Argument construction is a valuable ability for explaining scientific phenomena and introducing argumentation skills as part of a curriculum can greatly enhance student understanding by promoting self-reflection on the topic under investigation. This article aims to use argument construction as a technique to support an activity designed to…

In this article, I introduce a framework for guiding future citizens to think critically about nature of science (NOS) and "with" NOS as they engage in socioscientific decision making. The framework, referred to as the critical thinking--nature of science (CT-NOS) framework, explicates and targets both NOS as a learning objective and NOS…

This action learning study in a year three classroom explored the implementation of five formative assessment principles to assist students' understandings of the scientific topic of liquids and solids. These principles were employed to give students a greater opportunity to express their understanding of the concepts. The study found that the…

Writing for an audience different from teachers motivates students to translate their existing knowledge into audience-appropriate language, in which students explain, elaborate, and integrate their understanding of science concepts using more than just the technical language of the subject. Several studies also have found that students can…