Jonathan Osborne

• PhD University of London 1995
• Professor at Stanford University

Many studies have highlighted the importance of discourse in scientific understanding. Argumentation is a form of scientific discourse that plays a central role in the building of explanations, models and theories. Scientists use arguments to relate the evidence that they select from their investigations and to justify the claims that they make abo...

This presentation provides preliminary findings about how forced-choice item formats compare with the constructed-response (open-ended) item format for a complex practice like arguing from evidence. For the study, data were collected from 807 middle school and high school students. Argumentation was embedded into eight complex tasks in either the p...

Researchers from around the world have shaped knowledge integration (KI), a framework that captures the processes learners use to build on their multiple ideas and refine their understanding. KI emerged 25 years ago from syntheses of experimental, longitudinal, and meta-analytic studies of learning and instruction. Advances in KI have resulted from...

Competence in scientific reasoning is one of the most valued outcomes of secondary and higher education. However, there is a need for a deeper understanding of and further research into the roles of domain-general and domain-specific knowledge in such reasoning. This book explores the functions and limitations of domain-general conceptions of reaso...

In the introduction chapter, we discuss the motivation for the book on the role of general and specific knowledge in scientific reasoning and argumentation. Furthermore, we will give an initial glimpse into how the individual chapters contribute to the questions regarding the interplay of general and specific knowledge in scientific reasoning and a...

Reading is fundamental to science and not an adjunct to its practice. In other words, understanding the meaning of the various forms of written discourse employed in the creation, discussion, and communication of scientific knowledge is inherent to how science works. The language used in science, however, sets up a barrier, that in order to be over...

In this response, I argue that Hodson and Wong's (2017 Hodson, D., & Wong, S. L. (2017). Going beyond the consensus view: Broadening and enriching the scope of NOS-oriented curricula. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 17(1), 3–17. ) critique of the consensus view, though valid, lacks a sufficiently detailed and elab...

There are widespread policy concerns to improve (widen and increase) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics participation, which remains stratified by ethnicity, gender, and social class. Despite being interested in and highly valuing science, Black students tend to express limited aspirations to careers in science and remain underrepres...

Increasing evidence suggests that individuals develop their understanding of science concepts in and out of school, using varied community resources and networks. Thus in contrast to historic research approaches that focus exclusively on single organizations and/or educational events, the current paper presents exploratory research in which we util...

Current science education research and policy highlight the need to conceptualize scientific disciplines not only based on a view of “science-as-knowledge” but also on a perspective of “science-as-practice,” placing an emphasis on practices such as explanation, argumentation, modeling, and communication. However, classroom discourse is not structur...

This paper provides a rationale for the changes advocated by the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards. It provides an argument for why the model embedded in the Next Generation Science Standards is seen as an improvement. The Case made here is that the underlying model that the new Framework presents of sci...

Students' engagement with science and the numbers pursuing further study of science continue to be a concern among policy-makers, particularly in Western countries. Previous research reflects that most children have positive attitudes to science at age 10 but that, by age 14, attitudes towards and interest in further pursuit of science have decline...

This symposium raises the issue of the role of domain-general factors in scientific reasoning and argumentation tasks. The contributions cover conceptual problems concerning the interplay of general and specific elements in scientific reasoning, methodological requirements and existing research paradigms for investigating the role of cross-domain f...

Internationally, there is widespread concern about the need to increase participation in the sciences (particularly the physical sciences), especially among girls/women. This paper draws on data from a five-year, longitudinal study of 10–14-year-old children’s science aspirations and career choice to explore the reasons why, even from a young age,...

Argumentation has been the emphasis of many studies during the last decade. However, previous studies have not identified why some students are more successful than others, and what are students’ characteristics of argumentation, especially when working collaboratively. The purpose of this study was to identify how young students construct argument...

This paper argues that Bourdieu's notion of cultural capital has significant value for identifying the “worth” of a science education. His notion of “embodied,” “objectified,” and “institutionalized” cultural capital is used as a theoretical lens to identify both the intrinsic value of scientific knowledge and its extrinsic value for future employm...

There is international concern over persistent low rates of participation in postcompulsory science—especially the physical sciences—within which there is a notable underrepresentation of girls/women. This paper draws on data collected from a survey of more than 9,000 10/11‐year‐old pupils and 170 interviews (with 92 children and 78 parents) from a...

There is a continuing international concern about a decline in the pursuit of post-compulsory science. One suggested cause concerns the role that young people's narrow perceptions of scientists may play in deterring them from pursuing science qualifications and careers. Research would suggest that the ages of 10–14 appear to be a critical period fo...

A problem that is still unexplored in the field of socioscientific issues (SSI) and that was explored in this study is how different students decide upon a SSI they are discussing, how their justifications change during the instruction and how they use (or not) the evidence from the learning environment to support their justifications. For the purp...

Low participation rates in the study of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) post-16 are a matter of international concern. Existing evidence suggests children’s science aspirations are largely formed within the critical 10 to 14 age period. This article reports on survey data from over 9,000 elementary school children in Englan...

Students' lack of interest in studying science and in science-related careers is a concern in the UK and worldwide. Yet there is limited data, particularly longitudinal, on the sources and development of science-related aspirations. In response, the ASPIRES (Science Aspirations and Career Choice: Age 10–14) longitudinal study is investigating the d...

This study investigated the potential of students' written and oral questions both as an epistemic probe and heuristic for initiating collaborative argumentation in science. Four classes of students, aged 12–14 years from two countries, were asked to discuss which of two graphs best represented the change in temperature as ice was heated to steam....

The concern about students' engagement with school science and the num-bers pursuing the further study of science is an international phenomenon and a matter of considerable concern among policy makers. Research has demonstrated that the ma-jority of young children have positive attitudes to science at age 10 but that this interest then declines sh...

One issue of interest to practitioners and researchers in science centres concerns what meanings visitors are making from their interactions with exhibits and how they make sense of these experiences. The research reported in this study is an exploratory attempt, therefore, to investigate this process by using video clips and still photographs of s...

The research reported in this paper stemmed from our conviction that argument is a central dimension of both science and science education. Our specific intention was to determine whether secondary science teachers in England give pupils opportunities to develop and rehearse the skills of argumentation during their lessons. We found that classroom...

This study explores how student-generated questions can support argumentation in science. Students were asked to discuss which of two graphs showing the change in temperature with time when ice is heated to steam was correct. Four classes of students, aged 12–14 years, from two countries, first wrote questions about the phenomenon. Then, working in...

Students’ interest in studying science and their aspirations to pursue science-related careers is a topic of global concern. In this paper, a set of data gathered for the initial phase of the 5-year study of Science Aspirations and Careers: Age 10–14 (the ASPIRES project) is presented. In the initial phase of this project, a questionnaire exploring...

Argument and debate are common in science, yet they are virtually absent from science education. Recent research shows, however, that opportunities for students to engage in collaborative discourse and argumentation offer a means of enhancing student conceptual understanding and students’ skills and capabilities with scientific reasoning. As one of...

Students' questions play an important role in meaningful learning and scientific inquiry. They are a potential resource for both teaching and learning science. Despite the capacity of students' questions for enhancing learning, much of this potential still remains untapped. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to examine and review the existing...

ABSTRACT There is ongoing public and parental concern about the number,of students who,are choosing to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics,(STEM) subjects. This article explores some,of the possible reasons for students’ interest or lack of interest in science to make,the point that the value of science lies not principally in it...

Although science centres and museums are important educational resources, school trips to these places are not often conducted in a manner that could maximise learning. In addressing this issue, a Framework for Museum Practice (FMP) is proposed, derived from the perspectives of Cultural Historical Activity Theory, theories of intrinsic motivation,...

Argumentation is considered an important part of building scientific knowledge. The challenge is how to support it within the context of school science. One approach is through the use of specially designed technology tools that can help students move towards better explanations and engage in classroom discussions. This article argues that differen...

This presentation will argue that one of the major problems school science suffers from is a pedagogy which is dominated by the conduit metaphor of teaching. This is the idea that communication is a one way process where teachers conceive of themselves as didactic disseminators of knowledge. When teachers were the sole source of knowledge in a comm...

The research reported in this study focuses on an investigation into the teaching of argumentation in secondary science classrooms. Over a 1-year period, a group of 12 teachers from schools in the greater London area attended a series of workshops to develop materials and strategies to support the teaching of argumentation in scientific contexts. D...

some contemporary science, have constructed curricula that are more abstract and less comprehensible whilst still failing to significantlyaddress,the processes,and,nature,of science. This roundtable began by focussing on two questions: What do we know so far, and what would we like to

This paper makes the case for argument in science education drawing on a range of research efforts in the field. The specific research reported here took place over two years between 1999 and 2001 in junior high schools in the greater London area. The research was conducted in two phases. In phase 1, working with a group of 12 science teachers, the...

From the editors' introduction: “Although single-discipline investigations are arguably still the norm in most education research, government funding agencies worldwide have stepped up the call over the last several years for collaborations that span more than one field of inquiry. A major assumption behind this call is that multidisciplinary resea...

This article offers a review of the major literature about attitudes to science and its implications over the past 20 years. It argues that the continuing decline in numbers choosing to study science at the point of choice requires a research focus on students? attitudes to science if the nature of the problem is to be understood and remediated. St...

The article is a critique of physics education as currently practised in the UK and elsewhere. In particular it attacks the dominance of Newtonian physics and the overuse of quantitative physics; it discusses the value of practical physics, the changes in pedagogy enabled by new technology and the lack of the affective dimension in physics educatio...

Newtonian physics is difficult. On the 300th anniversary of the publication of Newton's Principia, it is perhaps hard to admit that one of the most revolutionary sets of scientific ideas is barely comprehended by the majority of the population. Despite an elaborate system of comprehensive education for all pupils, the evidence is that physics educa...

This article argues that reading, writing and argument are central to any conception of science as it is currently constituted. Moreover, it is through the texts of science, popular accounts or journalistic reported versions that the majority of the public interact with and consider the implications of the findings that science presents. However, t...

The work described in this paper draws from a theoretical perspective that sees rhetoric, argument and discourse as an important feature of science teachers’ practice and the learning of science. It aims to contribute to an on-going debate about a wide range of issues such as: challenges to current conceptions of practical activity in teaching; ana...

This paper draws on contemporary scholarship in the field of rhetoric and on recent research in science education conducted from a rhetorical perspective. Beginning with a brief sketch of the principal ideas used in the study of rhetoric, it argues that such a perspective provides a useful insight into the aims and purposes of the science teacher,...

Basing its arguments in current perspectives on the nature of the scientific enterprise, which see argument and argumentative practice as a core activity of scientists, this article develops the case for the inclusion and central role of argument in science education. Beginning with a review of the nature of argument, it discusses the function and...

Science education needs to include more examples of contemporary science if it is to transcend its narrow focus on ‘what we know’. This paper argues that school needs to place more emphasis on ‘how’, ‘when’, and ‘if’ scientific knowledge can be trusted. This can only be achieved by providing the opportunity to explore the complex relationship betwe...

The recent joy arising from the fact that the number of pupils sitting A-level physics exams in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has increased needs to be tempered by a knowledge of the demographic statistics (September p8). The reason for the rise in the numbers can be explained by the increase in the size of the 18-year-old age group. When thi...

Briefly reviews some of the main features of the research evidence and the latest data on student attitudes toward science. Argues that the recent introduction of an extension of compulsory science education in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland has not succeeded in changing the level of interest in science. (DDR)

This research addressed children's difficulty in learning science meaningfully. A Wittgensteinian analysis of meanings suggests that they arise in successful acts of communication in the context of specific types of shared activity. From this perspective, communication between pupils in using scientific ideas should provide a worthwhile, effective...

Recent studies in exhibitions have begun to consider the cognitive content of the ‘dialogue’ between visitor and exhibit designer. Such studies have focused on the leisure visitor and not on organised school visits. The study reported here compares the conversational content of primary school and family visitors at the London Zoo and the Natural Hi...

Physics education needs to broaden its appeal and scope. Less emphasis should be placed on concepts and practical work and more on the nature of physics, everyday technology and the human and intellectual achievements of this fascinating body of knowledge. This article is an attempt to explore possible changes in the form and purpose of physics tea...

Argues that science teaching should place more emphasis on linguistic explorations which provide an opportunity for students to develop proto-concepts that enable the development of scientific thinking. Contains 16 references. (DDR)

This paper describes research work which examined and developed young children's (7‐11) understanding of light and associated phenomena. Previous work in the area is reviewed briefly. The work consisted of four phases: a pilot phase, a pre‐intervention elicitation, an intervention phase and a post‐intervention elicitation. Data were collected by a...

Students' lack of interest in studying science and in science-related careers is a topic of global concern. In response, the ASPIRES (Science Aspirations and Careers: Age 10-14) longitudinal study is exploring the development of students' educational and occupational aspirations over time. In the first phase of the project, a questionnaire explorin...