Developing critical processing of online information is one important mission of schooling in the 21st century. However, science teachers often lack an instructional tool they can integrate into existing curricula to support students’ information processing. This study aims to examine the efficacy of the Critical Reading of Informational Texts (CRIT) scaffold on students’ critical integrative argumentation - the dialogic process of weighing, evaluating, and integrating scientific claims. The present study documented the design of the CRIT scaffold to support both critical evaluation and integration of online scientific information. Initial efficacy evidence from a cluster-randomized control group study demonstrated that students who used the scaffold produced written task products that had higher overall argumentative quality and were more likely to support evidence-based conclusions about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), weigh claims using source and evidence quality, and engage in refutation by countering specific claims based on why they are flawed.

发展在线信息的批判性处理能力是 21 世纪学校教育的一项重要使命。然而，科学教师往往缺乏可以融入现有课程以支持学生信息处理的教学工具。本研究旨在检验信息文本批判性阅读（CRIT）支架对学生批判性综合论证（权衡、评估和整合科学主张的对话过程）的有效性。本研究记录了 CRIT 支架的设计，以支持在线科学信息的批判性评估和整合。