Argument maps as comparator for internal feedback: A Lab for undergraduate students

Internal feedback is a construct that become recently relevant for the impact it has on metacognitive and affective-relational regulation, in relation to different skills and learning contexts. In particular, the concept of comparator, i.e. the tools, interventions, or resources that activate internal feedback, requires the support of empirical research. In this contribution, we take as an initial hypothesis that the argument maps’ (AM) visual component, already linked to the development of argumentative and critical thinking skills, could be a generative source of concrete comparison, allowing for a facilitated comprehension and an improvement of the sense-making abilities within argumentative texts. In fact, AMs diagram the logical relationships between different utterances, allowing the learner to keep track and better understand the reasoning chain. To test the above hypothesis, an experimental study was conducted to investigate the extent to which a course with AMs favored students in increasing: a) internal feedback (IF), associated with b) their level of text comprehension (CoT) and hence, c) critical thinking (CT).