Considerable evidence suggests that dialogical interaction in the classroom promotes students' scientific knowledge building and reasoning. Hence, scientific argumentation is recognized as a central component of the Next Generation Science Standards. A focus on argumentation, however, requires teachers to adopt instructional practices that…

Rapid advancements in computing have enabled automatic analyses of written texts created in educational settings. The purpose of this symposium is to survey several applications of computerized text analyses used in the research and development of productive learning environments. Four featured research projects have developed or been working on:…

Current science education research and policy highlight the need to conceptualize scientific disciplines not only based on a view of "science-as-knowledge" but also on a perspective of "science-as-practice," placing an emphasis on practices such as explanation, argumentation, modeling, and communication. However, classroom…

Argumentation has been the emphasis of many studies during the last decade. However, previous studies have not identified why some students are more successful than others, and what are students' characteristics of argumentation, especially when working collaboratively. The purpose of this study was to identify how young students construct…

This study investigated the potential of students' written and oral questions both as an epistemic probe and heuristic for initiating collaborative argumentation in science. Four classes of students, aged 12-14 years from two countries, were asked to discuss which of two graphs best represented the change in temperature as ice was heated to steam.…

This article reports the outcomes of a project in which teachers' sought to develop their ability to use instructional practices associated with argumentation in the teaching of science--in particular, the use of more dialogic approach based on small group work and the consideration of ideas, evidence, and argument. The project worked with four…

A problem that is still unexplored in the field of socioscientific issues (SSI) and that was explored in this study is how different students decide upon a SSI they are discussing, how their justifications change during the instruction and how they use (or not) the evidence from the learning environment to support their justifications. For the…

This study explores how student-generated questions can support argumentation in science. Students were asked to discuss which of two graphs showing the change in temperature with time when ice is heated to steam was correct. Four classes of students, aged 12-14 years, from two countries, first wrote questions about the phenomenon. Then, working…

In this study we investigated junior high school students' processes of argumentation and cognitive development in science and socioscientific lessons. Detailed studies of the relationship between argumentation and the development of scientific knowledge are rare. Using video and audio documents of small group and classroom discussions, the…

The research reported in this study focuses on an investigation into the teaching of argumentation in secondary science classrooms. Over a 1-year period, a group of 12 teachers from schools in the greater London area attended a series of workshops to develop materials and strategies to support the teaching of argumentation in scientific contexts.…

Develops the case for the inclusion and central role of argument in science education. Discusses the function and purpose of dialogical argument in the social construction of scientific knowledge and interpretation of empirical data. (Author/CCM)

Explores the research on argumentation in science education by focusing on two questions: (1) what should constitute argumentation?; and (2) what does research say about classroom conditions that promote, nurture, and sustain argumentation practices among students? Discusses possible barriers to argumentation and foundational frameworks and…

This paper reports some methodological approaches to the analysis of argumentation discourse developed as part of the two-and-a-half year project titled "Enhancing the Quality of Argument in School Science" supported by the Economic and Social Research Council in the United Kingdom. In this project researchers collaborated with…

Examines whether secondary science teachers in England give students opportunities to develop and rehearse the skills of argumentation during their lessons. Finds that classroom discourse was largely teacher-dominated and tended not to foster the reflective discussion of scientific issues. Contains 43 references. (Author/WRM)

The research reported in this study focuses on the design and evaluation of learning environments that support the teaching and learning of argumentation in a scientific context. The research took place over 2 years, between 1999 and 2001, in junior high schools in the greater London area. The research was conducted in two phases. In phase 1,…