Characteristics of Argumentation in Science Instruction Using Internet Messenger: A Case of Scientifically Gifted Students in Apprenticeship

Scientifically gifted students' argumentation characteristics in science instruction using the internet messenger was investigated. Participants in this study were five 9th grader in middle school in Seoul. They attended a program offered by the Science-Gifted Education Center, Seoul National University. Internet messenger (instant messenger) was used for instruction, and data were collected by saved messages. Toulmin's argument model was used as a tool for analyzing students' argumentation, and the argumentation patterns were categorized by sequence of argument operations. The results showed that in case of learner-centered instructions, there were lots of relatively higher-level argumentations appeared. On the contrary, teacher-centered instruction ended up with few or lower-level argumentation. Also there were four types of argumentation patterns emerged throughout the whole instructions. Findings suggest that the development of an instruction models and the selection of an appropriate topic be necessary for promoting the interaction between teacher and students as well as enhancing the students' ability of argument.