The Argumentation Toolkit
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  • About

How do we support students in interacting with peers during argumentation?


Session Goals: 

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  • 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 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:

*Extension discussion - Try it with your students!
  1. Video & Discussion: Encouraging student interactions
  2. Activity: Analyzing data with peers
  3. Discussion: Connections between argumentation elements
  4. Session takeaways
​*Extension - Try it with your students!

Materials: 

  1. Detailed agenda for facilitator
  2. Study Results​
  3. Argumentation Elements
Presentation View

*Extension discussion - Try it with your students!

Share your experience:
  • Share the lesson you developed to focus on reasoning, as well as any student artifacts you may have.

Discussion Questions:
  • What went well with the lesson? Why do you think it went well?
  • What was challenging with the lesson? Why do you think it was challenging?

1. Video & Discussion: Encouraging student interactions

Watch the video below, which focuses on the interactive nature of argumentation.
Discussion Questions:
  • What are the benefits to having your students interact with peers during argumentation tasks? 
  • What challenges do you think your students might have when engaged in this work?
  • What types of activities (e.g. writing arguments, science seminar) can you envision incorporating into your instruction to encourage student-to-student interactions? Why?

2. Activity: Analyzing data with peers 

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The task: 
  1. Examine results from three studies to develop the strongest argument in response to the question – When a person trains to become an athlete, how does her body change to become better at releasing energy?
  2. Work with others as you engage in this task, making sure to: listen to one another, ask each other questions, build off other's ideas, critique ideas that you do not agree with, and be convincing
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Background Science Content:
  • When the human body exercises, cells need more energy.
  • The mitochondria in cells need both glucose and oxygen to release energy.
  • The body systems work together to deliver glucose and oxygen to the cells in the body.

Discussion about Activity:
  • What did you talk about when you engaged in this task?
  • How did interacting with others influence the argument you developed?
  • What types of supports do you think your students might need to engage in this element of argumentation?


3. Discussion: Connections between argumentation elements

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Discussion Questions:
  • How do you see these elements working together? 
  • What strengths do you see in using these argumentation elements in your classroom? 
  • What challenges do you think your students will have engaging in these argumentation elements?
  • What questions do you still have about these elements?

4. Session takeaways

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  • Argumentation entails students questioning, critiquing and building off of their peer's ideas
  • Persuading others of the strength of a claim is an authentic goal of argumentation
  • Interacting with peers can help students develop stronger arguments
  • Students can convince an audience of an argument through both writing and speaking tasks


* Extension - Try it with your students!

The task:
  • Develop or revise a lesson to encourage students to interact with their peers during an argumentation task. This lesson could be a science seminar, making sense of data from an investigation, writing a persuasive argument, or another activity. 
  • Meet with colleagues to share 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.
All content and materials © 2015 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.