Learning to Use Evidence in Elementary School Over Time: A Study of the Discursive Construction of Ways of Answering Questions in Science Lessons

Luiz Gustavo Franco,Danusa Munford

doi:10.28976/1984-2686rbpec2017172689

Abstract

The use of evidence in science lessons has been considered an important practice to bedeveloped in science education. In this study, we investigate how 3rd graders constructed discursively the practice of using evidence. The theoretical and methodological framework of the study was grounded in Microethnography and Interactional Etnography. We characterize “ways of doing” related to evidence use based on the use of discursive resources: words/expressions that were emphasized by the participants in face-to-face interactions, through contextual cues of speech, such as intonation/volume shifts and pausing moments. We indicate how these ways of doing have changed over time and how participants negotiated a shared model in building answers using evidence. We also discuss methodological implications for research in Argumentation in science education and for classroom practice.

Highlights

The goal of this study is to investigate how 3rd graders constructed discursively practices of using evidence in science lessons
We report our results presenting a broad description of the three telling cases (TC), organized in five interactional units (IU) based on the focus of the discussions3
telling case 1 (TC1) corresponds to unities IU1, IU2, IU3, and TC2 and TC3 correspond to unities IU4 and IU5, respectively

Summary

Introduction

The goal of this study is to investigate how 3rd graders constructed discursively practices of using evidence in science lessons. Working with evidence in the classroom has the potential to help students to develop scientific thinking (JiménezAleixandre & Erduran 2008; Kuhn, 1993), and children have opportunities to have contact with aspects of practices involved in the construction of scientific knowledge (Kelly, 2013). As Sandoval and Milwood (2008) point, this type of practices challenges the notion that teachers know all the “right answers” and students’ role is to give these answers. Instead, they experience situation in which learning science involves not accepting ideas just because they are persuasive or because people with more power defend them. Franco & Munford another contribution of participating in these practices is that they emphasize aspects of education for citizenship in science teaching (Berland & Reiser, 2011; JiménezAleixandre & Erduran, 2008)

Objectives

Results

Conclusion