While there are variations in emphasis among the teaching teams for biology, chemistry and physics curriculum studies courses, the key ideas of assessment, nature of science, science laboratory work, conceptual understanding and key strategies (such as questioning, scientific argumentation, flip classrooms etc). in the different sub-disciplines are addressed.
Topics include: Questioning Strategies, Classroom Discourse, Teaching through misconceptions, Argumentation approach to instruction, Learning Theory, Conceptions and Conceptual Change and Fixed vs Growth Mind-set, Science Communication.
In terms of fostering student argumentation in the classroom, two conditions appear particularly important: an instructional task that challenges students to consider alternate ideas and a social context that invites dialogue (Osborne et al., 2004).
This dual focus parallels the distinction in research on argumentation in the science classroom between 'learning to argue' and 'arguing to learn'.
The keyword identification was based on the potential contributions from the introduction of argumentation in the science classrooms, drawn from diverse foundational disciplines such as philosophy, linguistics and communication (Erduran & Jimenez-Aleixandre 2007).
In contrast to the wealth of information on younger students, few studies have examined the content or nature of argumentation in college-level classrooms.
Re-evaluating LARGO in the Classroom: Are Diagrams Better Than Text for Teaching Argumentation Skills?
Diverse types of student-student talk exist in science classrooms, such as small group talk, presentations, and argumentation practice.
Many secondary school science classrooms do not provide opportunities to engage in argumentation (Lemke, 1990), and, when students are given the opportunity, they often do not readily employ reasoning in their arguments (Kuhn, 1991; Kuhn and Udell, 2003; Zohar and Nemet, 2002).
