title: Learning to argue via apprenticeship.
abstract: We examined apprenticeship, in the form of interaction with a more capable other, as a mechanism of development of higher-order reasoning skills, specifically argumentation. Over a 1-year period, middle school students engaged in twice-weekly electronic dialogs with a sequence of different peers on a series of social issues. In one group, unbeknownst to participants, a highly capable adult substituted for peers in half of their dialogs. Beginning immediately, increasing with time, and extending to peer-only dialogs on a new topic, the quality of argumentation shown by the experimental group exceeded that of a comparison peer-only group, highlighting the power of apprenticeship as a mechanism in the development of reasoning, a demonstration of both theoretical and applied significance.
authors.affiliation: Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Lia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Papathomas
authors.affiliation: Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA. Electronic address: dk100@tc.columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Deanna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kuhn
mesh_terms: D001076:Aptitude; D002648:Child; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D003210:Concept Formation; D003479:Curriculum; D034462:Dissent and Disputes; D005260:Female; D049669:History, 16th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000071252:Mentoring; D010379:Peer Group; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D000067570:Social Learning; D013850:Thinking; D014477:Underachievement; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Apprenticeship; Argumentation; Cognitive Development; Collaboration; Critical Thinking; Discourse; Expert Modeling; Reasoning; Social Learning; Sociocultural Approach