Using Argumentative Discussions to Enhance the Written Arguments of Middle School Students in

410 Pages·2012·2.92 MB·English

ABSTRACT
Title of Document: USING ARGUMENTATIVE DISCUSSIONS
TO ENHANCE THE WRITTEN ARGUMENTS
OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS IN
SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSROOMS

Daniel R. Wissinger, Doctor of Philosophy, 2012

Directed By: Associate Professor Susan De La Paz
Department of Special Education

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of Walton, Reed, and
Macagno’s (2008) dialectical framework on middle school students’ historical
discussions and written arguments. To do this,151 middle school students from six
classrooms were randomly assigned to one of two conditions and asked to participate in a
three-week intervention that featured: (a) examining three controversial topics in history,
(b) primary source documents, (b) argumentative discussions, and (c) constructing
argumentative essays. Because students were taught in small groups, the average
performance of 12 groups of students who were assigned to the experimental condition
was compared to the average performance of 12 groups of students who were assigned to
the comparison conditions. Students in the experimental condition learned argumentative
schemes and asked critical questions during discussions. Students in the comparison
condition participated in the same historical investigations, received the same materials
for instruction, engaged in discussions, and learned about text structure for writing
argumentative essays in ways comparable to the experimental group, but used a
traditional set of questions during discussions.
The findings indicated a significant relationship between teaching students to use
argumentative schemes and to ask critical questions during discussions and performance
on students’ resulting content knowledge. Main effects were also evident regarding
students’ historical thinking, a writing outcome that reflected use of evidence, ability to
write from an author’s perspective, use of contextual information, and the inclusion of
rebuttals in their essays. While significant differences were not present between
conditions on three outcome measures (i.e., reading comprehension, length of essays, or
overall writing quality) students’ in both sets of groups averaged moderate-to-high scores
for reading comprehension and constructed essays that were considered proficient or
advanced on the PSSA writing rubric. Taken together, the results of the study were
encouraging and align with many of those in the existing literature, which emphasize the
positive effects of integrating discussion in classroom activities.
USING ARGUMENTATIVE DISCUSSIONS TO ENHANCE THE WRITTEN
ARGUMENTS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SOCIAL STUDIES
CLASSROOMS

By
Daniel R. Wissinger

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the
University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
2012

Advisory Committee:
Dr. Susan De La Paz, Chair
Dr. Mark Felton
Dr. Tori Page-Voth
Dr. Jade Wexler
Dr. Wayne Slater
© Copyright by
Daniel R. Wissinger
2012
Dedicated to my father and mother, who sacrificed everything they had, including their
time, energies, and often their own well-being, so that my brother, sister, and I could
enjoy all the opportunities life has to offer

To my family, Tiffany, Trinity, Trent, and Dugals who supported me unconditionally
throughout this process

And to Dr. Susan De La Paz, my advisor, mentor, and friend – you challenged me to be
the best I can be as a student, and future leader in the field of Special Education

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Acknowledgements
“I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour – his greatest fulfillment to all he
holds dear…is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and
lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious (Vince Lombardi, 1965).”
Today, and as my experience at the University of Maryland draws to a close, I
feel in many ways that victory has been achieved. Five-years ago, as I was flying home
from Cancun, Mexico (July 21, 2007), I wrote five goals in a journal. The first of these
was to earn my Ph.D. in Special Education. On May 10, 2012, after defending my
dissertation, I returned home, leafed to the excerpt in my journal, and with great joy,
drew a line through it. Although the battle was not without its challenges, as well as
disappointments, there were many, many good people who served to encourage,
motivate, guide, and/or simply support me as I worked toward this accomplishment.
Here, I would like to acknowledge and thank these individuals.
To Tiffany, my wife and best friend, for supporting the many hours of work
required to complete this endeavor, for the time and efforts you put into working to
provide for our family, and for your unconditional love and service to our children.
To my mother and father for their commitment to Mark, Lindsay, and I, and for
the example of hard work and sacrifice I continue to observe in their lives to this day.
To my brother Mark for his constant love, interest, and upbeat attitude – even as
I’ve grown older, I still look-up to my big brother and admire his tenacity.
To my dear friends and colleagues in the Waynesboro Area School District
(WASD), Dianne Eberhardt, Sherry Northcraft, Paul Vaughn, Paul Helman, Jen
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Hoffman, Shirley Sanders, Sandy Koons, and the many others who provided their help
and services to this project and the completion of my dissertation.
To Dr. Deb Neubert, my former supervisor and mentor, and Dr. Polly Maccini -
even after altering the focus of my program, Deb and Polly demonstrated their
commitment to my educational goals and continued to provide their support through the
Preparation of Secondary and Transition Leadership grant.
To the many great friends and colleagues I met at the University of Maryland -
Dave Draa, Laura Yee, Rod Carey, Kelly Worland, and especially to Jason Miller for
sharing in and helping to overcome the many, many challenges and rigors of being a
graduate student at the University of Maryland.
To the members of my dissertation committee, Mark Felton, Tori Page-Voth, Jade
Wexler, Wayne Slater, and Susan De La Paz, for your invaluable time, commitment, and
feedback throughout the dissertation process.
And finally to Dr. Susan De La Paz, who at great personal sacrifice spent
countless hours advising, offering feedback, and mentoring me for nearly three-years.
Never have I observed an individual more dedicated to the development of people and to
excellence in the field of education. I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for
me, as well as my family.

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Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................ix
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................x
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................1
Goals and Objectives .............................................................................................................3
Theoretical Framework – History Then, and Now ................................................................5
Working with multiple source documents .................................................................6
Disciplinary thinking .................................................................................................7
Constructing written arguments .................................................................................8
Directions for the Future ........................................................................................................9
Comparing Argument and Summary Writing: A Pilot Study ................................................9
Discussion ..................................................................................................................13
Producing counterarguments and rebuttals ................................................................15
Bridging the Gap through Oral Discussion ............................................................................16
Transference to written arguments .............................................................................18
Critical Questioning ...............................................................................................................19
Appropriate argument stratagems and critical questions for instruction ...................22
Effects of initial content knowledge on historical learning .......................................24
Theory of Change ..................................................................................................................26
Definitions and Terms............................................................................................................28
Definitions of argumentation .....................................................................................30
Summary of Terms ................................................................................................................32

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ..............................................................................36
Oral Discussion ......................................................................................................................37
Transitioning from Discussion to Written Context ................................................................39
Purpose Statement ..................................................................................................................40
Method ...................................................................................................................................41
Selection Procedures ..............................................................................................................41
Inclusion of Materials ............................................................................................................42
Reform Efforts in History Education .....................................................................................43
Summary ....................................................................................................................48
Writing from Primary and Secondary Source Documents ....................................................48
Summary ....................................................................................................................60
Methods for Engaging and Supporting Argumentative Discussions .....................................61
Effective adolescent literacy classroom intervention practices .................................61
Argumentative discourse and collaborative discussion .............................................63
Bridging the gap between speaking and writing ........................................................75
Summary ....................................................................................................................79
Discussion ..............................................................................................................................80
Reform efforts in history education and writing from primary sources ....................81
Methods for engaging and supporting argumentative discussion ..............................82
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Rationale for the Current Study .............................................................................................85

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................89
Rationale ................................................................................................................................89
Method ...................................................................................................................................89
Participants .................................................................................................................90
Design ....................................................................................................................................91
Procedure ...............................................................................................................................92
Assessments ...............................................................................................................93
Testing Procedures .....................................................................................................94
Teacher Preparation Procedures ................................................................................95
Pre-Instructional Procedures and Materials ...............................................................96
Whole class activity ...................................................................................................98
General Instructional Procedures – Days 1 and 2 ......................................................100
Argumentative Discussion Procedures – Days 3 and 4 .............................................102
Argumentative Discussion - Experimental Condition ...........................................................103
Small group discussion – day 3 .................................................................................104
Argument from expert opinion ..................................................................................105
Argument from consequences....................................................................................106
Small group discussion – day 4 .................................................................................107
Argument from expert opinion ..................................................................................107
Argument from consequences....................................................................................108
Argumentative Discussion – Comparison Condition ............................................................109
Constructing Written Arguments ...........................................................................................111
Treatment Validity .................................................................................................................114
Interview ................................................................................................................................115
Dependent Measures ..............................................................................................................115
Content knowledge assessment..................................................................................115
High vs. low content knowledge ................................................................................116
Reading comprehension .............................................................................................116
Writing .......................................................................................................................117

CHAPTER IV: RESULTS .....................................................................................................120
Demographic Comparisons ....................................................................................................121
Process Measures during the Intervention .............................................................................122
Small Group Discussion ............................................................................................122
Historical background ................................................................................................123
Making beliefs, claims, and ideas explicit .................................................................124
Summary ....................................................................................................................126
Reasoning about the historical question ....................................................................127
Summary ....................................................................................................................128
Important features of historical thinking....................................................................129
Summary ....................................................................................................................131
Discussion summary ..................................................................................................132
Treatment Validity and Evidence of Strategy Use ................................................................132
Evidence of strategy use ............................................................................................133
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Product Dependent Measures ................................................................................................135
Content knowledge assessment..................................................................................135
Reading comprehension .............................................................................................137
Writing performance ..................................................................................................138
Writing quality ...........................................................................................................139
Historical thinking .....................................................................................................139
Essay length ...............................................................................................................141
Social Validity .......................................................................................................................141
Summary ................................................................................................................................143

CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION ................................................................................................146
Introduction ............................................................................................................................146
Summary of the Study ...........................................................................................................146
Discussion of Findings ...........................................................................................................149
Research Question One ..............................................................................................149
Research Question Two .............................................................................................153
Research Question Three ...........................................................................................156
Process Outcomes ..................................................................................................................158
Implications for Research and Practice ..................................................................................160

APPENDIX A: PRETEST/POSTTEST MATERIALS - VERSION A ................................168
APPENDIX B: PRETEST/POSTTEST MATERIALS - VERSION B ...............................175
APPENDIX C: DOCUMENT SET – INVESTIGATION 1 .................................................182
APPENDIX D: DOCUMENT SET – INVESTIGATION 2 .................................................188
APPENDIX E: DOCUMENT SET – INVESTIGATION 3..................................................194
APPENDIX F: EXPERIMENTAL CONDITION: LESSON PLANS – INV.1 ...................199
APPENDIX G: EXPERIMENTAL CONDITION: LESSON PLANS – INV.2 ..................211
APPENDIX H: EXPERIMENTAL CONDITION: LESSON PLANS – INV.3 ...................223
APPENDIX I: EXPERIMENTAL CONDITION - INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ......234
APPENDIX J: FIDELITY OF IMPLEMENTATION PROTOCOLS: INV.1, EC...............238
APPENDIX K: FIDELITY OF IMPLEMENTATION PROTOCOLS: INV.2, EC .............254
APPENDIX L: FIDELITY OF IMPLEMENTATION PROTOCOLS: INV.3, EC .............267
APPENDIX M: COMPARISON CONDITION: LESSON PLANS – INV.1 .......................280
APPENDIX N: COMPARISON CONDITION: LESSON PLANS – INV.2 .......................290
APPENDIX O: COMPARISON CONDITION: LESSON PLANS – INV.3 .......................300
APPENDIX P: COMPARISON CONDITIONS – INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS .......309
APPENDIX Q: FIDELITY OF IMPLEMENTATION PROTOCOLS: INV.1, CC .............312
APPENDIX R: FIDELITY OF IMPLEMENTATION PROTOCOLS: INV.2, CC .............325
APPENDIX S: FIDELITY OF IMPLEMENTATION PROTOCOLS: INV.3, CC ..............338
APPENDIX T: DARE DISCUSSION AND WRITING AIDS ...........................................351
APPENDIX U: CONTENT KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT ..............................................354
APPENDIX V: READING COMPREHENSION TEST ......................................................357
APPENDIX W: MEASURES OF SOCIAL VALIDITY ......................................................360
APPENDIX X: GENERIC QUALITY SCORING INDEX (PSSA) ...................................362
APPENDIX Y: ANALYTIC RUBRIC OF HISTORICAL THINKING ..............................363
APPENDIX Z: TRANSCRIBED AUDIO RECORDINGS: INV.3, EC ..............................364
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