The Dramatic Arc in the Development of Argumentation Skills of Students in Geography Education

What is it about?

The dramatic arc in the development of skills of Finnish upper secondary school students was evaluated. Assessments of individual argumentation skills on environmental and social issues showed that the students improved in their argumentative skills. The role of argumentation in geography education is important because participation in society requires increasing awareness of environmental action and participation. It is obvious that the upper secondary school students have too few opportunities for the practice of argumentation. Thus, it is important to develop geography education for upper secondary school students in order to help improve their argumentation skills. With the aid of the ARRA-argumentation tool, the teacher can analyze students’ writings. In future research it will be important to study how to scaffold students’ argumentation skills through the integration of multiple science and environmental texts. Argumentation research should also be extended to include different schools and educational institutions. Upper secondary school students make decisions that have far-reaching consequences with cultural, economic and environmental repercussions for other people and places.

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Photo by Headway on Unsplash

Photo by Headway on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Geography education can facilitate learners’ critical thinking and argumentation skills to make well-reasoned decisions on social and environmental issues.