Argumentation is considered as an activity that promotes learning and critical
thinking. Learners who collaboratively argue about a subject are expected to acquire
both knowledge and argumentation skills. However research indicates that we need to
support both argument construction and collaboration. A form of support is employing
computerized collaboration scripts to engage students in argumentation and regulate
their activities. Such scripts have been proved to help students develop specific skills
like the construction of single arguments or the argumentation sequence. Being an
external support collaboration scripts should withdraw after students have internalized
the skills they are supposed to, in order to be able to practice the acquired skills in
similar tasks. To investigate the effect of scripting and fading on fostering
argumentation skills we have built iArguea prototype web-based argumentation
environment. In iArgue students are engaged in a jigsaw-type collaboration activity
guided by a script that may gradually fade. The results from a preliminary expert-based
evaluation were used to improve system design and propose for consideration ideas that
could be taken into account when designing argumentation systems.
Keywords: Argumentation, CSCL scripts, fading, argumentation environments.