Quantifying and incentivizing exploration of reputable sources for argument formation in an online discussion forum

Abstract

Nuclearpowerformspartofthefirst-yearphysicsundergraduatecourseworkinthe extended curriculum program at the University of the Western Cape. This investigation intendstoassiststudentsinmasteringtheirunderstandingof hownuclearpowerworksthroughthedevelopmentofcriticalthinkingskillsaround thetopicandtocreateawarenessamongstudentsoftheimplicationsofexpanding anuclearpowerfootprint.Throughdebate,studentsinthiscourseinvestigatethe impactofSouthAfricaincreasingitsnuclearfootprintwithinaglobalcontext.In thiswork,studentswereencouragedtoexplorepublicationsandreputablewebsites surroundingthistopicandbased ontheirfindingsformulatearguments.