PERC 2008 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | The Roles of Evidence in Scientific Argument |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | The view of science in the education community is shifting from a "rhetoric of conclusions" to a social process of knowledge construction, and engagement in scientific argumentation is a hallmark of such knowledge construction. This emphasis on argument recasts the role of evidence and data in scientific classrooms: rather than being used to demonstrate scientific principles, it is the grounds on which claims are warranted. In this poster, I explore a transcript of scientific discourse, exploring the rules by which participants in the discourse endorse or reject scientific claims. I appeal for a more nuanced understanding of evidence as one of many criteria by which scientific claims are evaluated, and that evidence, at times, is incommensurable with other (possibly more "scientific") criteria for evaluating claims. This view of argumentation, and the peculiar language games associated with argumentation, is particularly relevant for understanding difficulties that diverse student populations may face. |
| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster |
| Contributed Paper Record: | Contributed Paper Information |
| Contributed Paper Download: | Download Contributed Paper |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Leslie Atkins California State University - Chico Department of Physics 400 W 1st St Chico, CA 95929 Phone: 530-898-6724 |
