ABSTRACT
A commonsense definition of argumentation is that it is discourse in which learners take positions, give reasons and evidence for their positions, and present counterarguments to each other’s ideas when they have different views. By this definition, the authors of nearly all of the chapters in this volume explicitly or implicitly advocate argumentation as an instructional strategy. The authors of four chapters (Andriessen et al., chap. 9; Erkens, Prangsma, & Jaspers, chap. 10; van Drie, van Boxtel, & van der Linden, chap. 11; Wiley & Bailey, chap. 12) explicitly employ argumentation in their instructional systems. The authors of four other chapters (Bielaczyc & Collins, chap. 3; Chen, Zhang, & Wu, chap. 6; Hmelo-Silver, chap. 7; Veerman & Veldhuis-Diermanse, chap. 13) develop or employ instructional systems in which students have ample opportunities to engage in argumentative discussion of opposing views and reasons. Bielaczyc and Collins also note that exceptional knowledge-creating communities such as Silicon Valley are marked by “stimulating discussion of alternative views.” Collectively, these chapters reflect a rapidly growing interest in argumentation as an instructional tool (e.g., Anderson, Chinn, Chang, Waggoner, & Yi, 1997; Voss & Means, 1991; Yackel & Cobb, 1996).
