The representation of the topics discussed in classroom as being part of canonical knowledge, the asymmetric teacher/student relationship and the expectation of results stemming from discussion seem to make the classroom a place that is not very propitious to argumentation. Nonetheless, in recognition of the importance of using argumentation as a teaching resource, the present article discusses its construction in instructional situations. The central point is that discourse actions in a pragmatic, argumentative and epistemic realm implement argumentation in the classroom. Two fifth-grade discussion groups are analyzed, one generated by the students and the other mediated by the teacher. The results show that actions facilitating the emergence and sustaining of argumentation appear in both groups, but actions that bring the students' conclusions closer to conventional knowledge depend primarily on the mediation of the teacher.
Argumentation; construction of knowledge; discourse mediation