Argumentation Quality in GMO: Sources of Knowledge as Predictor

Date

2025-08-28

Author

Bostancı, Burcu
Yılmaz Tüzün, Özgül

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This study aimed to investigate how well middle school students’ use of sources of knowledge can predict their argumentation quality in genetically modified organisms. A correlational research approach was utilized, and 272 middle school students formed the sample. The Use of Sources of Knowledge Questionnaire (Klaver et al., 2022) was utilized in the data collection. It was translated and adapted into Turkish in the context of genetically modified organisms (GMO) by the researchers of the study, which had the dimensions of external, school, and visit resources. To obtain students’ arguments, the GMO Task (GMOT) developed by Xiao (2015) was used. The GMOT was extended with additional questions so that students answered for arguments, counterarguments, and rebuttals, respectively. Zohar and Nemet’s (2002) argumentation quality grading scale was adopted in the study to score students’ argumentation qualities. The descriptive statistics showed that students had fairly low argumentation quality. Among the use of sources of knowledge, students had the most use from visit resources, followed by external and school resources. Multiple regression analysis showed that students’ visit resources in the GMO context were the only statistically significant predictor of their argumentation qualities. The study shows that visit resources can be impactful in improving students’ argumentation qualities. Therefore, there is a need to consider place-based education and outdoor learning settings more often so that students can improve their argumentation qualities. In further studies, the context of socioscientific issues should also be considered since students’ sources of knowledge might vary among them.

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https://virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/event/73500/submission/328
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115927

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Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Conference / Seminar