A Fifth-Grade Science Teacher's Attempts to Manage Uncertainty in Argumentation

• In Event: Poster Session 9
  In Poster Session: Research in Science Learning and Teaching Poster Session 2

Abstract

This study investigated how a fifth-grade science teacher managed uncertainty in students’ argumentation during the public negotiation phase of the Science Writing Heuristic approach. Conceptualizing science learning as a balance between conceptual, epistemic, and social learning goals (Duschl, 2008), our analysis focused on how the teacher used epistemic engagement and social negotiation as resources to manage conceptual uncertainty. We found that 1) when epistemic engagement served as a resource, the teacher resolved students’ uncertainty through his emphasis on coherence of argument and coherence of knowledge; 2) when social negotiation served as a resource, the teacher resolved students’ uncertainty through critiquing their arguments. This study gives science teachers insights into how uncertainty management facilitates the development of students’ conceptual knowledge.

Authors

• Xue Qiao, Arizona State University - Tempe

• Ying-Chih Chen, Arizona State University