Related Data for: The effects of individual preparation on students’ collaborative argumentation-based learning: An exploratory study in a secondary school classroom

Computer-supported collaboration is considered to be one effective strategy to improve students’ argumentation skills. The integration of an individual preparation (IP) activity before collaboration activity has been applied in collaboration script studies. Few studies examined the role of IP activity in argumentation skill improvement via online collaboration in face-to-face classrooms. In the context of computer-supported collaborative argumentation (CSCA) activities with a graph-based argumentation platform, this study explored the effects of IP on students’ collaborative argumentation-based learning in three conditions: 10-minute IP before collaboration condition (condition 1), 5-minute IP before collaboration condition (condition 2), and immediate collaboration condition without IP (control condition). Students (N= 39) from one class in one Singapore secondary school participated in three face-to-face computer-supported collaborative learning lessons. The results showed a higher quality of collaborative argumentation in the immediate collaboration condition than in the conditions with IP, which means that more time should be allocated to collaborative activities instead of IP in similar CSCA contexts. These findings contribute to the current understanding of the role of IP activity before collaboration on students’ collaboration process as well as outcomes.