The persuasiveness of persuasive discourse

Alexander, Patricia A.; Buehl, Michelle M.; Sperl, Christopher T.

doi:10.1016/s0883-0355(02)00008-3

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…We did not assess students' epistemic beliefs or the persuasiveness of our texts to understand the relationship between prior domain-specific content knowledge and recall. Since Alexander et al (2001) found that demonstrated knowledge or prior content knowledge and students' beliefs about their own knowledge did not necessarily interact with each other, we did not investigate the relationship between the two in our study. However, in further research persuasiveness and students' beliefs about their knowledge might be investigated to understand our results better.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Does prior domain‐specific content knowledge influence students' recall of arguments surrounding interdisciplinary topics?

Schmidt

Rothgangel²,

Grube

2017

Journal of Adolescence

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Awareness of various arguments can help interactants present opinions, stress points, and build counterarguments during discussions. At school, some topics are taught in a way that students learn to accumulate knowledge and gather arguments, and later employ them during debates. Prior knowledge may facilitate recalling information on well structured, fact-based topics, but does it facilitate recalling arguments during discussions on complex, interdisciplinary topics? We assessed the prior knowledge in domains related to a bioethical topic of 277 students from Germany (approximately 15 years old), their interest in the topic, and their general knowledge. The students read a text with arguments for and against prenatal diagnostics and tried to recall the arguments one week later and again six weeks later. Prior knowledge in various domains related to the topic individually and separately helped students recall the arguments. These relationships were independent of students' interest in the topic and their general knowledge.In many countries a specific aim of formal education is to cultivate upstanding citizens (Amnå, 2012). This also is the case in Germany (cf. Einheitliche Prüfungsanforderungen [Standard Examination Regulations], 2006), where controversial topics are addressed in some school subjects to provide students with the opportunity to explore various social issues and to practice expressing their points of view during in-class discussions. Such topics often are complex and interdisciplinary and include bioethical topics such as protecting the environment, abortion, and drug consumption. It commonly is believed that to be able to participate in discussions on a complex topic students need knowledge in diverse domains. In this research article we explore the extent to which students' prior domain-specific content knowledge in more than one domain is needed to recall arguments related to a bioethical topic.Knowledge gained prior to exploring various topics at school can contribute considerably to learning outcomes (cf.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Does prior domain‐specific content knowledge influence students' recall of arguments surrounding interdisciplinary topics?

Schmidt

Rothgangel²,

Grube

2017

Journal of Adolescence

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“…Prior attitudes were measured using a survey wherein participants indicated the extent of their agreement with, certainty of, knowledge about, or interest in the discussion topics. The survey contained six items that were adapted from a published survey of attitudes on a controversial issue (Alexander et al. 2001), and used Likert scales ranging from 0 (strongly disagree) to 100 (strongly agree).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing online collaborative argumentation through question elaboration and goal instructions

Golanics

Nussbaum

2007

Computer Assisted Learning

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Computer-supported collaborative argumentation can improve understanding and problemsolving skills. This study uses WebCT to explore the improvement of argumentation in asynchronous, web-based discussions through goal instructions, which are statements at the end of a discussion prompt indicating what students should achieve. In a previous study (Nussbaum 2005), the goal instruction 'generate as many reasons as possible' resulted in more balanced argumentation in an online environment. This study attempts to replicate this finding. It also examines the role of prior attitudes, knowledge and interest, and also the effect of elaborating on possible lines of reasoning in the question prompt. The goal instruction to generate as many reasons as possible (goal/no goal) was crossed with question elaboration (elaborated/ unelaborated question) in a 2 ¥ 2 randomized design using 131 undergraduates. Half of the participants were randomly assigned to complete the attitude survey before discussion. Results indicated that, when prior knowledge was controlled, the reason goal instruction positively affected argument development and opposing view exploration, but only for high-issue knowledge students. The sheer volume of notes created by the online environment may have caused cognitive overload for low-issue knowledge students. Question elaboration promoted balanced argumentation for all students, but especially those with low knowledge.

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“…The research on persuasion, extending such investigations to a much wider array of domains, has focused on changes in individuals' attitudes and the conditions that seem to foster or hinder such attitudinal modification. Persuasion researchers have thus investigated relations of attitudinal change with learners' characteristics, features of the message, environmental situation in which the communication takes place, and motives influencing the processing of information (Alexander, Buehl, & Sperl, 2001;Chaiken, 2000;Hynd, 2001;Mason, 2001;Murphy, 2001;Murphy, Long, & Esterly, 2003;Petty & Cacioppo, 1986;Pintrich, Marx, & Boyle, 1993;Woods & Murphy, 2001).…”

Section: Students' Beliefs and Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of knowledge and beliefs among undergraduate students in Italy and in the United States

Maggioni

Riconscente

Alexander

2006

Learning and Instruction

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The persuasiveness of persuasive discourse

Cited by 16 publications

References 26 publications

Does prior domain‐specific content knowledge influence students' recall of arguments surrounding interdisciplinary topics?

Does prior domain‐specific content knowledge influence students' recall of arguments surrounding interdisciplinary topics?

Enhancing online collaborative argumentation through question elaboration and goal instructions

Perceptions of knowledge and beliefs among undergraduate students in Italy and in the United States

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