Promoting a Culture of Thinking in Differentiated Science Education: a Collaborative Study

EasyChair Preprint 15770

Abstract

The Chilean curriculum guidelines define the purpose of the differentiated science plan (grades 11 and 12) as strengthening scientific literacy (MINEDUC, 2019). However, students' diverse backgrounds influence their literacy levels and engagement in science. Scientific literacy fosters thinking skills and learning practices relevant to daily life (Murphy et al., 2018). This study investigates: (1) What opportunities does a thinking-centered science class offer for scientific reasoning and argumentation? (2) What changes occur in students' practices? A high school science teacher and a university researcher collaborated to analyze classroom work with two 12th-grade student groups from two schools in northern Chile. The study covered Cellular and Molecular Biology (2023) and Ecosystem Biology (2024), involving 27 students. Using narrative inquiry and collaborative self-study, we examined classroom observations, field notes, and student work to identify themes related to thinking habits and learning strategies. Preliminary findings reveal fragile knowledge (Perkins, 2003), including confusion about hierarchical organization, cellular structures, and ecosystems, alongside weak autonomous study habits. Modeling scientific text comprehension and scaffolding writing improved students' descriptions of biological levels and biodiversity through more precise vocabulary. Formative assessment with graphic organizers enhanced idea structuring and conceptual connections. Gains were observed in perseverance, creativity, confidence, and autonomy. Supporting opinion-building strategies helped students connect and critically engage with socio-biological topics. Students' written work progressed from text decoding to idea organization and evidence-based argumentation. These findings highlight the need to develop thinking habits (Swartz et al., 2020) before engaging in scientific argumentation to mitigate inert disciplinary learning.

Keyphrases: Alfabetización científica, Argumentación, hábitos de pensamiento, prácticas de aula

@booklet{EasyChair:15770,
  author    = {Florencia Gomez Zaccarelli and Cesar Piñones Cañete},
  title     = {Promoting a Culture of Thinking in Differentiated Science Education: a Collaborative Study},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 15770},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2025}}