The Effect of Argumentative Writing to Promote Non–Science Major Students' Learning in an Introductory Chemistry Course

• In Event: Unpacking and Enacting the Next Generation Science Standards

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of argumentative writing assignments on nonscience major students’ chemistry conceptual understanding. The participants of this study consisted of 163 students in the treatment group and 77 of the control group. A comparison of the pre- and post test results indicated that students who engaged in argumentative writing tasks performed better than students who did not. Another result indicates that the most students are exposed to argumentative writing, the better the quality of the writing assignments. The results also indicate that mostly students’ perception of the writing assignment were positive regarding their content knowledge and argumentative understanding.

Authors

• Claudia P. Aguirre-Mendez, Emporia State University

• Ying-Chih Chen, Arizona State University

• Takeshi Terada, Washington University in St. Louis