TYPE Original Research PUBLISHED 03 January 2024 DOI 10.3389/fcomm.2023.1182439 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Yoed Nissan Kenett, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Israel REVIEWED BY Maor Zeev-Wolf, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel Marzia Saglietti, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy *CORRESPONDENCE Nira Mashal mashaln@mail.biu.ac.il RECEIVED 08 March 2023 ACCEPTED 07 December 2023 PUBLISHED 03 January 2024 CITATION Kofman Talmy A and Mashal N (2024) Quantitative and qualitative initial validation of the accountable talk questionnaire. Front. Commun. 8:1182439. doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2023.1182439 COPYRIGHT © 2024 Kofman Talmy and Mashal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Quantitative and qualitative initial validation of the accountable talk questionnaire Ayelet Kofman Talmy and Nira Mashal* Faculty of Education, Bar-Ilan University Ramat-Gan, Ramat Gan, Israel Introduction: Accountable Talk (AT) has been extensively studied as a tool for improving argumentation and respectful discourse. While several research tools exist for evaluating AT, as of yet there no self-report assessment tool to measure AT directly, on a large-scale basis, and without significant costs. The aim of the current study was to develop and provide initial validation for a self-report AT questionnaire (ATQ). Methods: One hundred students aged 11–12 years participated in the study. Exploratory Factor Analysis, content validity, and test- retest reliability were assessed. 50 students were also randomly assigned to the qualitative part of the study. These students were recorded while discussing in small groups a topic provided by the experimenter (animal research). The qualitative data was coded and then correlated with the quantitative data obtained from the self-report questionnaire. Results: The results indicated that a 12-items questionnaire can reliably assess three separate and independent qualities of AT: accountability to a learning community, accountability to rigorous thinking, and accountability to accurate knowledge. The reliability of the ATQ was high with α = 0.80. The Test-retest reliability was assessed at two time points separated by a 3-week interval with Pearson correlation. Excellent correlations (r > 0.98) between the ATQ scores were found. The correlation coefficients between the three components of the self- reported ATQ and the observed data obtained from the group discussions were significant positive medium-high. Discussion: We have shown that a concise 12-item questionnaire can assess the three main components of Accountable Talk within the framework of respectful discourse. The questionnaire showed good reliability and structural validity, with weak correlations between sub-topics supporting the distinction between different aspects of Accountable Talk. We suggest that the ATQ can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention programs aiming to improve students’ acquisition of Accountable Talk skills. KEYWORDS accountable talk, argumentation, respectful discourse, assessment tool, self-report questionnaire 1 Introduction Argumentation is a verbal and social process that consists of the construction of arguments containing explanations and justifications (Kuhn and Udell, 2003). Argumentation is an important skill for learning and teaching and as a tool for improving problem-solving processes, acquiring concepts, building knowledge, and fostering academic achievements (Kuhn et al., 1997; Lazarou et al., 2017; Webb et al., 2019; Hasnunidah et al., 2020). The intrinsic value of argumentation lies in its seamless integration into educational practices, ultimately leading to elevated profound learning experiences and more meaningful interpersonal interactions (Koichu et al., 2022). Argumentation extends beyond Frontiers in Communication 01 frontiersin.org