Argumentation in Physics Education Research: Recent Trends and Key Themes

Abstract

In recent years, argumentation, or the justification of knowledge claims with evidence and reasons, has emerged as a significant educational goal, advocated in international curricula and investigated through school-based research. Research on argumentation in science education has made connections to the cognitive, linguistic, social and epistemic aspects of argumentation. The particular context of physics as the domain underpinning argumentation has been relatively under-researched. The purpose of this paper is to outline how argumentation can be situated within physics education to serve different types of learning goals. Following a review of trends in the literature on physics education research in recent years, we focus on a set of themes to illustrate the nature of issues raised by research on argumentation in physics education. In particular, we trace themes related to subject knowledge, scientific methods and socio-scientific contexts, and subsequently turn to the role of visual tools in supporting the teaching and learning of argumentation in physics. The chapter thus raises questions about how physics education can be enhanced through argumentation. We identify a number of areas for future research and development in argumentation research in physics education.