ERIC Number: EJ1046077
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Jan
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-8555
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Beyond "My Opinion versus Yours"
Chowning, Jeanne Ting; Griswold, Joan
Science Teacher, v81 n1 p39-45 Jan 2014
The "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 20103) identify evidence-based argumentation as a key practice in science education. This argumentation comes in many forms, each providing a unique theoretical perspective and area of educational research. Argumentation can help model aspects of scientific culture and communities; engage students in the language and norms of science; develop critical-reasoning and justification skills; and coordinate evidence and theory in the science classroom. An important form of argumentation involves justifying a position on a socio-scientific topic. Socio-scientific issues (SSI) can help students understand how science is situated in, and influenced by, social contexts. Such issues are often controversial; involve competing views; and draw from fields as diverse as biology, ethics, sociology, economics, politics, and law. SSI instruction often uses complex, real-world case studies that don't have easy answers. In this article, the authors highlight an activities-based curriculum designed to foster socio-scientific argumentation. They also discuss the particular importance of ethical considerations and stakeholder viewpoints in socio-scientific arguments.
Descriptors: Science Education, Persuasive Discourse, Evidence, Controversial Issues (Course Content), Science and Society, Social Environment, Science Activities, Ethics, Case Studies, State Standards, Debate, Communication Skills, Curriculum Design, Inferences, Teaching Methods, Rhetorical Invention
National Science Teachers Association. 1840 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201-3000. Tel: 800-722-6782; Fax: 703-243-3924; e-mail: membership@nsta.org; Web site: http://www.nsta.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (DHHS)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: R25OD011138
Author Affiliations: N/A