January 2012 Volume 15 Number 1 - Educational Technology ...

In addition, students’ on-line scientific argumentation discourses were analyzed from a conceptual change
perspective. Each argumentation statement was determined to be correct, partially correct, or incorrect; and the
comparison between the correctness of pre-argumentation and post-argumentation is further performed by the t test.
The quality of conceptual change also was presented to see how students change their conceptions from pre- to postargumentation
questions across seven topics. The cross coder reliability is 0.95.
Table 1. Analytical Framework used for determining the quality of argumentation
Components Levels Definition Examples
Level 1 An argument only consists with a The greater the concentration, the faster the
claim without any data or fact. reaction is.
Claim Level 2 An argument consists of a claim with I saw that the greater the concentration of HCl,
data or fact.
the faster the reaction with marble is. Thus I
think that the greater the concentration, the
faster the reaction is.
Level 1 An argument only consists with a The more molecules there are, the greater the
theory or principle without opportunity for collision.
Warrant
connection to the claim, or not clearly
describes the theory.
Level 2 An argument consists of a claim with The greater the concentration is, the faster the
theory or principle.
reaction is. It is because the more molecules
there are, the greater the opportunity for
collision.
Level 1 An argument only consists with a I agree with David’s idea, because I had a
backing without any connection to similar experience that producing oxygen
claim/warrant, or not clearly describe experiment with high concentration of hydrogen
the connection among them. peroxide.
Backing Level 2 An argument consists of a claim with I support Ann’s idea, because I have done the
backing, and or with data or warrant. concentration experiment (HCl react with
marble), which proves that the greater the
concentration, the faster the reaction is. So there
is greater intensity of the molecular collisions.
Level 1 An argument only consists of a weak I do not agree with Thomas’s idea, because that
rebuttal and without clearly some person who drink high concentration wine
explanation.
would not get drunk at all.
Rebuttal Level 2 An argument consists of a claim with I disagree with Jim’s idea that the lower the
a clearly identifiable rebuttal. concentration is, the faster the reaction is. The
lower the concentration, the smaller the amount
of molecules, thus the lower the opportunity for
collision.
Results
ANCOVA analysis of the Physical Science Conception test (PSCT)
The two-tier PSCT was developed to measure the degree of students’ conceptual change in physical science
conceptions. One-factor ANCOVA was conducted to examine the effects of instructional approaches using post-
PSCT scores as the dependent measures, and students’ pre-PSCT scores as the covariate. The results of the onefactor
ANCOVA: specifically, instructional approaches (F=4.86, p= 0.029) reach a statistically significant effect on
the performance of post- PSCT. In summary, the OLSA group outperformed the traditional group on postperformance
of Physical Science Conception test.
Multivariate analysis of the Physical Science Dependent Argumentation Test (PSDAT)
One-factor ANCOVA was conducted to examine the effects of instructional approaches using post-PSDAT scores as
the dependent measures, and students’ pre-PSDAT scores as the covariate. The results of the one-factor ANCOVA:
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