The effects of collaborative reasoning strategies on improving primary school students’ argumentative decision-making skills

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of three Collaborative Reasoning (CR) strategies including pre-trained CR, scripted CR, and pre-trained + scripted (mixed) CR on the argumentative decision-making skills of primary school students. Forty-six school students were requested to write a reflective essay on a social-moral issue, and after participating in a six-week story-based CR with three different conditions, they were asked to write their reflective essay. A follow-up test was conducted two weeks later. The results showed that students in the pre-trained CR condition performed better than students in the scripted CR condition with regard to acquiring and transferring decision-making skills. However, compared to students in the mixed CR condition, the performance of the students in the pre-trained condition was lower for acquiring and transferring decision-making skills. In terms of learning satisfaction, students with the mixed CR condition declared higher learning satisfaction compared to students in the other two conditions. We discuss these results and provide agenda for future research and practice.