The effect of e-argumentation supported instruction on middle school students’ academic achievement, argumentation skills and epistemic beliefs

<p ea-txt="1" data-w="885.5" data-originalfontsize="17.6" class="eyeAtext" data-originallineheight="38" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 21.296px !important; line-height: 42.592px !important; white-space: normal;">This study investigated e-Argumentation software's impact on middle school students’ (N = 838, grades 5-8) academic achievement, argumentation skills, and epistemological beliefs, compared to Software-free Argumentation and traditional teaching. A mixed-methods design, incorporating a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group approach and a multiple case study, assigned students to e-Argumentation, Software-free Argumentation, or Control groups. Data were collected via achievement tests, argumentation rubrics, an epistemological belief scale, an epistemic vignette, and student interviews. <p ea-txt="1" data-w="885.5" data-originalfontsize="17.6" class="eyeAtext" data-originallineheight="38" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 21.296px !important; line-height: 42.592px !important; white-space: normal;">Quantitative analyses revealed that both argumentation groups significantly outperformed controls in academic achievement. The e-Argumentation group demonstrated higher achievement than the no-software group in grades 6 and 8, while the reverse was observed in grade 5; no significant difference was found in grade 7. Descriptively, e-Argumentation groups produced higher quality arguments. The impact on epistemological beliefs was limited; quantitative measures indicated a small e-Argumentation advantage over controls in grades 7-8, though interviews suggested increased student awareness of their beliefs and the nature of scientific knowledge. <p class="last eyeAtext" ea-txt="1" data-w="885.5" data-originalfontsize="17.6" data-originallineheight="38" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 21.296px !important; line-height: 42.592px !important; white-space: normal;">In conclusion, argumentation-based instruction effectively improves academic achievement and argumentation skills in science. e-Argumentation software shows promise as a supportive tool, but fostering changes in epistemological beliefs appears to be a more complex, long-term process.