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This article explores the relationship between argumentation theory and dialogic pedagogy. Arguments made in everyday discourse tend to be enthymematic, i.e., containing implicit premises. Thus, dialogue is often necessary to uncover hidden assumptions. Furthermore, evaluating logical arguments involves dialectical and dialogic processes. We articulate the role of critical questions in this process and present the Critical Questions Model of Argument Assessment (CQMAA) as a (mostly) comprehensive framework for evaluating arguments. Students can be taught to ask and discuss these critical questions. Yet to facilitate and sustain discussion of these questions, teachers need additional tools drawn from dialogic pedagogy. We draw on Robin Alexander's conceptual framework for this purpose as well as Michaels and O'Connor's work on Academically Productive Talk. Alexander's framework includes six pedagogical principles and eight repertoires of talk. We focus specifically on teacher and student talk moves and propose that critical questions should be considered an important subset of productive talk moves that can bring rigor and purpose to classroom argumentation. Other talk moves are also needed to help students construct arguments, listen and engage with one another, and help sustain discussion of the critical questions. The CQMAA provides both a theoretical and practical link between (1) logical analysis and critique and (2) dialogic teaching.

Refutation texts, which are texts that rebut scientific misconceptions and explain the normative concept, can be effective devices for addressing misconceptions and affecting conceptual change. However, few, if any, refutation texts specifically related to climate change have been validated for effectiveness. In this project, we developed and tested three refutation texts related to climate change. The three texts, which are freely available for other educators and researchers to use, relate to (1) the enhanced greenhouse effect, (2) the distinction between climate and weather, and (3) the nature of ozone depletion and how it is not a major contributor to global warming. Participants in the study consisted of 146 undergraduates enrolled in various educational psychology courses. They were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. All participants completed a knowledge pretest, posttest, and delayed (2 wk) posttest. Experimental-group participants read one of the refutation texts, whereas control subjects read an unrelated text. Based on repeated-measures ANOVAs, results indicated that the refutation texts were generally effective in increasing knowledge and addressing the misconceptions that they were designed to address, although results were mixed for the weather versus climate text. Furthermore, there was little regression at the delayed posttest, except for the weather versus climate text (understanding that climate is usually measured over a 30-y period) and for global warming being unrelated to skin cancer. The importance of combining these texts with other instructional activities and simulations is discussed.

Participation in collaborative learning environments has demonstrated significant learning advantages due to opportunities for group members to contribute to shared problem-solving processes, shared goals, and co-elaboration of knowledge. Furthermore, research has shown that higher levels of social perceptiveness are positively correlated with higher levels of group performance. However, collaboration is not always successful, sometimes exhibiting imbalances of power and status. In this study, positioning theory and interaction analysis were used to investigate (a) interactions in four racially and gender-mixed groups (of three university students each) working with technology and (b) their negotiated positions of power and status. Results showed that racial minority group members experienced a lower status as measured by behavioural indicators and rated participation as more inequitable. Results were exacerbated when minorities were also females Findings demonstrate the usefulness of positioning theory for examining collaborative interactions and have important implications for future CSCL research in both organisational and classroom settings.

Collaborative argumentation in education, where students work together to construct and critique arguments, is an important social practice in many disciplines and can also develop conceptual understanding. This article addresses the evolution of my research agenda on collaborative argumentation from just scaffolding the generation of counterarguments and rebuttals in students' discourse toward what I call critical, integrative argumentation (CIA). The CIA framework involves teaching students to ask critical questions to assess the strength and cogency of arguments. It also involves generating, in addition to conventional refutations, integrative refutations that: (1) weigh costs and benefits (or for scientific arguments, the evidence for and plausibility of alternative models); or (2) involve design arguments (or for scientific arguments, the integration of multiple factors and constraints). Issues related to terminology, instruction, student learning progressions, teachers' professional learning, public discourse, and the need to teach complex, critical thinking to students are discussed.

Critiquing arguments is important for K‐12 science students to learn but not emphasized by the predominant claim‐evidence‐reasoning (CER) argumentation model. Drawing on the work of Yu and Zenker (2020), and Dove and Nussbaum (2018), we developed a tool for supplementing CER with critical questions (CQs) from philosophy that cover most, if not all, the logical dimensions of argument critique. Six middle school science teachers designed lessons involving argumentation, including the use of CQs. We assessed the effects on student self‐efficacy for engaging in argument critique, teacher self‐efficacy for using argument pedagogy, and teachers' perceptions of the value of CQs. Qualitative data included teacher interviews, lesson transcripts, and student work samples. Quantitative data included surveys of student self‐efficacy administered at the beginning and end of the school year. There was evidence suggesting an increase over time in students' confidence for engaging in argument critique and teachers' confidence with argument pedagogy. However, only four of the six teachers were confident and skilled enough to include CQs in their lessons. Those who did use CQs tended to perceive them as providing a helpful structure for critique, prompts for deeper thinking, and a tool for fostering critical classroom norms. Discussion of CQs may have benefitted students' writing by promoting peer critique and encouragement to elaborate. Overall, CQs afford students with a framework for judging argument strength. Scientific argumentation involving CQs provides a more contemporary philosophical basis for scientific argumentation than CER or the Toulmin model as it emphasizes the critical and dialogic nature of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This microgenetic case study explores how an undergraduate student (Nolan) in a second-year seminar mastered an argument weighing scheme and used it to organize his writing. The students in this seminar completed argumentation vee diagrams (AVDs) prior to discussing controversial issues. Students also completed preessays and postessays on a different topic without using AVDs. Through the AVDs, students were provided with critical, evaluative questions related to designing solutions and weighing arguments against counterarguments. In separate work, we report that the intervention was effective in increasing the number of refutations related to the critical questions (Nussbaum & Dove, 2018). Nolan showed particularly strong growth, and this case study analyzes his discourse to generate qualitative insights and hypotheses into his development. Using the conceptual framework of argument-counterargument integration (Nussbaum, 2008b), we analyzed Nolan's written artifacts and discussions to better understand how his proficiency with using the argument scheme developed over time. Our results suggest that Nolan initially displayed piecemeal use of the scheme, but over time, Nolan learned to articulate general principles and to integrate these with specific points regarding benefits and costs, as well as with solution-oriented design statements that further reduced disadvantages. Use of the scheme spontaneously transferred to a novel topic. Extensive engagement in ethical discussions, along with studying ethical theory and answering critical questions on AVDs, may have contributed to his development. Theoretical and practical implications related to teaching argumentative writing in conjunction with oral discourse are discussed.

Climate change literacy plays a key role in promoting sound political decisions and promoting sustainable consumption patterns. Based on evidence suggesting that student understanding and interest in climate change is best accomplished through studying local effects, we developed a simulation/game exploring the impact of climate change on the declining water levels in Lake Mead. Because there are few evaluations of educational games using true control groups, this study also presents a randomized field trial evaluating the game. We randomly assigned 119 seventh graders to either a game-based condition or control condition. Students in the experimental group played Losing the Lake; those in the control group viewed an earth science website. Students also completed pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest measures of their content understanding and interest in issues embodied in the game. We found that playing the game resulted in a significant increase in content knowledge, as measured by a 22-item assessment, especially on items related to household conservation and some basic concepts related to the greenhouse effect. The control group showed no effect. Playing the game also resulted in some increase in student interest. The Losing the Lake game illustrates how use of a water theme can be used to make climate change content more meaningful and relevant to students. Furthermore, the study shows, through a randomized control trial, that educational games can result in conceptual development, specifically on water flow (i.e., where drinking water comes from and where it goes once used), water conservation, and the difference between weather and climate. The Losing the Lake game can therefore be useful educationally in various locales as a case study in the nature of drought, climate change effects, and water conservation practices.

Although the Toulmin model (1958) has dominated argumentation research, it does not provide many tools for evaluating argument quality. Towards that end, we draw on work in philosophy on argument schemes, and critical questions for evaluating those schemes. In our approach, we integrate the teaching of critical questions with argumentation vee diagrams (AVDs) and with oral and written discourse. AVDs are graphic organizers that prompt students to write arguments and counterarguments on different sides of the vee, and at the bottom of the vee, an integrative paragraph supporting a final conclusion. The present study was conducted in three sections of an undergraduate general education seminar. Two sections, comprising the experimental group, used AVDs containing a critical questions box reflecting questions for the "arguments from consequence" scheme (Walton, 1996). One section used AVDs without the critical question box. Students completed AVDs prior and during class discussions on social issues (e.g., drug legalization). Over time, students in the experimental group included more refutations related to the critical questions compared to the control group. The effect transferred to an in-class essay where no question prompts were provided, but not to a course paper written on whistleblowing. However, students in the experimental condition did include in their papers more explicit mention of moral principles. We explain these effects in relation to argument schema theory, in particular the development and automatization of a weighing schema. The critical questions appeared to provide students with a structure for evaluating arguments and counterarguments.

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and β2-agonists are the primary pharmacotherapies of asthma management. However, suboptimal medication compliance is common in asthmatics and is associated with increased morbidity. We hypothesized that exhaled breath measurements of the aerosol used in the inhaled medications might prove useful as surrogate marker for asthma medication compliance. To explore this, 10 healthy controls were recruited and randomly assigned to ICS (Flovent HFA) or short acting bronchodilators (Proventil HFA). Both inhalers contain HFA-134a as aerosol propellant. Exhaled breath sampling and pulmonary function tests were performed prior to the inhaler medication dispersion, immediately after inhalation, then at 2, 4, 6, 8, 24, and 48 hours postadministration. At baseline, mean (SD) levels of HFA-134a in the breath were 252 (156) pptv. Immediately after inhalation, HFA-134a breath levels increased to 300 × 106 pptv and were still well above ambient levels 24 hours postadministration. The calculated ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 second over forced vital capacity did not change over time following inhaler administration. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that breath HFA-134a levels can be used to assess inhaler medication compliance. It may also be used to evaluate how effectively the medicine is delivered.

This study aimed to: 1) evaluate Twitter as a viable tool for promoting collaborative argumentation; 2) determine if scripting through sentence openers promotes a greater number of arguments within an online discussion; and 3) compare Twitter to Facebook as viable tools for promoting collaborative argumentation. Participants were 27 undergraduate students enrolled in an online introductory Educational Psychology course. A quasi-experimental, sequential explanatory mixed methods research design was employed. Data analysis focused on the difference in the number of argument components generated by participants between the two social media platforms, Twitter and Facebook. In addition, the impact of participants' use of sentence openers on the amount of argument components was also examined. Facebook was found to be a more viable tool for promoting online collaborative argumentation, and specific affordances of Facebook were identified.

This study examines the interaction of political orientation with academic discipline on beliefs in anthropogenic climate change (ACC) among higher education faculty. Over 300 faculty members at two research institutions in the United States were surveyed on topics concerning ACC and the results were analyzed with multiple regression. Even among professors, there was a strong relationship between political orientation (liberal versus conservative) and belief in ACC; however, the relationship was substantially attenuated among professors who taught courses in liberal arts and education. On the other hand, the relationship between political orientation and ACC belief was much stronger among faculty teaching business and hotel management, compared to faculty teaching other subjects. Finally, there was a main positive effect for teaching science. The results suggest that outreach efforts to encourage more faculty to include climate change relevant information in their courses might give high priority to faculty in liberal arts and education.

Plausibility judgments rarely have been addressed empirically in conceptual change research. Recent research, however, suggests that these judgments may be pivotal to conceptual change about certain topics where a gap exists between what scientists and laypersons find plausible. Based on a philosophical and empirical foundation, this article presents a theoretical model of the role of plausibility judgments in conceptual change (PJCC) with implications for epistemic cognition. The PJCC moves beyond the limitations of cold cognitive processing by incorporating the warmer constructs of affect, motivation, and motivated reasoning. We review recent research in plausibility judgments that informed the PJCC's development and discuss components of the model. Of particular note is the importance of using explicit critical evaluation to reappraise plausibility judgments that may have been originally made through implicit cognitive processes. We also suggest potentially productive areas of future research based on the PJCC model.

We have determined the concentrations of carbonyl sulfide (OCS), dimethylsulfide, and carbon disulfide (CS(2)) in the breath of a group of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and one of healthy controls. At the detection sensitivity in these experiments, room air always contained measurable quantities of these three gases. For each subject the inhaled room concentrations were subtracted from the time-coincident concentrations in exhaled breath air. The most significant differences between the CF and control cohorts in these breath-minus-room values were found for OCS. The control group demonstrated a net uptake of 250 +/- 20 parts-per-trillion-by-volume (pptv), whereas the CF cohort had a net uptake of 110 +/- 60 pptv (P = 0.00003). Three CF patients exhaled more OCS than they inhaled from the room. The OCS concentrations in the CF cohort were strongly correlated with pulmonary function. The dimethylsulfide concentrations in breath were greatly enhanced over ambient, but no significant difference was observed between the CF and healthy control groups. The net (breath minus room) CS(2) concentrations for individuals ranged between +180 and -100 pptv. They were slightly greater in the CF cohort (+26 +/- 38 pptv) vs. the control group (-17 +/- 15 pptv; P = 0.04). Lung disease in CF is accompanied by the subsistence of chronic bacterial infections. Sulfides are known to be produced by bacteria in various systems and were therefore the special target for this investigation. Our results suggest that breath sulfide content deserves attention as a noninvasive marker of respiratory colonization.

An endobronchial mass was found in a main-stem bronchus of a 13-year-old girl with a new-onset "asthma." Biopsy of the mass revealed mucoepidermoid carcinoma. The condition was completely cured using a sleeve tumor resection and bronchoplasty. Endobronchial tumors are extremely rare in children. Their presentations often mimic asthma, which could lead to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment. High index of suspicion in cases with unusual or "atypical" asthma necessitating diagnostic bronchoscopy and biopsy is the key to an early surgical intervention, which generally results in a favorable outcome.