Year: 2023
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Relating evidence to explanations is a critical epistemic practice for productive engagement with evidence in the science classroom and beyond.However, research examining students' reasoning about what makes for stronger and more robust evidence is limited.In this study, we explored students' justifications for their judgements regarding whether evidence supports, contradicts, or is irrelevant to a causal explanation.We worked with 4th-grade students in the context of an after-school virtual science club.Students examined evidence in relation to simple causal explanations using an adapted Model-Evidence Link (MEL) Matrix as a scaffold for coordinating explanations and evidence.Evidence varied in whether it included a mechanism, whether the mechanism was similar to that of the explanation, and whether the entity (organism) involved in the mechanism was similar or not.Analysis of students' choices and justifications revealed a preference for evidence that includes a mechanism, and for similar mechanisms over similar entities.
Source: Proceedings.
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: National Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W4392681540