Motivating and Shaping Scientific Argumentation in Lab Reports

Area of Science:

• Biology Education
• Scientific Communication

Background:

• Student lab reports often lack evidence of scientific thinking.
• Students may focus on completing requirements rather than engaging in scientific inquiry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the impact of design changes on students' engagement in argumentation within lab reports.
• To investigate how modifying the learning environment influences scientific practice.

Main Methods:

• A design experiment was conducted in an introductory biology laboratory course.
• Two design iterations involved restructuring instructor roles and increasing uncertainty in lab activities.

Main Results:

• Students' arguments increasingly integrated multiple claims and a wider range of evidence.
• Students gave more appropriate attention to uncertainty in their conclusions.
• Engagement in argumentation and scientific practices became more authentic.

Conclusions:

• Modifying the rhetorical context of the lab course can enhance students' engagement in scientific argumentation.
• Designing learning environments that inspire authentic engagement is an alternative to explicit scaffolding.