How to translate text using browser tools
20 April 2021 Building Argumentation Skills in the Biology Classroom: An Evolution Unit That Develops Students' Capacity to Construct Arguments from Evidence
Sheila A. Homburger, Dina Drits-Esser, Molly Malone, Louisa A. Stark
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Arguing from evidence is one of eight key science practices in which students should engage. It is an essential component of science, yet students have difficulties with this practice. We describe a scaffolded claims-evidence-reasoning (CER) argumentation framework that is embedded within a new eight-week, freely available curriculum unit developed by the Genetic Science Learning Center – Evolution: DNA and the Unity of Life. The scaffold provides high school students with practice in both developing and evaluating written arguments. It is designed to incrementally build student skill week-by-week, starting with an introduction to the CER components of an argument, and ending with students evaluating data and constructing a supported written argument. We also present evaluation findings from field testing the argumentation scaffold in the context of the complete Evolution unit in dozens of classrooms. And we discuss how this integrated, scaffolded approach to argumentation influenced both student and teacher learning.

© 2021 by The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press's Reprints and Permissions web page, https://www.ucpress.edu/journals/reprints-permissions.
Sheila A. Homburger, Dina Drits-Esser, Molly Malone, and Louisa A. Stark "Building Argumentation Skills in the Biology Classroom: An Evolution Unit That Develops Students' Capacity to Construct Arguments from Evidence," The American Biology Teacher 83(2), 104-111, (20 April 2021). https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2021.83.2.104
Published: 20 April 2021
JOURNAL ARTICLE
8 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
argumentation
BIOLOGY
evolution
high school
NGSS
science practices
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top