Argumentation-based engineering design process applications in the matter and heat unit: opinions and experiences of secondary school 6th grade students

The purpose of this research; To determine the opinions and experiences of 6th grade students regarding the argumentation-based engineering design process applied in the Matter and Heat unit. In this research, a case study, one of the qualitative study methods, was conducted. The study was carried out in the fall semester of the 2023-2024 academic year, in a public boarding regional secondary school in the Korkut district of Muş province, with 25 male students studying in the 6th grade. Data was collected using a semi-structured interview form and student diaries, which are qualitative data collection tools prepared by the researcher. At the end of the argumentation-based engineering design process activities, which lasted 5 weeks in total, semi-structured interview questions were applied and student diaries were kept at the end of each activity. These collected data were analyzed using the content analysis method and the findings were presented in tables. As a result of the research, students stated that they had positive opinions about the argumentation-based engineering design process and that they wanted to use this method in the future. As a result of their experiences, students said that they liked doing group work. Additionally, some problems were encountered while implementing the argumentation-based engineering design process, and these problems are explained in the conclusion. As a result of the findings obtained from the research, it is recommended to have engineering design studies based on argumentation in courses.