Online Collaborative Learning for Improving Argumentation of Student with Different Levels of Science Prior Knowledge

The present study explored the effects of students´ prior knowledge of science and online collaborative approaches on their science argumentation learning. Two science teachers and 102 students from four 8th grade science classes were invited to in our study. Students in each class were divided into three groups according to their prior knowledge level on science, they then took either our collaborative - or individual-based online learning program. The results show that high prior-knowledge students significantly outperformed low prior-knowledge students in argumentation. Moreover, students in the collaborative argumentation group performed better than their peers in individual group. This implies that if science teachers create a more collaborative learning environments, it would promote students´ communication among peers and facilitate their argumentation learning.