Investigating the influence of Collaborative Reasoning on students’ written argumentation in the context of a culturally diverse secondary school in South Auckland, Aotearoa.
Year: 2023
Type: dissertation
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: Existing studies have shown that participation in Collaborative Reasoning discussions improved \nthe quality of students’ oral and written argumentation. Despite being effective in the US, UK, \nChina, and Korea, and with diverse learners, there is a gap in the research that evaluates the \ncontextual relevance of participation Collaborative Reasoning discussions in Aotearoa. \nThere is an urgent need for literacy pedagogies that are contextually relevant to Aotearoa to \nameliorate the national decline in literacy and the pervasive inequities for minoritised groups, \nsuch as Māori, Pacific and low socioeconomic status secondary students. \nThis study examined the relationship between participation in Collaborative Reasoning \ndiscussions and students’ written arguments alongside their classroom experience as culturally \nlocated individuals. \nThe study’s setting was a large, ethnically diverse, state secondary school serving a low \nsocioeconomic community in South Auckland. Participants were mainstream Year 10 English \nstudents (n=20) and their teacher (n=1). The study focused on students represented in case \nstudies (n=4), which offered a deeper examination of students’ experiences in Collaborative \nReasoning discussions. \nThis study was centered around an intervention in which a teacher implemented Collaborative \nReasoning discussions with their year 10 English class following professional learning in a \nrelational coaching model. \nA mixed methods approach examined the influence of participation in Collaborative Reasoning \ndiscussions. A quantitative approach was used to code, quantify, and compare markers of \nargument in students’ written arguments in both a pre-test and a post-test. Qualitative \nmethodologies were used in the form of observations, semi-structured interviews, and a focus \ngroup to capture the experiences of the teacher participant and student participants. Case studies \nwere used to illustrate the important cross section of quantitative and qualitative data as a \nmeasure of students’ experiences. \nStudents’ argument writing evidenced a statistically significant increase in the number of \ncounterarguments, despite a decrease in the number of overall markers of argument, suggesting \nstudents made increasingly complex arguments in their writing. Qualitative measures captured \nthe experience of participants in Collaborative Reasoning discussions which suggested that this \ndialogic pedagogy created the conditions for culturally sustaining pedagogy in the classroom.
Author: Twigley, Tessa
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7029303601