This is an overview of the study that I am going to share on the conference. Hope this is helpful!

1. Factors affecting the assessment quality of students’ scientific
argumentation competency (SAC)
Jinglu Zhang
School of Education
University of Bristol

2. What is scientific argumentation?
Argumentation: A verbal, social, and rational activity aimed at
convincing a reasonable critic of the acceptability of a standpoint by
putting forward a constellation of one or more propositions to
justify this standpoint. (F.H.Van Eemeren)
Scientific argumentation (SA): The process of argumentation that
takes place in a scientific context.

3. Why is it important?
• The world is changing fast, and it is not a problem for people to
obtain all kinds of information and knowledge now, but to identify
from all sorts of information to make their own decision and
judgement.
• The important role SA plays in students’ learning. It can help
students enhance their understanding of scientific concepts and
improve their scientific literacy.
• SA has been put forward in the High school Physics Curriculum
in China.

4. Introduce the project
This study is part of the whole process of developing SAC
assessment. The whole research is to develop and validate an
assessment to understand 1) how SAC can be manifested in the
assessment and 2) how students perceive SA and interact with SAC
tasks using mixed-methods.

5. Introduce the project
Figure 2. Research procedure

6. Aim of this study
The development process is iterative and feedbacks from each phase
contribute to the improvement of the assessment in the next phase.
As part of the whole process, the aim of this study is to figure out
possible factors that influence the assessment quality by probing into
both teachers’ perspectives and students’ response processes.

7. Research design and procedure

8. Results-factors in the first phase

9. Results-factors in the second phase

10. Conclusion
• Students were provided with the opportunity to be engaged in SA
• Very few problems emerged after the iterative process of instrument
development indicating the procedure and the factors found contribute to
the improvement of assessment quality
• Students showed interest in engaging in the tasks and acknowledge the
value of SA in their study
• Students felt much less confusing and provided more positive feedback on
the modified assessment
• High school students have the ability to form their argument although not
familiar with the activity
• Certain scaffolds on the definition of SA, explicit teaching and assessment
facilitates students’ performance

11. Thank you!
Contact details:
Jinglu Zhang
Jinglu.zhang@bristol.ac.uk