The Effects of Argumentation-Based Teaching on Primary School Students’ Academic Achievement, Science Attitudes and Argumentative Tendencies

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the effects of argumentation-based teaching (ABT) on the 4th-grade students’ academic achievement, argumentative tendencies and attitude towards science. The universe of the research was 4th-grade students studying in Yığılca district of Düzce province in the 2017-2018 academic year, in Turkey. The sample of the research consists of 37 4th grade students studying in two different classes. The pretest-posttest matched control group design was used which is one of semi-experimental design techniques. While activities related to ABT were administered to the experimental group, the existing curriculum was applied for the control group. The data of the research were collected using three tools: science achievement test (AT), science attitude scale (SAS), and argumentativeness scale (AS). All data collection tools were administered to experiment and control groups as pre-test and post-test to determine if there was a difference after the application. The findings revealed that the academic achievement of the students was significantly influenced by the activities related to ABT. However, there was no significant difference between experimental and control groups in terms of argumentative tendencies and their attitude towards science.