Engineering students are often engaged in complex problem-solving and decision-making, where strong argumentation skills are needed for students to justify their solutions and communicate effectively in both academic and professional environments. Despite the importance of argumentation skills, formal instruction on argumentative writing is rarely provided in engineering. This study explored engineering students’ argument schema, providing a foundation for developing instructional supports to improve their argumentation skills.

In-depth interviews with 13 undergraduate engineering students enrolled in the second through senior year of their engineering program across multiple US institutions were performed. The findings revealed two distinct argument schemas, with variations in students’ knowledge of different elements of argument schema. The need for instructional support to improve students’ argumentation skills was clear. Based on the findings, recommendations for instructors will be offered.

Speaker: Anu Singh