Knowledge Building: Theory, Design and Analysis

Abstract

The contribution of dedicated technologies to Argumentation for Learning has been recognized two decades ago, at the time CSCL theorists articulated the foundation of the field. Quite curiously, since the first steps of research in Computer-Supported Argumentation for learning, argumentation was never theorized. The chapter begins with such a theorization, which presents argumentation as a polysemic term. We then provide a historical overview of the evolution of support tools, and show that although CSCL theory and research on argumentation and learning look as if they emerged and developed independently, these two domains are deeply intertwined. This parallelism confers to Computer-supported Argumentation a central place in the Learning Sciences. We then review current research paths in computer-supported argumentation for learning: scaffolding group argumentation, moderation of multiple discussion groups, blended settings in classroom contexts, and dialogism and deliberative democracy.