In this paper, I argue that contemporary accounts of nature of science (NoS) are limited in their depiction of "science" and that new perspectives are needed to broaden their characterisation and appeal for science education. In particular, I refer to the role of interdisciplinary characterisations of science in informing the theory and…

The article raises questions about how argumentation is situated in science and religious education. Argumentation is about the justification of claims with reasons and evidence. It is a way of reasoning in both science and religious studies. A current 3-year research and development project entitled "Oxford Argumentation in Religion and…

In recent years, there has been upsurge of interest in the applications of interdisciplinary perspectives on science in science education. Within this framework, the implications of the so-called "economics of science" is virtually an uncharted territory. In this paper, we trace a set of arguments that provide a dialectic engagement with…

Background: The primary objective of this paper is to provide a review of research on argumentation in science education based on publications from 1998 to 2014 in three science education journals. In recent years, the teaching and learning argumentation (i.e. the coordination of evidence and theory to support or refute an explanatory conclusion,…

The aim of this study was to investigate the kinds of argumentation schemes generated by pre-service elementary science teachers (PSTs) as they perform inquiry-oriented laboratory tasks, and to explore how argumentation schemes vary by task as well as by experimentation and discussion sessions. The model of argumentative and scientific inquiry was…

There exists bias among students that learning organic chemistry topics requires rote learning. In this paper, we address such bias through an organic chemistry activity designed to promote argumentation. We investigated how pre-service science teachers engage in an argumentation about conformational analysis. Analysis of the outcomes concentrated…

In argumentative discourse, there are two kinds of activity--dispute and deliberation--that depend on the argumentative task goal. In dispute the goal is to defend a conclusion by undermining alternatives, whereas in deliberation the goal is to arrive at a conclusion by contrasting alternatives. In this study, we examine the impact of these tasks…

History and philosophy of science have been widely promoted in science teacher education for several decades. However the application of themes from philosophy of science in science teacher education has been rather broad and not particular relative to the domain-specific features of the science in question. The purpose of this paper is to…

The article presents a case for the promotion of argumentation in science in preservice teacher education. In recent years, argumentation has emerged as a significant goal for teaching and learning of science. As an important aspect of scientific inquiry, argumentation plays a role in the generation and justification of knowledge claims. The…

In this study we investigated junior high school students' processes of argumentation and cognitive development in science and socioscientific lessons. Detailed studies of the relationship between argumentation and the development of scientific knowledge are rare. Using video and audio documents of small group and classroom discussions, the…

Traditional applications of history and philosophy of science in chemistry education have concentrated on the teaching and learning of "history of chemistry". This paper considers the recent emergence of "philosophy of chemistry" as a distinct field and explores the implications of philosophy of chemistry for chemistry education in the context of…

Consistent with the current reform movement in science education, the purpose of this study was to examine how the introduction of an innovative curriculum influenced teachers' beliefs. Six teachers each implemented an Acids & Bases Curriculum Unit in a variety of middle school settings. The teachers were interviewed regarding their beliefs…

Even though philosophical themes in science education have been advocated for several decades, little attention has been paid to how these themes can be contextualized in the teaching of a particular domain of science. The purpose of this paper is to provide an example theoretical framework for applying a philosophical theme, reduction, in…

Themes from history and philosophy of chemistry have traditionally been absent in chemistry education. This paper targets the problem of demarcationism within the context of chemistry and alchemy. In so doing, it argues that demarcationism can be an appropriate base for bringing the historical and philosophical aspects of the discipline of…

The research reported in this study focuses on the design and evaluation of learning environments that support the teaching and learning of argumentation in a scientific context. The research took place over 2 years, between 1999 and 2001, in junior high schools in the greater London area. The research was conducted in two phases. In phase 1,…