An Investigation of Incorporating Dialogical Argumentation into Peer Instruction (PI) for Pre-Service Teacher Learning of Current Electricity

What is it about?

The study is quasi-experimental research employing the pretest-posttest design. 52 pre-service teachers from a college of education were sampled with 26 pre-service teachers in both the control group (CG) and experimental group (EG). The instruments used to collect data were Physics Achievement Test (PAT), Peer Instruction Dialogical Argumentation Questionnaire (PIDAQ), and Adopted Physics ConcepTest (APC) for teaching the experimental group. The instruments were validated by experts in science education and physics. The reliability of the PAT, based on a pilot test conducted, shows that Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is 0.876. The data obtained were analyzed using a t-test, Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), and descriptive statistics. Findings revealed that the incorporation of DA into PI has an impact on the students’ learning of current electricity. The study considered some implications of the findings on the teaching and learning of physics.

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Photo by airfocus on Unsplash

Photo by airfocus on Unsplash

Why is it important?

PI has been seen as an active learning strategy that can enhance science learning. However, research shows that most students do not learn but copy the few brilliant students. Therefore, integrating dialogical argumentation into the PI was essential to solve this problem in one of the most challenging aspects of physics.

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