Caderno Brasileiro de Ensino de Física (Dec 2018)

The essential foundations of argumentation in science education: a study from the units, taxonomic elements and quality of the argument

  • Geraldo Fernandes,
  • António M. Rodrigues,
  • Carlos A. Ferreira

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-7941.2018v35n3p1020
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 35, no. 3
pp. 1020 – 1059

Abstract

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This study aims to understand the argumentative discussions established by children during the development of Inquiry-based Activities in Science Education (IBASE). For this, we elaborated two instruments of analysis of the argumentation. The first, called Taxonomical Elements of Scientific Argumentation (TESA), seeks to characterize the structure and progression of the argument and the second, called Quality of the Modified Argument, aims to rank the argument at different levels. To exemplify the use of these instruments, the children's and young people's argument was analyzed in a scientific workshop on "Flight of the Airplanes". As a result, the categories evidenced by TESAs cannot be thought of as isolated and autonomous units, but rather as a continuum of evolution, characterizing in discursive movements from the simplest to the most complex.

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