The effects of a dialogical argumentation and assessment for learning instruction model (DAAFLIM) on science students’ conception of selected scientific topics

Abstract

The central concern of this study has been to determine the effectiveness or otherwise of a combined Dialogical Argumentation Instructional Method (DAIM) and the Assessment for Learning Model (DAAFLIM) strategies in enhancing Tertiary and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students’ conceptions of selected scientific topics. The extant literature has shown that students often hold other worldviews or funds of knowledge, which might be in conflict with canonical school science. In light of this, DAAFLIM has been chosen for a number of reasons: (1) it has been shown to be effective for revealing students’ scientific and alternative worldviews; (2) it provides the learning environment that encourages students to express themselves freely, exchange views with others, reflect on what they have learned, and even to change their minds in the face of stronger arguments; (3) it is compatible with the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) curriculum which emphasizes that educators should integrate school science with students’ indigenous knowledge as a way to make the former more relevant to their sociocultural environment; (4) assists educators to plan instruction in accordance with the needs of multicultural science classroom; and (5) the combination of classroom discourses with continuous or formative assessment (as exemplified by DAAFLIM), instead of the usual terminal summative assessment, tends to mitigate the fears that students usually associate with assessment. Specifically, a group of TVET students i.e. the Experimental group (E-group) was exposed to DAAFLIM while the other group i.e. the Control group (C-group) was exposed to traditional instruction method (TIM). In light of this, the following five research questions have been proposed for a closer consideration: 1. What conceptions of selected topics such as; natural phenomena and nature of science (NOS) did E-group and C-group students hold before and after being exposed to DAAFLIM and TIM respectively? 2. Are E-group students’ conceptions of the selected topics related to their age, gender or cultural backgrounds? http://etd.uwc.ac.za/ ii 3. Are the conceptions of the selected science topics: SI-units, Dynamics, Statics and Energy held by the E-group significantly different from those held by the C-group using CAT, TAP and ZPD as units of analysis? The theoretical framework of this study based on Toulmin’s (1985) Argumentation Pattern (TAP), the Ogunniyi’s (2007a) Contiguity Argumentation Theory (CAT), and Vygotsky’s (1978) social constructivist theory provided analytical lenses to examine how knowledge construction takes place during the pedagogical process, especially during formative assessment activities. A quasi-experimental group design selected for the study involved a mixed-method approach consisting of two intact classes of Engineering Science students. The experimental group received the DAAFLIM intervention and the control group received traditional instructional method (TIM). A lesson observation schedule, Science Achievement Test, open-ended questionnaires and focused group interviews, provided the sources of data for analysis, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The study showed that DAAFLIM improved the conceptions of the experimental group significantly compared to the control group exposed to TIM. Furthermore, most students appeared to hold a dominant western science conception and to suppress their indigenous knowledge worldview at the pre-test. However, at the post-test, although the majority of students still seemed to express a dominant western scientific worldview, there were some apparent cognitive shifts from their suppressed worldview towards a dominant indigenous knowledge worldview. The socio-cultural and biographical backgrounds of the students did not play significant roles in their performances. However, the integration of engineering science concepts with the students’ indigenous knowledge practices may assist curriculum developers and lecturers, to present curriculum content and assessment practices relevant to students’ lived-world experiences. Furthermore, the study has demonstrated the value of using the Dialogical Argumentation and Assessment for Learning Instructional Model (DAAFLIM) as a more effective scaffolding pedagogical method to create a teaching and learning discussion space than it is with traditional instruction method (TIM).