Making argumentation-based learning and teaching happen: exploring the development of pre-service science teachers' argumentation competencies

Abstract

It is essential for pre-service science teachers to have knowledge and skills about argumentation, which has a central role in science education, to be able to create learning environments based on argumentation, to gain written and oral argumentation competencies, and to equip students with these competencies. In this regard, this study aims to improve the argumentation competencies of pre-service science teachers, and it consists of two interrelated phases. In the first phase, pre-service science teachers participated in a 10-session instructional module on argumentation. In this process, the improvement of the pre-service teachers' argumentation competencies was examined. In the second phase, the transfer of argumentation competencies gained by the pre-service teachers in the first phase to their learning environments was assessed. The result of the study indicated that the pre-service science teachers' written and oral argumentation competencies were improved, they preferred to use certain argumentation schemes (causal argumentation schemes, argument from consequences, argument from examples, and argument from classification) when constructing their arguments, they employed some argumentation schemes as alternatives to each other according to their standpoints, and they chose to present their standpoints by using multiple argumentation schemes. The study also determined that the participants were able to transfer the knowledge and skills they gained during the instructional module process to real learning environments, became more confident in using different pedagogical strategies as they gained experience, and were successful in creating argumentation-based learning environments.