Shifts in Scientific Stance: Changing Judgments About the Plausibility of Competing Explanations

• In Event: Truth and Trust: Evolving Judgments, Climate Literacy, and Conversations for Change

Abstract

The present study explored middle and high school science students' judgments about the potential truthfulness of scientific explanations (plausibility) and alternative claims. We collected 1,191 student observations made during scaffolded science instruction where students evaluated connections between several lines of evidence and alternative explanations about scientific topics of social relevance (e.g., climate change, water resource availability). Our investigation examined the distribution of pre- to post-instruction changes in plausibility judgment (i.e., plausibility shift types) by student developmental level and geographic region. Results showed a majority of shifts were toward a more scientific stance. Multinomial logistic regression revealed that geographic region and, to a lesser extent, developmental level significantly associated with plausibility shift types.

Authors

• John Rolfe Robertson, University of Maryland

• Josh Medrano, University of California - Berkeley

• Doug Lombardi, University of Maryland