School science teaching has traditionally been focused on the content of science. However, recent debates about science education emphasize the importance of the nature of science and the process of argument. In order to change the emphasis in teaching science to incorporate argumentation, teachers need to adopt more dialogic approaches that involve students in discussion, and to consider how they themselves interact with students to foster argumentation skills. In this paper we examine the pre-service chemistry teachers' ability to incorporate and use argumentation in their teaching. The chemistry lessons conducted by four pre-service teachers were audiotaped and transcribed in full and the transcript sections were coded using a framework for argumentation processes. An analysis of the audiotaped lessons transcripts suggested that three factors that promoted argumentation in pre-service teachers' classrooms emerged from the data. These factors included: the role of pre-service teachers in encouraging students to share their ideas and comments, providing evidence that support students ideas, and implementing instructional strategies that give students an opportunity to articulate and support an explanation in an argument.
Keywords:
argumentation; chemistry; pre-service teacher education