Children Arguing in Science Lessons Over Time: The Discursive Construction of Evidence Use

• In Event: 77.057 - MTCC Roundtable Session 35
  In Roundtable Session: 77.057-7 - Student Focus: Science Teaching and Learning SIG Roundtable Session

Abstract

In this ethnographic study of science education in a third grade classroom, we investigate how children constructed discursively the practice of use of evidence during argumentation. Using Pragma-dialectics theory of argumentation and microethnographic discourse analysis, we show that, over time, the student’s argumentation oscillated in two main ways related with questions discussed in science lessons with different nature. Considering multiple events throughout the 5 month period, discussions about data occurred and aspects related to the way of interpreting phenomena seem relevant to understand how the group made sense of using evidence in science classroom. Some implications are indicated.

Authors

• Luiz Gustavo Franco Silveira, Universidade Federal do ABC

• Danusa Munford, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais