Teachers' knowledge in argumentation: contributions from an explicit teaching in an initial teacher education programme

ABSTRACT

Many researchers have highlighted the important role of teachers in creating and managing argumentative, as well as the need for teachers, during their training, to have opportunities to develop knowledge about arguments, enabling them to work from the perspective of argumentation. This study investigates to what extent a context of explicit teaching of argumentation contributed to developing this knowledge. The data sources include video records of explicit teaching of argumentation, collection of materials produced and used by pre-service teachers, and field notes. Analysis of the data indicates that the explicit teaching of argumentation influenced the conceptual learning of pre-service teachers concerning the elements interwoven into argumentative practice, especially evidence and justifications, and the development of pedagogical aspects in the context of argument. Although the pre-service teachers had expressed some teaching knowledge of argumentation in classroom discussion situations, the use of this approach in teaching situations still appears to be challenging for these teachers. The findings of this study highlight contributions to the area of teacher education in argumentation in terms of knowledge that is essential to plan and conduct argumentation-based teaching, and also to the structure of the initial teacher training programmes directed at teaching in argumentation.

KEYWORDS:

• Teachers knowledge
• argumentation
• teachers education

Acknowledgement

The authors thank CNPq, Brazil.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCiD

Rosária Justi http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6535-5046

Notes

1. A comprehensive view of science is viewed as the idea that knowledge is a product of an ongoing process of judgement, examination, comparison, and evaluation of competing explanations (Kuhn, 1991), and that it is influenced by social-historical-economic-political issues.

2. The Argue-WISE material was based on sociocultural theories of learning, and proposes student engagement in constructing arguments based on the Toulmin's model (Toulmin, 1958).

3. For more details about the framework, see Zembal-Saul (2009).

4. According to Mortimer and Scott (2003), authoritative discourse is centred on only one point of view, and there is no discussion of the different ideas. In science teaching, authoritative discourse is focused on the scientific point of view.

5. The dialogic discourse (or approach) occurs when distinct points of view can be expressed, and all of them are considered to be equally valid (Mortimer & Scott, 2003).

6. In this case, theoretical–practical knowledge relates solely to what is taught in the training programme. In our view, this knowledge will only be practical if it is transposed into real teaching situations.

 

7. Contrary to the characteristics of teacher training courses in other parts of the world, in Brazil, it occurs in 4 years course divided into eight 4,5-month terms. During the first four terms, students attend classes in areas focusing on the development of chemistry content and other scientific content (physics, mathematics, etc.). From the fifth to the eighth terms, students continue to take chemistry content courses, but also take courses in general pedagogical knowledge and areas of pedagogical content that are specific to chemistry teaching.