A Pilot Study for Determining the Effect of Argumentation-Based Instruction on 6th Grade Students’ Knowledge and Views about Organ Donation and Transplantation

Oct 15, 2026

A pilot study evaluates the impact of argumentation-based instruction on 6th grade students’ knowledge and views regarding organ donation and transplantation. Conducted with 41 secondary school students in Turkey using a pre-test post-test single-group quasi-experimental design, the intervention lasted two weeks with argumentation-based activities. Data were collected via an open-ended questionnaire and analyzed through content analysis. Results indicate substantial initial confusion and misconceptions about key concepts, necessary donation conditions, and organs/tissues that can be successfully transplanted. After the intervention, misconceptions decreased significantly while students’ awareness and willingness to donate increased, indicating a positive effect on both knowledge and views.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Socio-scientific issues in science education

Argumentation and its role in learning

A PILOT STUDY FOR DETERMING THE EFFECT OF ARGUMENTATION-BASED INSTRUCTION ON 6TH GRADE STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE AND VIEWS ABOUT ORGAN DONATION AND TRANSPLANTATION Belkız CAYMAZ, Abdullah AYDIN Abstract: This study has been prepared as a preliminary study that will guide similar studies in the future. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of argumentation-based instruction on 6th grade students’ knowledge and views about organ donation and transplantation. The study was conducted with 41 secondary school students in Turkey and a pre-test post-test single-group quasiexperimental design was used. Organ donation and transplantation was taught with argumentationbased activities for 2 weeks. The data was gathered by the open-ended questionnaire and content analysis was used in the analysis of the data. Before the application, it was observed that most of the students confused the basic concepts of organ donation and transplantation and they had some misconceptions. They also had incorrect information about the necessary conditions for organ donation and organs/tissues which can be successfully transplanted. After the application, it was observed that the misconceptions decreased significantly, and argumentation-based activities raised students' awareness and willingness to donate. These findings showed that argumentationbased instruction have had a positive effect on the students’ knowledge and views about organ donation and transplantation. Key words: organ donation and transplantation, socio-scientific issue, argumentation, science education 1. Introduction In the 21st century, the developments in science and technology not only affected the social and cultural structure, but also influenced the understanding of education and caused radical changes. The content of science education, which is closely related to science, technology, society, has also been updated to keep pace with these developments. In Turkey, the science curriculums were prepared student-centered and all of them are aimed to educate science literate individuals (Ministry of National Education [MoNE], 2018) . One of the components that play an important role in improving science literacy is socio-scientific issues (Kolsto, 2006; Sadler & Zeidler, 2005; Sadler & Fowler, 2006) . Socio-scientific issues include scientific and moral reasoning skills to solve socio-scientific problems related to science and technology (MoNE, 2018) . Inclusion of these issues in science learning environments develops skills such as conscious decision making, associating issues with daily life, multi-dimensional and critical thinking (Dawson, 2015; Hodson, 2013; Sadler, 2004; Sadler & Fowler, 2006; Zeidler, Sadler, Applebaum & Callahan, 2009) . Therefore, many institutions, organizations (American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS], 1990; MoNE, 2018; National Research Council [NRC], 1996) and science educators (Cebesoy & Dönmez-Şahin, 2013; Hodson, 2013; Kolsto, 2006; Sadler, 2004; Topçu, 2015; Zeidler, Sadler, Simmons & Howes, 2005) advocate that these issues should be included in science education. Socio-scientific issues were included in the science curriculum for the first time in 2013 in Turkey. One of the aims of the 2013 science curriculum is to develop scientific thinking habits by using socio-scientific issues (MoNE, 2013) . In this program, which was updated in 2018, this aim was extended as developing reasoning ability, scientific thinking habits and decision-making skills by using sociological subjects (MoNE, 2018) . Socio-scientific issues are open to discussion and include multiple perspectives and solutions. In this respect, it differs from other issues in the science course (Sadler & Zeidler, 2005) . This encourages students to make decisions about social issues based on scientific knowledge, to consider the political, personal, or ethical dimension of the issue and to use scientific arguments in this process (Kolsto, 2006; Zeidler et al.,

FAQs

What is the purpose of this pilot study?

To determine the effect of argumentation-based instruction on 6th grade students’ knowledge and views about organ donation and transplantation.

How was the study designed and conducted?

The study used a pre-test post-test single-group quasi-experimental design with 41 secondary school students in Turkey. Organ donation and transplantation were taught through argumentation-based activities for two weeks.

What changes were observed after the instruction?

Students’ misconceptions decreased significantly. Argumentation-based activities increased students’ awareness and willingness to donate.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Chumphorn