The Argumentation Toolkit
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  • About

What is the role of evidence in a scientific argument?


Session Goals:

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  • Teachers will be introduced to four areas of argumentation in which students need extra support: 1) Evidence, 2) Reasoning, 3) Student Interaction and 4) Competing Claims.
  • Teachers will develop an understanding of argumentation as a social process in which students build, question and critique claims using evidence and reasoning.
  • Teachers will be introduced to a Card Sort as an instructional activity that encourages students to think about what evidence does and does not support a claim.
  • Teachers will design a new lesson or revise an existing lesson to integrate argumentation into their science instruction.*
  • Teachers will identify areas of argumentation that are challenging for their students.* 
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*Note: These final two goals are only applicable if the module is implemented as multiple sessions

Agenda:

  1. Video: Introduction to module
  2. Activity: Mystery card sort 1
  3. Video & Discussion: Encouraging talk about evidence
  4. Session takeaways
​*Extension - Try it with your students!

Materials:

  1. Detailed agenda for facilitator
  2. Card Sort 1
Presentation View

1. Video: Introduction to module

Watch the video below, which discusses the four areas of argumentation that students need extra support.

2. Activity: Mystery card sort 1

The task: 
  1. Work in pairs or small groups to sort cards as supporting, maybe supporting, or not supporting the claim: The fossil tooth came from a prehistoric mountain lion, which is related to mountain lions that live today.
  2. Make sure to articulate why you sort cards as you do.
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Setting up your cards:
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Discussion about card sort:
  • What did you talk about when you were discussing the evidence?
  • What types of questions did you ask?
  • How can you envision your students engaging in this activity? What would work well? What challenges might they have?​

3. Video & Discussion: Encouraging talk about evidence

Watch the video below, which describes ways to support student discussions around evidence. 
Discussion Questions:
  • How do the card sort and other types of activities encourage students to talk to each other and develop their ideas?
  • How can students use evidence not only to support claims but also to question and build on the ideas of their peers?

4. Session takeaways

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  • Evidence is observations or data about the natural world that is used to support claims.
  • Evidence can be used in different ways, and we use our understanding of science concepts (reasoning) to make sense of that evidence.
  • Some pieces of evidence can be stronger than others in support of a claim.
  • ​Encouraging talk about evidence supports students in thinking critically and building understandings of the science concepts.


*Extension - Try it with your students!

The task:
  • Develop or revise a lesson to encourage students to talk about evidence. This lesson could be a card sort or it could be another type of activity, such as making sense of data from investigation.
  • For the next meeting, bring the lesson you developed, as well as potentially student artifacts (such as writing, or a video clip) of students engaged in this.
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This project was supported by National Science Foundation Grant DRL-1119584. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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