Educational initiatives in multiple disciplinary areas call for student engagement in the practice of argumentation (CCSSI, 2010a, 2010b; Mullis & Martin, 2017; NGSS Lead States, 2013; OECD, 2018). In science education, immersive argument-based inquiry (ABI) is one category of approaches which integrates argumentation in all classroom activity…

Research in science education has emphasized the importance of knowledge generation approaches to learning. Creating generative learning environments requires teachers to address the epistemic underpinning of science practices and shift their orientations toward knowledge generation approaches. This study aimed to propose epistemic orientation as…

This study investigated the development and utilization of argument and representation resources in pre-service science teachers' (PSTs') written and oral arguments over two semesters in an argument-based inquiry environment of General Chemistry Laboratory I and II courses. The study employed a form of mixed methods research that is known as…

Policy documents in many nations, as well as international policies indicate that the goal of improved student science learning requires teachers to learn to use knowledge generation environments for teaching science. This is a particular challenge for early childhood teachers (kindergarten through grade two), who have historically valued…

The focus on STEM has centered on knowledge use across multiple disciplines. However, there currently exists limited understanding of the relationship between the cognitive practices utilized across these disciplines as a function of performance on standardized assessments. Focusing on science and mathematics, we investigated the direct and…

This study is intended to provide an example of computational modeling (CM) experiment using machine learning algorithms. Specific outcomes modeled in this study are the predicted influences associated with the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) and associated with the completion of question items for the Cornell Critical Thinking Test. The Student…

The increased emphasis on STEM related careers and the use of science in everyday life makes learning science content and concepts critical for all students especially for those with disabilities. As suggested by the National Resource Council (2012), more emphasis is being placed on being able to critically think about science concepts in and…

The shifting emphases of new national curricula have placed more attention on knowledge generation approaches to learning. Such approaches are centered on the fundamental sense of generative learning where practices and tools for learning become the focus of the learning environment, rather than on the products of learning. This paper, building on…

In a cluster-randomized study, we investigate the impact of an argument-based approach to teaching science in elementary school on science learning and critical thinking skills. Forty-eight schools participated in the study, with data on 9,963 students across the 2 years of the intervention. Annual standardized tests assessing science content…

Given current concerns internationally about student performance in science and the need to shift how science is being learnt in schools, as a community, we need to shift how we approach the issue of learning and teaching in science. In the future, we are going to have to close the gap between how students construct and engage with knowledge in a…

We report on the development of a new instrument for measuring teachers' knowledge of language as an epistemic tool in science classes. Language is essential for science learning, as all learning requires the use of language to constitute one's own ideas and to engage with others' ideas. Teachers with knowledge of language as an epistemic tool can…

Language and argument are epistemic tools that learners can use to help them generate and validate knowledge for themselves, as emphasized in NGSS and previous NRC reports. Not all learning environments elicit or support the use of these epistemic tools equally, thus affecting how students grow in competence in relation to their use. The present…

Argumentation, and the production of scientific arguments are critical elements of inquiry that are necessary for helping students become scientifically literate through engaging them in constructing and critiquing ideas. This case study employed a mixed methods research design to examine the development in 5th grade students' practices of oral…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role textbooks can play on writing complexity and lexical density as a proxy for critical thinking and ultimately learning, in relation to argumentative and summative writing when integrated with a virtual reality experience. In this study, differences in writing complexity and lexical density…

How can classrooms become communities of inquiry that connect intellectually challenging science content with language-based activities (opportunities to talk, listen, read, and write) especially in settings with diverse populations? This question guided a 3-year mixed-methods research study using the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) approach in…