Talking Science in the Wild: Investigating Preservice Science Educators’ Argumentation Skills in a Socioscientific Context

• In Event: Poster Session 20
  In Poster Session: Exploring Science Education

Abstract

As western society becomes increasingly reliant on scientific information to make decisions, citizens must be equipped to understand how scientific arguments are constructed. In order to do this pre-service teachers must be prepared to teach scientific argumentation in the classroom. This study investigated how instruction in the Toulmin Argumentation Protocol (TAP) impacted pre-service science teachers' ability to write sound and logical scientific arguments. The study occurred in the context of a pre-service methods class on the socio-scientific realm of secondary science education at a university in the USA. Through the use of a sequential mixed-methods investigation findings indicate that there was a positive impact on pre-service science teachers ability to construct sound scientific arguments through instruction in the TAP.

Authors

• M Brooke Robertshaw, Utah State University

• Todd Campbell, University of Connecticut