Enhancing Scientific Argumentation Skills in Chemistry on the Topic of Chemical Bonding through Argument-Driven Inquiry of Grade-10 Students

Abstract

This research aimed to develop the scientific argumentation skills of Grade-10 students on the topic of chemical bonding through argument-driven inquiry. The action research study was conducted with the target group of 10 grade-10 students from Mueang Mahawichanukool School, Maha Sarakham Province. The participants were enrolled in the first semester of the 2024 academic year. These research tools were: 1) Argument-driven inquiry lesson plans on the topic of chemical bonding, consisting of 11 plans with duration time of 22 hours, 2) Scientific argumentation skills test included three questions from three scenarios for measuring student’s argumentation skills after each operational cycle. The test has IOC validity ranging from 0.89 to 1.00 and reliability coefficient of 0.8 and 3) Observation form for scientific argumentation behavior observation. Quantitative data were analyzed by mean ( ), standard deviation (S.D.), and percentage (%). Qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis. The research results found that the first operational cycle, two students (20%) had scientific argumentation skills at a good level, five students (50%) at a moderate level, and three students (30%) at a low level. In the second operational cycle, two students (20%) had scientific argumentation skills at a very good level, two students (20%) at a good level, four students (40%) at a moderate level, one student (10%) at a low level, and one student (10%) at a very low level. In the third operational cycle, three students (30%) had scientific argumentation skills at a very good level, one student (10%) at a good level, and six students (60%) at a moderate level. Students exhibited an increased level of scientific argumentation skills, with the observed progression across all components of argumentation.