Level and Strength of Students Scientific Argumentation of Grade 8 Junior High School on the Topic of Substance Pressure
Mentari Darma Putri (a*), Dadi Rusdiana (b), and Diana Rochintaniawati (c)

a) Pascasarjana Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia,
Jl. Dr. Setiabudi No. 229, Bandung 40154, Indonesia
b) Departemen Pendidikan Fisika, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudi No. 229, Bandung 40154, Indonesia
c) Departemen Pendidikan IPA, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudi No. 229, Bandung 40154, Indonesia

Abstract

The quality of students arguments in science classroom is evaluated in two aspects: the completeness of the argument components and the strength of the argument. This research is a quasi-experimental research consisting of two classes, aiming to see the effect of treatment toward the improvement of level and strength of students scientific argumentation. Both classes were given learning with Problem Based Learning model. The students scientific argumentation data were obtained via essay test. Data were analyzed descriptively by using the rubric of argumentation-level developed by Dawson and Venville (2009) and the rubric of argumentation-strength developed by Supriatna (2016). Based on test analysis results, it was found that the students arguments before treatment were dominated by level 2 where the students were able to make the claim along with the data and/or warrant but the strength of the students arguments into the weak category. After the treatment, the quality of students arguments increased significantly where most students reached level 3, meaning that students were able to make claim with complete grounds. The percentage of students with strong and strong enough arguments categories showed a significant improvement, while for the weak category, the percentage of students arguments decreased significantly.

Keywords: Level of Argumentation, the Strength of Argumentation, Science Classroom

Topic: Integrated Science Education