The contribution of argumentation and critical thinking skills on students’ concept understanding in different learning models

Abstract

We investigated the correlation between argumentation and critical thinking skills simultaneously on students’ understanding of basic biology concepts in classes taught by Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI) and conventional learning models. This study involved 180 pre-service science teachers (18-19 years old) who undertook the basic biology course in the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, University of Lampung. Argumentation skills were measured using the Argumentation Skill Test and critical thinking skills were measured using the Critical Thinking Test, whereas understanding of basic biology concepts was measured using the Concept Understanding Test. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed prospective effects of argumentation and critical thinking skills to support students’ understanding of basic biology concepts. In addition, the strong correlation between predictors simultaneous to the criteria found in ADI compared to conventional learning models. The lecturers should consider the empowerment of argumentation and critical thinking skills of students through the application of appropriate learning models.