Research On The Development Of Pre-service Chemistry Teachers’ Ability Of Scientific Argumentation

Improving the students’ scientific literacy is an important goal of science education.The scientific argumentation ability of chemistry teachers directly influences the quality and effect of chemistry classroom teaching,thus affects the study of scientific knowledge and the improvement of scientific literacy of students.As the future successors of chemistry education,pre-service chemistry teachers should improve the teaching ideas and the teaching quality,improve the ability of scientific argumentation.Therefore,this research solve the three main contents:(1)to investigate the current situation of pre-service chemistry teachers’ scientific argumentation ability;(2)to explore effective ways to improve the pre-service chemistry teachers’ ability of scientific argumentation;(3)to improve the pre-service chemistry teachers’ ability of scientific argumentation.The research object of this study are the students of chemical class of 2013 of Shanxi Normal University.The test contests are "methane molecular space structure","chemical equilibrium move","the existence of molecular","the existence of atoms","the concept of chemical bonds".Pre-service chemistry teachers’ ability of scientific argumentation is analyzed of two aspects from the level and the factors of argumentation.Survey shows that: Pre-servicechemistry teachers’ ability of scientific argumentation is at low levels,pre-service chemistry teachers can only say claims but can’t provide a valid reason;Pre-service chemistry teachers have no consciousness and means of argumentation.According to the above problems,this study put forward specific strategies to improve pre-service chemistry teachers’ ability of scientific argumentation: to study the nature of science through the history of science,improving the awareness of argumentation;to study the theory of argumentation through the Toulmin’s argument pattern,grasping the method of argument;to discuss the examples of argumentation,increasing the chance of practicing argumentation;to experience the argument-driven teaching design,strengthening the awareness of the usefulness of scientific argumentation course.On the basis of the above strategy,the improvement of pre-service chemistry teachers’ ability of scientific argumentation is practiced.Practice research is implemented on November 1,2015,a total of 10 class hours,about five weeks.The process of practice research is: the study of special subject,the discuss of the example of argumentation,the experience of the argument-driven teaching design.Among them,the study of special subject includes three aspects: science,argumentation,Toulmin’s argument pattern.The discuss of the example of argumentation,is to select of experts’ design example for discussion.The experience of the argument-driven teaching design,is to design a argument-driven teaching on the knowledge of the "ethanol molecular structural formula" which is selected carefully from the PEP edition.Through this study,the following conclusions: The pre-servicechemistry teachers’ ability of scientific argumentation is at low levels and the number of arguments elements is fewer before the practice;The study of the nature of science and the theory of argumentation,the discuss of the examples of argumentation,and the experience of the argument-driven teaching design,can promote the development of pre-service chemistry teachers’ ability of scientific argumentation;The pre-service chemistry teachers’ ability of scientific argumentation is improved generally.Pre-service chemistry teachers not only can say claims,but also can provide a valid reason.Pre-service chemistry teachers’ consciousness of data and evidence is enhanced,and the argumentation became more closely.