Assessing Student's

Argumentation and Affective

A. Argumentation

• Definition
According to Zarefsky (1995) in Voss, J. F., & Van Dyke, J. A. (2001) Argumentation
is “the practice of justifying decisions under conditions of uncertainty". Assessing
student's argumentation is very important especially during science class
because as scientists, arguments are used to relate the evidence they select to
the claims they reach through use of warrants and backings (Toulmin, 1958) in
Jiménez-Aleixandre, M. P., & Erduran, S. (2007).

• The Goals
To support the achievement of scientific literacy and empower students to speak
and write in the language of science (Kress et al., 2001; Norris & Phillips, 2003; Yore
et al., 2003; Jiménez-Aleixandre, M. P., & Erduran, S., 2007)

• Toulmin's Framework
The British philosopher Stephen Toulmin (1958) was highly influential in providing a
structural framework that could be used both to analyze arguments and to develop skills in
generating arguments. The parts of Toulmin’s model included a claim (assertion), data
(relevant evidence), warrant (linking of claim and data), backing (underlying theory or
assumptions to support warrants), qualifier (conditions under which claim is supported) and
rebuttals (conditions where the claim is not supported).

In Toulmin's terminology, an argument provides a standpoint (an assertion, an opinion),

which is called as a claim (Pedemonte, B., & Balacheff, N., 2016). Data is collected to
support the claim. A warrant justifies the use of data to support of the a data-claim
relationship. Toulmin defines three types of ternary structures: qualifier, rebuttal, and
backing. The warrant imparts different degrees of force to the conclusion it justifies, which
may be indicated by a qualifier such as ‘necessarily’, ‘probably’ or ‘presumably’ attached to
the transition from the data to the claim. In the latter case we may need to mention
conditions of rebuttal “indicating circumstances in which the authority of the warrant would
have to be set aside” (Toulmin, 1958, p. 101) in Pedemonte, B., & Balacheff, N. (2016). So a
warrant can be defended by appeal to a backing that can be expressed in the form of
categorical statements of fact (Toulmin, 1958, p. 105) in Pedemonte, B., & Balacheff, N.
(2016). A backing can be provided by a system of taxonomic classification, by a statute, by
statistical results, or by a mathematical theory. The type of the backing could change greatly
as one moves from one field of argument to another (Toulmin, 1958 p. 104) in Pedemonte,
B., & Balacheff, N. (2016)
 • The Rubric of Toulmin's Model

• The Example

B. Affective
• Definition
Affective in the term of education can be define as student's attitude toward
learning. Affect is very important because it related to student's motivation and
influence student's future behavior (Adetayo, J. O., 2014). Assessing student's
affective can be so helpful to know student's motivation in study. Students who
have positive attitudes toward learning today will be disposed to purse learning
in the future. So, values and attitudes that are emerging in students today will
affect all their lives and future behavior.

• The Goals
Students may develop metacognitive skills and awareness through the act of
intentionally reflecting on and evaluating their own learning. The ultimate benefit
is that professors’ knowledge of their students’ affective characteristics leads to
more targeted instruction and successful learning experiences for students.
Because students are able to focus on affective development in concert with
cognitive development, they are more likely to be successful. educate student's
attitude so that they can become good human being (Givens, S. M., 2010).
• Example
Students may develop metacognitive skills and awareness through the act of
intentionally reflecting on and evaluating their own learning. The ultimate benefit
is that professors’ knowledge of their students’ affective characteristics leads to
more targeted instruction and successful learning experiences for students.
Because students are able to focus on affective development in concert with
cognitive development, they are more likely to be successful. educate student's
attitude so that they can become good human being (Givens, S. M., 2010).

references
Jiménez-Aleixandre, M. P., & Erduran, S. (2007). Argumentation in Science
Education: An Overview. Science & Technology Education Library, 3–27.
doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-6670-2_1
Pedemonte, B., & Balacheff, N. (2016). Establishing links between conceptions,
argumentation and proof through the ck¢-enriched Toulmin model. The Journal
of Mathematical Behavior, 41, 104–122. doi:10.1016/j.jmathb.2015.10.008
Givens, S. M. (2010). Using affective assessment to understand our students’
identities as readers (and non-readers). Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia
Community Colleges, 15(1), 2.