0000000000217897
AUTHOR
Kati Vapalahti
Collaborative argumentation through role-play by students on a degree programme in social services
The aim of this study was to investigate the nature of collaborative argumentation by students enrolled in a degree program in social services. Students (n = 29) in a University of Applied Sciences participated in role-play discussions and problem solving on adolescents’ substance abuse. The discussions were conducted either online (15 students) or face-to-face (14 students). The data comprise the students’ asynchronous online and face-to-face discussions, which were analysed by identifying discussion fragments relevant in collaborative argumentation, and by comparing the results of the two groups. The results showed that the face-to-face discussions were more collaborative than the online …
From Online Role-Play to Written Argumentation
This chapter reports on a teaching experiment conducted during a blended learning course in social work in a Finnish university of applied sciences (polytechnic). The aim was to investigate how students’ multidimensional understanding of social problems could be fostered. As argumentative methods, the study used writing tasks, online role-play, and drama work. The data consisted of essays written by 65 students (experimental group 29; controls 36) in each of three phases, plus online discussions. The essays were based on 1) the students’ personal experiences, 2) general facts, and 3) a fictional case taken from the online role-play. Varying the focus of the writing task affected students’ s…
Yhteisöllinen argumentointi sosionomikoulutuksessa avoimia ongelmia ratkottaessa
The aim of this study was to develop teaching methods for practising argumentative problem-solving in a degree program of social services. The purpose was to acquire knowledge about multiple (face-to-face, online, and integrated) learning environments for studying argumentative problem-solving. In addition, the typical features of collaborative argumentation in student discussions were identified. Two teaching experiments were arranged in courses on drug and alcohol abuse. Both experiments required students to solve open-ended problems through role-play regarding a fictive girl’s use of alcohol. The idea of blended learning was applied in the first teaching experiment. Students (n = 29) wro…
Online and face-to-face role-play simulations in promoting social work students’ argumentative problem-solving
This paper reports on a teaching experiment in which social work students (n=38) practiced problem solving through argumentative tasks. A teaching experiment was carried out at a Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences in Finland in connection with a course concerning preventative work against alcohol- and drug abuse. This quasiexperimental study investigated whether role-play simulation conducted either online (15 students) or face-to-face (14 students) improved students’ problem solving on social issues. As a pre-test, the students wrote an essay after having watched a dramatization of problematic cases on elderly people’s use of alcohol. The students also attended lectures (30 x 45 min) o…