Learning science with dialogical maps

Abstract

The development of children’s concepts is oſten still studied without taking into account school practices, namely, the verbal and instrumental activities in which these concepts develop. The present research is rooted in a Vygotskian perspective that defines thinking and its dynamics within the semiotic contexts where they take place. The article aims at showing how pupils were guided by their teacher to adopt an inquiry- and argumentative-based approach to learning science. Soſtware developed to support argumentation and learn- ing – an argumentative map called Digalo that provides a visual representation of the discussion - was used in the classroom by teachers and students to learn about astronomy. The data presented here were extracted from a European project (Escalate) which aimed to enhance science learning through argumentation and inquiry activities (Andriessen, Baker & Suthers, 2003; Muller Mirza & Perret-Clermont, 2008; Muller Mirza, Tartas, Perret-Clermont & De Pietro, 2007). Three elementary classes (grades 3, 4 and 5) participated in the study and were led to explain “why are there seasons?” in the course of different phases of debates guided by the teacher and mediated by argumentative maps. General quantitative results based on the comparison of pre-test and post-test scores showed that the students in grades 4 and 5 improved their knowledge whereas the 3rd grade students did not progress. A more detailed analysis of the different phases of the study was then carried out, focusing on the evolution of children’s understanding of the seasons through the analysis of their productions (the structure and argumentative contents of their argumentative maps) and on how the 5th grade teacher scaf- folded his students’ sessions. The results showed that elementary school students can learn from debate oriented by argumentative maps and guided by the teacher. The roles of argumentative maps and teacher’s scaffolding in learning and thinking processes are discussed from a sociocultural perspective.