Student argument quality in the game showed limits: one group discarded a hypothesis despite evidence still partially supporting it¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · design r2 · q1
Currency · newest study 2007 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? In one case, a group interpreted a marginally high mercury reading as evidence for mercury in the environment but threw out their hypothesis altogether, which the authors judge as unjustified even though the evidence still pointed to mercury to some extent. → Squire 2007

Evidence¶

Squire 2007¶

Squire, K.D., Jan, M. (2007). Mad City Mystery: Developing Scientific Argumentation Skills with a Place-based Augmented Reality Game on Handheld Computers. J Sci Educ Technol 16, 5–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-006-9037-z

q1 · i? · design · r2

Authors' interpretive note (type e) on one case's argumentation, illustrating limits in students' scientific reasoning during game play. The note adds that although evidence supported PCBs more than mercury on its face, the existing evidence as the group had seen it still pointed to mercury to some extent.

"the group was probably justified in interpreting one marginally high reading of mercury as evidence for it in the environment, but not in throwing out their hypothesis altogether."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Guidance during inquiry learning improves post-inquiry learning outcomes (d = 0.50) — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Specific game features scaffold scientific thinking in ways the authors claim are non-existent in most inquiry-based learning environments — a broader claim this one bears on
• The authors of three case studies (roughly 28 students) argue that a place-based augmented reality game, Mad City Mystery, holds potential for engaging students in scientific argumentation — related
• Argumentation quality is associated with denser co-occurrence of scientific reasoning and self-regulation processes — related