Early adolescent students’ argumentation in a worldwide science education activity about global lunar phases

This qualitative study examined early adolescents’ argumentation using the Claim Evidence Reasoning (CER) framework. The CER framework is a tool for verbal and written discourse that supports students with constructing scientific arguments to learn about the natural world as they engage in scientific inquiry. The ability to create scientific arguments using scientific evidence and reasoning skills for argumentation is important for science literacy. Students in this study applied the CER framework within a representative online science learning environment, the World Moon Project. Students’ written arguments were analyzed to answer the research question: Do students write a claim and provide evidence and reasoning when asked to make a claim, cite evidence, and state their reasoning about global patterns in the Moon’s appearance, based on the data they collected themselves and data received from students in other worldwide locations? Some researchers have studied argumentation from the perspective of an observer being in one location, but this researcher looked at students making arguments based on observations made from multiple locations on Earth. Findings revealed that the majority of the 108 early adolescent students were able to write a claim, provide evidence, and apply reasoning skills for scientific argumentation; however, this study cannot be generalized to all students. The researcher recommends that future studies include a control group and that they focus on the patterns found in the students’ claim, evidence, and reasoning responses when writing CERs for scientific argumentation.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Curriculum and Instruction

Grantor

Texas Tech University

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Cooks, Teha K.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Smith, Walter

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Lan, William
• Greenhalgh-Spencer, Heather

• Scientific Literacy
• Scientific Argumentation

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2346/87656

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ttu-ir.tdl.org:2346/87656