Argumentation Practice in the Context of Nuclear Power Plants

Abstract

This study explored pre-service science teachers’ argument quality in the context of nuclear power plants. 48 pre-service science teachers in a public university consisted of the study group of the study. The argument qualities of pre-service teachers who trained about argumentation including the Toulmin Argument Pattern (TAP) were examined. In this study, holistic single case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The data of the study were collected through both written and verbal arguments. The written and verbal argument analysis indicated that teacher candidates lacked of competency in developing scientific arguments in the context of nuclear power plants. In addition, it has been found that teacher candidates have various alternative conceptions about nuclear power plants. In general, it is striking that the quality of the arguments written in the relevant literature is quite poor. For this reason, it is important to add to the literature the studies in which written arguments are supported with verbal arguments.