Biology and biotechnology are increasingly ubiquitous and genome research will define the 21st century as the century of biology (Venter & Cohen, 2004). Comprehension of biology is needed to engage with major public policy issues and to make informed decisions (Barton & Uphadyay, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 2003; NRC, 2012; Walker, 2021).…

At the 2015 "NARST: A Worldwide Organization for Improving Science Teaching and Learning Through Research" Annual International Conference, a group of scholars held an extended pre-conference workshop to discuss key challenges and future directions faced by argumentation researchers around the world. This wide-ranging group of…

This article explores undergraduates' efforts to engage in scientific argumentation during exam settings. Thirteen undergraduate students enrolled in an environmental science course completed exams with questions linked around a central theme. Three types of questions were used, including those that prompted students to construct scientific…

In this paper, we are interested in the notion of multiple ways of thinking, knowing and transforming life, namely an increasing capacity to intervene in "life" as a "molecular biopolitics," and the changing ways in which "life" can be understood computationally. We identify and speculate on the ways different ideas…

Courses: Intercultural Communication, Argumentation and Advocacy, Communication and Education. Objectives: This activity is designed to help students to problem-pose and think critically about policies/laws that influence education. Students will be exposed to U.S. policy and will be able to articulate a critical dissent of such documents.

The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of the science-technology-engineering and mathematics integrated argumentation based science learning approach on the resolution of daily life problems and the change of high-level thinking skills. Mixed method was used in the research. Quantitative data were collected with a single group…

Argumentation schema theory guided four experiments on the processing of plausible and implausible reasons and warrant statements testing the hypothesis that most reasons produce greater agreement with claims than when claims are presented without support. Another hypothesis was that leaving warrants unstated often produces greater agreement than…

The 'school-readiness' agenda is becoming increasingly dominant in recent policy discourse, and this article explores how the Bold Beginnings report builds on this agenda. By focusing on the curricular gap between the end of Reception and Year 1, and on the importance of mathematical and literacy outcomes, it is argued that Bold Beginnings clearly…

The recent literature has shown the importance of preservice elementary science teachers (PESTs) having a deep understanding of argumentation, as this factor may affect the nature of the class activities that are taught and what students learn. A lack of understanding of this factor may represent an obstacle in the development of science education…

The study explored the possibilities to improve students' argumentation ability concerning factors that affect dissolving, through the implementation of two versions of a teaching scheme, with and without particle theory. The participants (age range 10-11, n = 27) belonged to two fifth-grade classes of a primary school in Northern Greece. Data…

The National Writing Project's (NWP) College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP) aims to improve young people's ability to write thoughtful, evidence-based arguments. In an era where public discourse has become increasingly polarized, and "echo chambers" of narrow views populate people's social media feeds, teaching students to…

Science teachers need support in developing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) around science practices such as argumentation. Educative curriculum materials (ECMs) have great potential as a tool to support teachers' PCK development, particularly for in-service teachers. In this chapter, we describe an intervention in which we developed and…

Teachers' questioning is a pivotal contributing factor to support students' engagement in productive mathematical collective argumentation. Following Habermas' (1998) construct of rational behavior, we attempted to demonstrate how teachers' questioning can be framed based on this construct. Adapting Habermas' construct with Toulmin's (1958/2003)…

The argument that the second law of thermodynamics contradicts the theory of evolution has recently been revived by anti-evolutionists. In its basic form, the argument asserts that whereas evolution implies that there has been an increase in biological complexity over time, the second law, a fundamental principle of physics, shows this to be…

In recent years, an agonistic approach to citizenship education has been put forward as a way of educating democratic citizens. Claudia W. Ruitenberg (2009) has developed such an approach and takes her starting point in Chantal Mouffe's agonistic theory. Ruitenberg highlights how political emotions and political disputes can be seen as central for…