Studied the introduction of talk and writing to stimulate and sustain conceptual change in science in a class of 12 Italian fourth graders. Data show that reasoning and arguing collaboratively and writing to express and reflect on conceptualizations are useful tools in the knowledge revision process. (SLD)

This study investigated fourth graders' (N=18) self-generated analogies and the effects of their collaborative reasoning and arguing over these analogies on individual understanding of three scientific phenomena concerning air pressure. The data were subjected to both a qualitative and quantitative analysis. The first showed that the children, on…

This study investigated the role of talking-to-learn in small- and large-group discussions about a knowledge object and writing-to-learn in individual time after collaborative reasoning and arguing. The study involved a fifth-grade class in Italy studying ecological concepts, and results show that by sharing cognition students constructed more…

This paper reports on a qualitative study of children's discourse-reasoning about knowledge objects emerging when the classroom becomes a community of discourse. Its purpose was to analyze metacognitive reflections with respect to the steps of the argument. Within science education classes, a part of a wider ecological curriculum was implemented…