Promoting argumentative competence by self-assessment rubric in online discussion forums

The objective of this paper is to determine differences on performance levels when students use a self-assessment rubric into online discussion forums as a tool to write a good message. This educational experience was in online forums about human sexual education for medical students. A quasi-experimental research design was developed. In one forum (16) students use a rubric for writing their messages, their performance level was compare to levels from other forums (7,16 y 21) through Wilcoxon test analysis. Results suggest that using a self-assessment rubric promotes argumentative competence in four of five rubric's elements. Writing messages is a complex activity where different abilities are mixed at the same time.