One aim of inquiry activities in science education is to promote students' participation in the practices used to build scientific knowledge by providing opportunities to engage in scientific discourse. However, many factors influence the actual outcomes and effect on students' learning when using inquiry materials. In this study, discourse from two physical chemistry classrooms using the Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) approach was analyzed using a lens of scientific argumentation. Analysis of the complexity of reasoning in students' arguments using a learning progression on chemical thinking indicated that students did not employ very complex reasoning to construct arguments. To explain the distribution of reasoning observed, a separate analysis of the curricular materials was performed using the Task Analysis Guide for Science (TAGS). Results indicate a relationship between the task's targeted scientific practice and how students used evidence in their arguments as well as between the task's cognitive demand and the complexity of reasoning employed in arguments. Examples illustrating these relationships can be used to inform implications for design of inquiry materials, facilitation of classroom discourse, and future research.

A significant goal for educational reform and an area of focus for this present volume is helping students to become life-long learners. An important component in meeting this objective is teachers building on their students' prior experiences, thereby helping them develop the confidence that engenders competence. In this chapter we focus on highly accomplished adult learners and English as a Second Language (ESL) students to explore affective factors that lead to sustained confidence. We look to Vygotsky not only for the theoretical framework through which to examine these affective factors, but also as a model for teachers who instill confidence in their students by offering caring support. His daughter, Ghita Vygotskaya (1999), quotes Elkonin, one of his students, to illustrate the way that his life powerfully exemplified this building of confidence: Lev Semonovich possessed an extraordinary ability to give support. I have

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Educators internationally including those working with children with exceptionalities, are recognizing the importance of sociocultural theory and the role played by Lev S. Vygotsky. This article introduces some of his major contributions through an examination of his methodological approach, which differs from traditional Western approaches in a number of ways. Vygotsky used a dialectical approach to analyze the way that symbol and tool use among early humans led to more complex social interactions and to the development of human consciousness. His investigations provide a methodological approach and a theoretical foundation for understanding the unique developmental paths of children with special needs, and they suggest pedagogical approaches designed to meet these special needs.

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