Meta-Analysis on the Effectiveness of Argument-Based Learning on Students' Conceptual Understanding

Argumentation in science as an approach to scientific literacy has been gaining the education sectors' attention. However, as the demands in education changes, assessing the effectiveness of argument-based learning (ABL) in science becomes more important. The researchers meta-analyzed 14 empirical research papers between 2011 and 2021 that were gathered from different meta-search engines and screened according to pre-determined criteria. The Comprehensive Meta-Analysis generated the effect size, forest and funnel plots, moderator analysis, and other relevant statistical results. Findings have shown that ABL is an effective pedagogy (ES = .803) in different scientific fields, educational levels, and modes of instruction (computer-based and non-computer based). The researchers recommended the use of ABL to enhance conceptual understanding in basic and tertiary science education; improve teachers' pedagogical skills on integrating ABL with different scientific disciplines and supplementary strategies; and conduct studies on ABL in relevance to varying settings such as online distance learning.