The effect of the argumentation practices on the pre-school education children's argumentation degree and their knowledge of living and inanimate concepts

The overall aim of the research is to examine the effect of the argumentation practices on the six-year-olds' argumentation skills and their knowledge of living and inanimate concepts. The research was planned as a nested embedded hybrid method in which qualitative and quantitative approaches are used together. Semi-structured interview was used in the qualitative, and a quasi-experimental design was used in the quantitative dimension. The study's universe consisted of an official kindergarten affiliated to NEM [ National Education Ministry (MEB)] at the middle socio-economic level in the Düziçi province of Osmaniye in the year 2015-2016 with 51 children whose learning levels are close to each other in terms of age and gender (17 teachers control group, 17 researchers control group, 17 experiments group). The sample of the research is "mixed method sampling". In this study, demographic information form, analysis of argumentation rubric levels, live-inanimate achievement concept test and semi-structured interview form were used as data collection tools. Sample of research was realized in three classes, one of which was experimental and two of which were control groups. The experiment and researcher control group was randomly assigned to the same school. The teacher control groups consisted of students who were studying at another school in order to remove the teacher influence of the course of implementation. The implementation process was carried out by the researcher in the experiment and researcher control groups and the teacher in the teacher control group. In addition, a pilot study was conducted with 12 students for 6 weeks before the actual application. In the experimental process of the research, the activities were conducted by presenting arguments and based on argumentation. Thus, the development of the children in the level of argumentation, the effect on their achievement, the conceptual meaning, and the changes in conceptual misconceptions were investigated. In the control group, the process was carried out with the activity plans prepared according to the Pre-School NEM (National Education Ministry) 2013 program. The study lasted 11 weeks in the experimental group and 8 weeks in the control group. In the analysis of the research data, Köroğlu (2009) ; Aldağ, Doğanay and Köroğlu (2015)'s evaluation rubric was referenced; frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean (demographic information), normality analysis were applied. At the beginning and end of the study, the experimental and control groups were subjected to analysis of argumentation rubric levels, live-inanimate achievement concept test and semi-structured interviews were conducted with the children. Thus, it has been tried to identify the differences inter-groups. For this purpose, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the levels of argumentation, the development on the sense of achievement, and differences inter-group comparisons. This study has shown that the argumentation method positively contributes to academic success, conceptual meaning, and argumentation levels. Findings obtained in qualitative sense support quantitative results. Before the study in the pretest, there is no significant difference between experimental group, teacher and researcher control groups. According to this result, it can be said that there is equality in terms of achievement and argumentation levels among the groups. However, when the final test scores at the end of the study are examined, it is seen that the argumentation level of the experimental group, which was educated by the argumentation method, is significantly higher than the children of the control group who were educated in the NEM (MEB) 2013 program. There is also a significant difference in the scores of achievement and misconceptions scores. Experiment group scores are found to be lower in the pre-test than in the other groups, but it is found higher in the post-test scores. At the same time, it is concluded that argumentation is also effective on misrepresentations, which is the display of success, and that the final test shows a significant difference in favor of the pretest, and that argumentation reduces the misconceptions. From this result, the meaningful difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of success and argumentation levels is provided by the argumentation method. Keywords: Argumentation, pre-school science education, toulmin argumen model, live-ınanimate concept.