The Effects of a Dramatic Arc-Based Argumentation Instructional Model on High School Students’ Argumentation Competence: Focusing on Toulmin’s Argument Components

This study examines changes in high school students’ argumentation competence following the implementation of an instructional model for geographic argumentation based on the dramatic arc. Participants investigated geographic conflicts, composed written arguments using Toulmin’s components, answered open-ended questions, and participated in interviews. The resulting data were analyzed to assess argumentation competence and explore students’ learning experiences. Results indicated a statistically significant increase in students’ written argumentation scores. Thematic analysis yielded four themes: learning structured by the dramatic arc, perceived difficulty differences across components, strategic information seeking and evidence selection, and changed perceptions of geography as a school subject. This study advances a systematic framework for argumentation instruction in geography and provides evidence that the dramatic arc structure can support argumentation learning in geography classrooms.