Argumentation is fundamental for many learning assignments, ranging from primary school to university and beyond. Computer-supported argument scaffolds can facilitate argumentative discourse along with concomitant interactive discussions among learners in a group (i.e., first-order argument scaffolding). However, there is no evidence, and hence no…

Two successful and two struggling beginning readers were studied with the goal of understanding how beginning readers of varying ability levels make sense of instruction in learning to read. Through interviews, classroom observations, and the collection of artifacts from home and school, the author explored meanings constructed by the students…

The category of coherence in rating scales has often been criticized for being vague. Typical descriptors might describe students' writing as having 'a clear progression of ideas' or "lacking logical sequencing." These descriptors inevitably require subjective interpretation on the side of the raters. A number of researchers (Connor & Farmer,…