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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 15, Issue 1, Article 2 (Jun., 2014) |
This study confirms that “argumentation is a relatively new word in science education” (Xie & So, 2012:17). It is a convenient beginning to affirm that this research had shown the importance of preparing pre-service chemistry teachers about how to promote students’ argumentation. Future chemistry teachers do not know or use proper strategies to address questions to students accepting and discussing various answers, to manage spontaneous students’ questions and to use miscellaneous class activities, like practical works or debates, in order to benefit students’ argumentation.
A pre-service chemistry teacher who learns to argue will more likely teach to learn chemistry arguing (Archila, 2014b). What is more, the course work reviewed during this research did not hold up strong intentions to train future teachers about how to teach chemistry through argumentation. In other words, argumentation is not a priority for the pre-service chemistry teachers program studied. This is similar to the results found in Mainland China by Xie and So (2012).
As for the design and application of a questionnaire it proved to be a rewarding methodological strategy that contributes to access written data. Thus, further studies could use this instrument. The data gathered in the questionnaire was complemented with a thorough survey of the course work offer.
Students’ argumentation level depends not only on how teacher has been prepared to engage them into the progress of their thinking abilities. Nevertheless, the instructor plays an overriding role. Therefore, one of the multiple proposals of solution could be the incorporation of a module that allows pre-service chemistry teachers to build their own strategies to promote argumentation in class. That module must take into account firstly, history, theory and perspectives of argumentation. Secondly, studies of regular school practices in which the use of argumentation is and is not evident. Finally, design of adequate argumentative activities.
The author thanks Rigoberto Castillo, Marcela Salazar Amaya, Luz Helena Gutiérrez Niño and Edgar Javier Rondón Forero, for their useful suggestions to the first draft of this paper.
Copyright (C) 2014 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 15, Issue 1, Article 2 (Jun., 2014). All Rights Reserved.
