In many studies, the focus has been on students’ written scientific argumentation rather than on their spoken argumentation. The main aim of this study was to relate the quality of spoken argumentation to groups’ learning achievement during a collaborative inquiry task. The data included video recordings of six groups of three upper secondary students performing a collaborative inquiry task in a virtual learning environment. The target groups were selected from a larger sample of 39 groups based on their group outcome: two low, two average, and two high-outcome groups. The analysis focused on argumentation chains during the students’ discussions in the planning, experimentation, and conclusion phases of the inquiry task. The core of the coding scheme was based on Toulmin’s levels of argumentation. The results revealed differences between the different groups of students, with the high-performing groups having more argumentation than the average and low-performing groups. In high-performing groups, the students asked topic-related questions more frequently, which started the argumentative discussion. Meanwhile, there were few questions in the low-performing groups, and most did not lead to discussion. An evaluation scheme for the quality of the arguments was created and the spoken argumentation was analyzed using a computer-based program. The results may be used to benefit subject teacher education and to raise teachers’ awareness of their students’ scientific, topic-related discussions.

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Argumentation within Upper Secondary School Student Groups during Virtual Science Learning: Quality and Quantity of Spoken Argumentation

Using Drama to Enrich Students’ Argumentation About Genetically Modified Foods

One crucial characteristic of scientifically literate individuals is making informed decisions in socioscientific issues (SSI). Participants’ reasoning patterns and their risk perceptions shape their decisions. Thus, determining participants’ informal reasoning patterns along with their risk perceptions while making decisions in SSI becomes important. This study fulfills this important point by exploring pre-service science teachers’ informal reasoning patterns and their risk perceptions in an SSI topic, specifically gene therapy. Eleven pre-service science teachers enrolling in two different public universities participated in the study voluntarily. The study was designed as a basic qualitative approach. The data were collected by semi-structured interviews focusing on the use of gene therapy in Huntington’s disease and human intelligence cases. The results revealed that pre-service science teachers made decisions by using one (rationalistic, emotive, or intuitive) or more informal reasoning patterns together. Moreover, their risk perceptions were found to be based on the potential and severity of effects on humanity and society, participants’ morals and values, side effects, and a general concern born out of fear. In addition to their risk perceptions regarding gene therapy, they referred to positive aspects of technology, negative aspects of technology, and a two-edged sword implying positive and negative aspects of technology as a whole while making decisions. These results altogether pin the importance of including multiple forms of informal reasoning and risk perceptions in the pre-service science teacher education programs.

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Pre-service Science Teachers’ Informal Reasoning Patterns and Risk Perceptions in SSI: Case of Gene Therapy

Η περίοδος από την κατάληψη της κεντρικής πολιτικής εξουσίας στη Ρωσία από τους μπολσεβίκους τον Οκτώβριο του 1917 χαρακτηρίζεται από τις προσπάθειες του Λένιν για τη ριζική αναδόμηση του κράτους και της ρωσικής κοινωνίας. Από τη μία ξεχωρίζουν οι εργάτες και οι αγρότες που εναντιώθηκαν στην αστική κυριαρχία και στους γαιοκτήμονες και από την άλλη οι προσπάθειες της κεντρικής εξουσίας να ενδυναμώσουν τις διπλωματικές και πολιτικές σχέσεις της Σοβιετικής Ένωσης με τις άλλες χώρες και να εδραιώσουν την ειρήνη. Βασικός στόχος της πολιτικής του Λένιν αποτελεί η διεθνοποίηση της επανάστασης σε όλη την Ευρώπη, με άμεσο στόχο τη Γερμανία. Στα πλαίσια αυτά οι μπολσεβίκοι με πρωτεργάτη το Λένιν πήραν πρωτοβουλίες για την ανάδειξη των μορφωτικών καθηκόντων που έπρεπε να πράξουν με στόχο την απαλλοτρίωση των γαιών των γαιοκτημόνων της τσαρικής περιόδου και την εδραίωση μιας νέας εξουσίας, βασισμένη στα σοβιέτ των εργατών, που θα βασίζεται στις λαϊκές μάζες και που θα εκφράζει τα οικονομικά και κοινωνικά τους συμφέροντα.

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Η εξέλιξη της μορφωτικής πολιτικής στα πρώτα χρόνια της Οκτωβριανής επανάστα-σης: Η συμβολή του Λένιν.

Argumentation seems to play a central role in science education. Among other factors that could affect students’ argumentation skills, the duration of their engagement in appropriate teaching environments or teaching interventions have been studied, yielding opposing results. Thus, the aim of this research was to shed light in this direction. For this purpose, we worked with 10th grade Greek state school students divided into two groups. Both groups attended a course called “Research Project” (RP), which aimed to approach the teaching of Biotechnology through socioscientific issues. The first group attended the course for two hours weekly for twenty weeks (long research project group – LRP), whereas the second attended the same course with exactly the same designing for three hours per week for 13 weeks (short research project group – SRP). At the end of the interventions, all students completed a questionnaire of eight open-ended questions on Biotechnology. Students were asked to express their opinion providing arguments which later were assessed using Toulmin’s model. Simultaneously, we estimated the informal reasoning they used to express their arguments, based on the classification: rationalistic, intuitive and emotive. The results revealed that students of the LRP group produced stronger arguments using rationalistic informal reasoning that is arguments of higher level supported by scientific data and multifaceted consideration of each issue of question, compared to the SRP group. Moreover, the intuitive informal reasoning was found to be significantly reduced statistically in the LRP group compared to the SRP group. Consequently, we concluded that the distribution of RP teaching periods throughout the school year was crucial to enhancing both students’ argumentation skills and their informal reasoning when expressing arguments. In other words, an intervention of longer duration can help students formulate more elaborate arguments based on scientific data.

Investigating the Impact of the Duration of Engagement in Socioscientific Issues in Developing Greek Students’ Argumentation and Informal Reasoning Skills

Argumentation is a necessary skill for every citizen in a modern democratic society. Although in recent years many countries have incorporated it into their science curricula, students have been experiencing difficulties in developing argumentative skills. Socio-scientific issues (SSI) and role-playing activities, are thought to constitute ideal frameworks for helping students overcome these difficulties. The purpose of this study is to examine the degree of which a role-playing activity created by 10th grade’s Greek State school students and relevant to an SSI from the field of Biology can enhance their argumentation skills. Students answered five open-ended questions, and their arguments were evaluated based on the Toulmin’s model. The results showed that despite the general low level of arguments provided by the students, there was an indicative improvement in the argumentation level of question number 3. This indicates that a creative role-playing activity which actively involves students can have a positive impact on the development of students’ argumentation skills. The increase in argumentation level was also reflected in the students' ability to construct stronger arguments during the activity, which has a promising interpretation.

Issidora Papassideri

Papers

Investigating the Impact of the Duration of Engagement in Socioscientific Issues in Developing Greek Students’ Argumentation and Informal Reasoning Skills

Role-play Activities as a Framework for Developing Argumentation Skills on Biological Issues in Secondary Education