Distance Education, Argumentation Theory and Critical Thinking, Argumentation Theory & Forensics, Cooperative Learning, Asynchronous Communication, Online Discussion, Internet, and Control Group
This article serves two functions. First, it addresses why studying collaborative discourse and collaborative argumentation is important for promoting students’ deep-level understanding of content. A literature review is presented... more
This article serves two functions. First, it addresses why studying collaborative discourse and collaborative argumentation is important for promoting students’ deep-level understanding of content. A literature review is presented examining the evidence for this claim, concluding that engaging in collaborative discourse and argumentation might have long-term effects in consolidating learning gains. Second, the various articles in this special issue are
Research Interests: Psychology, Research Methodology, Educational Psychology, Educational Research, Argumentation, and 12 moreArgumentation Theory and Critical Thinking, Literature Review, Cooperative Learning, Teaching Methods, Argumentation in Science Education, MENTAL MODEL, Cognitive processes, Argumentation Based Learning, Dialogic argumentation, Learning Outcome, Long Term Effect, and Categorical Data
Research Interests: Psychology, Epistemology, Interpersonal Communication, Individual Differences, Epistemological beliefs, and 10 moreNeed for Cognition, Regression Analysis, Perceived Usefulness, Extraversion, Argument, Personality Traits, Instrument Development, Individual Difference, Personality Trait, and Contemporary Educational
Research Interests: Psychology, Physics, Cognition, Conceptual change, Student Engagement, and 11 moreArgumentation, Sciences, Learning, Problem Solving, Argumentation in Science Education, Cognitive Process, Cognitive processes, Argumentation Based Learning, Conceptual Change Strategy, Conceptualization, and Conceptual Change
... Traditional psychometric approaches to validation can be supplemented with these cognitive psychological analyses (Snow & Lohman, 1989). ... The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) included achieve-ment... more
... Traditional psychometric approaches to validation can be supplemented with these cognitive psychological analyses (Snow & Lohman, 1989). ... The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) included achieve-ment tests in science, mathematics, reading, and ...
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The present study demonstrates the utility of a multidimensional representation of student mathematics achievement. Third in a series of studies using the math test item level data from the NELS: 88 longitudinal study, it carries the... more
The present study demonstrates the utility of a multidimensional representation of student mathematics achievement. Third in a series of studies using the math test item level data from the NELS: 88 longitudinal study, it carries the analyses through the 12th grade. Full information factor analysis was employed to investigate the structure of math achievement, create meaningful achievement scales, and explore
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When asked what the top three issues of the Las Vegas region were, the reply was “water, water, water” This was the result of a survey done a few years ago of Las Vegas Valley TV anchors. The reason for this response is that... more
When asked what the top three issues of the Las Vegas region were, the reply was “water, water, water” This was the result of a survey done a few years ago of Las Vegas Valley TV anchors. The reason for this response is that sustainability of the urban environments requires sufficient water resources as does population growth. With the advent of global climate change, this resource is in danger. Water flow and mountainous ice packs are impacted by this change in climate there by impacting the amount of water the the ...
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Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, Bayesian, Educational Psychology, and 14 moreEducational Research, Argumentation, Role of the Educational Psychologist, Social Studies, Bayesian Networks, Probability, Models, Intervention, Theories, Stephen Toulmin, Douglas Walton, Bayesian model, Quality of Information, and Probability Model
ABSTRACT This study examines the effect of goal instructions on students’ reasoning and argumentation in an interactive context (discussing a topic on-line). Goal instructions specify the goal of a discussion. General goals (to persuade... more
ABSTRACT This study examines the effect of goal instructions on students’ reasoning and argumentation in an interactive context (discussing a topic on-line). Goal instructions specify the goal of a discussion. General goals (to persuade or explore) were crossed with specific goals (to generate reasons or counterarguments/rebuttals) in a 3×3 randomized design using 224 undergraduates. The design also controlled for need for cognition, which measures dispositions to think. The goal instruction to “generate as many reasons as possible” resulted in deeper, more contingent arguments, closer to Mercer’s (1996) notion of exploratory talk, whereas the persuade goal resulted in arguments that were more adversarial and somewhat better supported. The other goals had less dramatic effects. Need for cognition also predicted total argument claims and depth. These findings have important implications for building richer interactive discussions that promote the integration of ideas.