Pensamento crítico e prácticas científicas na formación do profesorado e a súa implicación na aula de infantil: indagando sobre a caída de obxectos

ESCOLA DE DOUTORAMENTO
INTERNACIONAL DA USC
Inés
Mosque a Ba giela
Tese de dou o amen o
PENSAMENTO CRÍTICO E
PRÁCTICAS CIENTÍFICAS NA
FORMACIÓN DO
PROFESORADO E A SÚA
IMPLICACIÓN NA AULA DE
INFANTIL: INDAGANDO SOBRE
A CAÍDA DE OBXECTOS
San iago de Compos ela, 2021
P og ama de Dou o amen o en Educación
TESE DE DOUTORAMENTO
PENSAMENTO CRÍTICO E
PRÁCTICAS CIENTÍFICAS NA
FORMACIÓN DO PROFESORADO E
A SÚA IMPLICACIÓN NA AULA DE
INFANTIL: INDAGANDO SOBRE A
CAÍDA DE OBXECTOS
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
ESCOLA DE DOUTORAMENTO INTERNACIONAL DA UNIVERSIDADE DE SANTIAGO DE
COMPOSTELA
PROGRAMA DE DOUTORAMENTO EN EDUCACIÓN
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
202
DECLARACIÓN DO AUTOR/A DA TESE
D./Dna.
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
Tí ulo da ese:
Pensamen o c í ico e p ác icas cien í icas na o mación do p o eso ado e a súa
implicación na aula de in an il: indagando sob e a caída de obxec os
P esen o a miña ese, seguindo o p ocedemen o axei ado ao Regulamen o, e decla o que:
1) A ese aba ca os esul ados da elabo ación do meu aballo.
2) De se o caso, na ese aise e e encia ás colabo acións que i o es e aballo.
3) Con i mo que a ese non inco e en ningún ipo de plaxio dou os au o es nin de aballos
p esen ados po min pa a a ob ención dou os í ulos.
4) A ese é a e sión de ini i a p esen ada pa a a súa de ensa e coincide a e sión imp esa coa
p esen ada en o ma o elec ónico
E comp omé ome a p esen a o Comp omiso Documen al de Supe isión no caso de que o o ixinal non
es ea na Escola.
En San iago de Compos ela, 21 de Decemb o de 2021.
Sina u a elec ónica

AUTORIZACIÓN DO DIRECTOR/TITOR DA TESE
D./Dna.
Blanca Puig
En condición de:
Ti o /a e di ec o /a
Tí ulo da ese:
Pensamen o c í ico e p ac ices cien í icas na o mación do p o eso ado e a súa
implicación na aula de in an il: indagando sob e a caída de obxec os
INFORMA:
Que a p esen e ese, co espóndese co aballo ealizado po D/Dna Inés Mosque a Ba giela, baixo a
miña di ección/ i o ización, e a
u o izo
a súa
p esen ación, conside ando
que eúne os
equisi os
esixidos no R
egulamen o
de Es udos de
Dou o amen o da USC,
e
que
como di ec o / i o
des a
non inco e nas causas de
abs ención
es ablecidas
na Lei
40/2015.
En San iago de Compos ela, 21 de Decemb o de 2021
Sina u a elec ónica
AUTORIZACIÓN DO DIRECTOR/TITOR DA TESE
D./Dna.
Paloma Blanco Anaya
En condición de:
Di ec o /a
Tí ulo da ese:
Pensamen o c í ico e p ác icas cien í icas na o mación do p o eso ado e a súa
implicación na aula de in an il: indagando sob e a caída de obxec os
INFORMA:
Que a p esen e ese, co espóndese co aballo ealizado po D/Dna Inés Mosque a Ba giela, baixo a
miña di ección/ i o ización, e a
u o izo
a súa
p esen ación, conside ando
que eúne os
equisi os
esixidos no R
egulamen o
de Es udos de
Dou o amen o da USC,
e
que
como di ec o / i o
des a
non inco e nas causas de
abs ención
es ablecidas
na Lei
40/2015.
En San iago de Compos ela, 21 de Decemb o de 2021
Sina u a elec ónica
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
14
de despacho, Noa, Pablo, Sabela, Lucía e Bo ja; g aciñas polos bos mo-
men os e o oso acompañamen o.
Aos i o es das escolas de e án de Ápice e ESERA, polas o ien acións
pa a mello a es e aballo.
A Lucy A aamidou, quen me acolleu e in eg ou no seu g upo de
in es igación dun xei o xene oso. Moi as g azas po apo a a úa isión
e coñecemen os a es a in es igación, así como p esen a me a un g upo
de pe soas quen es ou segu a me acompaña án máis alá des a e apa.
Pa a elas e aos que coñecín nes a e apa, Nu il, A hina, Theila, Be zabé,
Camila e Miquel, en e ou os, polas an en e idas con e sas, momen os
compa idos e o apoio.
Ao alumnado e ao p o eso ado que me pe mi iu acompañalos nas súas
aulas, en especial a Ánxeles, quen du an e un ano me ab iu as po as pa a
ap ende do seu bo ace docen e.
Ás miñas amigas Jenni e e Lau a po acompaña me an os anos. Os
nosos encon os e o oso ca iño ixo posible supe a es a e apa.
A Joey, polas súas con e sas e a súa compañía; po es a aí.
Con moi o aga imo á miña amilia, en especial a meus pais, polo
ca iño e apoio incondicional du an e odas as e apas da miña ida.
Po úl imo, a miña nai e a Flo a, quen me inculca on o amo pola
ensinanza e coas súas con e sas axúdanme a lemb a po qué escollín
es a p o esión.

15
SUMMARY
This doc o al hesis aims o analyse scien i ic p ac ices as well as c i -
ical hinking ( om now on CT) pe o med by ea ly yea educa-
ion s uden s when lea ning science in he con ex o an inqui y-based
ask. Taking in o accoun ha CT has no been p e iously explo ed om
an empi ical pe spec i e a his le el o educa ion, o add ess his gene al
goal, a s udy ha en ails h ee le els o analysis was ca ied ou : 1) scien-
i ic p ac ices in he cu iculum and eache s’ aining p og ams in ou
egion as well as he p e-se ice eache s’ educa o s iews on CT no ion
and lea ning en i onmen s o p omo e i ; 2) he ole o an ea ly child-
hood eache , pa icula ly he use o ques ioning as a eaching s a egy
ha can enhance child en’s inqui y and a gumen a ion skills when hey
a e in ol ed in an inqui y-based ask, and 3) he pe o mance o CT skills
and disposi ions by he child en.
In e na ional e o m documen s ha e called o an emphasis on s u-
den s’ engagemen in co e scien i ic p ac ices, such as scien i ic inqui y
and a gumen a ion, om an ea ly age (Na ional Academies o Sciences,
Enginee ing, and Medicine, NASEM, 2018). Mo eo e , in he ecen
yea s, scien i ic p ac ices ha e gained mo e p esence in in e na ional
and na ional cu icula documen s and ha e a la ge body o esea ch.
Howe e , he e is a sca ci y o s udies on scien i ic p ac ices and CT in
ea ly childhood educa ion. A sea ch on he li e a u e e ealed ha mos
o he esea ch on inqui y ha e ocused on s uden s’ acquisi ion o inqui y
skills (e.g., Bu sche , 2011; Hsin & Wu, 2011; Kambou i & Michaelides,
2014), whe eas eache s’ guidance and how inqui y ac i i ies a e
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
16
implemen ed ha e no been deeply explo ed, wha is necessa y o shed
some ligh on how s uden s be e pe o m inqui y and a gumen a ion
skills. This hesis a emp s o in es iga e hese aspec s paying a en ion o
eache and s uden s’ in e ac ions. A gumen a ion and CT a e e y much
in e ela ed; howe e hey ha e no been deeply explo ed in ea ly yea s.
Mos a gumen a ion s udies a end o a gumen a i e dialogic mo emen s
p omp ed by d awings o s o ies (Do igo, 2016) and he Philosophy o
Child en (P4C) p og am (Daniel e al., 2017) pays an emphasis on he
impo ance o p omo ing CT a his s age. D waing om his gap on he
li e a u e his hesis in es iga es how scien i ic p ac ices and CT we e
pe o med by ea ly childhood s uden s when lea ning science in he con-
ex o unde s anding scien i ic no ions as g a i y and ai ic ion using
an inqui y-based app oach.
The gene al goal o he hesis is speci ied in h ee esea ch objec i es
and hei espec i e esea ch ques ions:
O1. To cha ac e ize he s a e o a o scien i ic p ac ices and c i ical
hinking.
RQ1) How a e scien i ic p ac ices in eg a ed in o he ea ly childhood
educa ion cu iculum?
RQ2) How a e hese p ac ices p esen ed on ini ial and con inuous ain-
ing plans o p e-se ice and in-se ice ea ly childhood eache s?
RQ3) How c i ical hinking in e en ions s udies in highe educa ion
a e cha ac e ised?
RQ4) Wha no ion o c i ical hinking do p e-se ice eache educa-
o s ha e?
RQ5) Wha ype o lea ning en i onmen s do p e-se ice eache ed-
uca o s decla e o implemen in hei ins uc ion o p omo e c i ical
hinking?
17
Summa y
O2. To iden i y didac ic s a egies, pa icula ly eache ’s ques ions ha a-
ou he pa icipa ion o ea ly childhood s uden s in scien i ic p ac ices
h ough he analysis o eache -s uden s’ in e ac ions.
RQ6) Wha is he na u e o a eache ’s guidance in an inqui y-based
lea ning ac i i y? Speci ically, wha kinds o d i ing ques ions do
eache s use o engage child en in inqui y?
RQ7) How does eache s’ d i ing ques ions a ec s uden s’ enac men
o inqui y and a gumen a ion skills?
O3. To iden i y c i ical hinking skills and disposi ions in s uden s’ dis-
cou se in a science con ex .
RQ8) How a e he ques ions posed by he eache ha ac i a e ce -
ain c i ical hinking skills and disposi ions by ea ly childhood
s uden s?
RQ9) Wha is he ela ionship be ween he eache ’s ques ions and he
p ac ice o c i ical hinking by he s uden s?
Theo e ical amewo k
The heo e ical amewo k can be si ua ed wi hin he s udies in science
educa ion ha ocus on lea ning and eaching science and CT h ough
scien i ic p ac ices in ea ly yea s. Fo ha , he s udy is amed wi hin
h ee bodies o knowledge: 1) scien i ic p ac ices in ea ly yea s, 2) c i ical
hinking in science educa ion, 3) Teache s’ guidance in inqui y-based
eaching, pa icula ly he ole o ques ioning in he ac i a ion o c i ical
hinking and scien i ic p ac ices.
Scien i ic p ac ices in ea ly yea s
Repo s om he O ganisa ion o Economic Coope a ion and
De elopmen (OECD) disclosed ha engaging in science since ea ly yea s
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18
has a o dances in la e s uden s’ achie emen (OECD, 2012, 2017). This
b ings ligh o he impo ance o p omo ing science in ea ly childhood
educa ion. In line wi h his si ua ion is he g owing conce n in science in-
s uc ion abou how o p omo e i in conjunc ion wi h scien i ic p ac ices.
I is ou unde s anding lea ning science implies pa icipa ing in scien i ic
p ac ices. Acco ding o Reise , Be land and Kenyon (2012) hese p ac ic-
es imply he cons uc ion o scien i ic knowledge and he unde s anding
o why i is cons uc ed, examined, e alua ed, and imp o ed in a ce ain
way. This iew seeks o p omo e he pa icipa ion o s uden s in scien-
i ic p ac ices, abandoning he idea o a me e acquisi ion o heo e ical
knowledge. In his s udy we ocus on inqui y and a gumen a ion, wo
o he h ee co e p ac ices ha he e m scien i ic p ac ices encompass.
Inqui y-based science has been in oduced in mos science educa ion
plans (OECD, 2007; Ramna ain, 2018; Roca d e al., 2007; Zhang, 2016),
which de i a e in mul iple meanings. In his hesis, we ollow he inqui y
de ini ion p oposed by Be ins and P ice (2016), who ega ded inqui y as
a ques ion-d i en, open-ended p ocess o suppo ing s uden s’ knowl-
edge and in es iga ing skills o ind, and in e nalize, new concep s and
solu ions o he ques ions ha ha e been o mula ed. This de ini ion, in-
spi ed on Dewey’s oo s and Kelly’s (2014) wo k emphasize he dialec ical
p ocess ha eme ge in a si ua ion whe e s uden s y o each a solu ion.
Mo eo e , we concu wi h E ago ou e al. (2020), s a ing ha o he skills
such as a gumen a ion migh be also de eloped when child en engaged
in an inqui y-based lea ning ac i i y as bo h p ac ices o e lap in hei
e i o ies o engagemen .
Resea ch ha e add essed he acquisi ion o child en’s inqui y skills
when dealing wi h di e se scien i ic no ions and and physical phenome-
na as: wa e cycle (Hsin & Wu, 2011; Kambou i & Michaelides, 2014), he
changes o s a e o di e en subs ances and compounds (C uz-Guzmán e
al., 2017), me eo ological phenomena and as onomical e en s (Bu sche ,
2011) and he concep o shadow (Bayi , 2019). None heless, a en ion o
eache ’s guidance and how inqui y ac i i ies a e implemen ed is neces-
sa y o shed some ligh s on how s uden s be e pe o m inqui y skills,
which is wha hesis aims o in es iga e.
19
Summa y
A gumen a ion is one o he scien i ic p ac ices necessa y o unde -
s and how knowledge, i is buil , assessed, and communica ed, as scien-
is s p o ide a gumen s o link e idence wi h he conclusions h ough
jus i ica ions (B own e al., 2010; McNeill & K ajcik, 2011). Two skills
s uden s need o de elop o he pa icipa ion in he cul u e o science
a e cons uc ing explana ions and basing hei a gumen s on e idence.
As inqui y, i has been concep ualized in di e en ways depending which
he ocus is on. Fo he pu poses o his s udy, we de ine i as a socio-di-
alogical p ocess ha in ol es an in e ac ion be ween child en cons uc -
ing claims and e idence and he es ablishmen o a alid conclusion,
explana ion o o he claims abou he na u al wo ld (Be land & Reise ,
2011; D i e e al., 2000). Resea ch indings sugges ha by inco po a ing
a gumen a ion in science eaching, child en migh de elop a s onge
unde s anding o con en knowledge and imp o e hei abili y o jus i y
hei own claims (McNeill, 2011). In a gumen a i e class ooms, ha is
p ecisely wha s uden s do, hey en a i ely cons uc hei claims sup-
po ed by easonable e idence ei he as indi iduals o as a g oup o p es-
en i la e o hei pee s o seek c i ique o come up wi h al e na i es.
In his sense, he goal o a gumen a ion is no only o in e ac h ough
ideas bu also o each an ag eemen whe e eache s and s uden s wo k
oge he as a communi y o imp o e hei a gumen s h ough cogni i e
con lic (Fo d & Wa go, 2012; Wal on, 1998).
Resea ch on a gumen a ion in science educa ion is ela i ely ecen , o-
cusing hese ea ly s udies on explo ing whe he a gumen a ion ook place
on he class oom (Jiménez-Aleixand e & E du an, 2015). O en, indings
poin ed ou child en we e no able o o mula e sound a gumen s. In he
las decade, sca ce s udies on a gumen a ion skills we e ca ied ou in
ea ly yea s (e.g., Kul i & P amling, 2020), usually ocusing on child en’s
easoning skills (Me cie , 2011) o in a gumen s posed by child en in
a ma hema ical ac i i y (B ei e, 2017) o con ex s o play (Migdalek e
al., 2015). As a as we know, Do igo (2016) i is he only s udy ha ad-
d esses how a gumen a ion s a s o ge shaped in ea ly yea s h ough he
dialogical mo emen s be ween he child en and hei eache .

Inés Mosque a Ba giela
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C i ical hinking in science educa ion
C i ical hinking is conside ed as a seminal goal in educa ion, and he e is
some consensus among educa o s abou he need o es ablish i as a co e
skill a a cu icula and eaching le el (Binkley e al., 2012). None heless,
he mul i ace ed (Ba naby, 2016), and dynamic (Kuhn, 2019) cha ac-
e o his no ion, makes di icul o achie e a unique de ini ion, and
discussions pe sis abou he way CT can be achie ed h ough educa-
ion (Ab ami e al., 2008; Niu, e al., 2013). C i ical hinking has been
concep ualized in a ious ways om philosophy, psychology, and edu-
ca ion. None heless, hey p esen a common cha ac e is ic: CT equi es
a domain o con ex -speci ic knowledge o e alua e speci ic belie s o
s a emen s (G eene & Yu, 2016; Puig e al., 2020). This hesis adop s his
pe spec i e, al hough i also conside s impo an , especially a an ea ly
age, o a end o o he ac o s ha a e pa o he a ec i e and social
domain.
In his s udy, CT de ini ion is d awn om Facione’s (1990)
and Facione and Facione e al.’s (1995) amewo k, ag eed on an
E asmus+ Eu opean P ojec (C i ical Thinking Ac oss Highe Educa ion
Cu icula, CRITHINKEDU) and e ined in RODA, ou esea ch g oup
(Jiménez-Aleixand e & Puig, in p ess). I is ou unde s anding ha CT
is a se o skills and disposi ions ha enable s uden s and people o guide
conscious ac ions based on easons and alues, bu also on independen
hinking. Following hese au ho s, we conside ha CT in ol es consid-
e ing empi ical e idence, hus i can be de eloped h ough he p ac ice
o a gumen a ion (Kuhn, 2019), bu i con ains also o he componen s,
some cogni i e o me acogni i e, as sel - egula ion, some disposi ional,
as willingness o econside and e ise iews, and a ec i e. The no ion
o skills i is d awn om Facione (1990), unde s anding ha hey allow
s uden s de elopmen a a cogni i e and pe sonal le el. Fu he mo e, we
unde ake he idea ha disposi ions consis o he in e nal mo i a ion
o ac o espond in a ce ain way (Facione, 2000). To ope a ionalize he
de ini ion o CT, esea che s ha e iden i ied a se o speci ic CT skills and
disposi ions, whose de elopmen mus be exe cised om an ea ly age and
in a ied con ex s ha allow ac i a ing hem (Facione, 1990; Facione e
21
Summa y
al., 1995). In science eaching, acco ding o Jiménez-Aleixand e and Puig
(in p ess), one way o achie e his objec i e is o in ol e s uden s in
p ocesses o knowledge cons uc ion h ough scien i ic p ac ices whe e
eache -s uden dialogic in e ac ion akes place.
P e-se ice eache s’ educa o s, being esponsible o he eaching o
u u e eache s, ha e a key ole on he CT de elopmen on p e-se ice
eache s, which ul ima ely would ha e an impac on he child en hey
will each on he u u e. Despi e li e a u e poin s he c ucial ole o he
educa o s in his p ocess (Janssen e al., 2019; Pi he s & Soden, 2000),
sca ce in es iga ions ha e been ca ied ou abou educa o s’ CT skills
and disposi ions.
The eaching-lea ning en i onmen o he social clima e o he class-
oom conce ns he ela ionship be ween he cha ac e is ics o he g oup
o s uden s and he eaching me hods used so ha , ul ima ely, hey
can deepen hei lea ning beyond he le els o ep oduc ion (F ase e
al., 1982; S uy en e al., 2006). Acco ding o hese au ho s, he in e ac-
ions be ween eache s and s uden s o he s uc u al cha ac e is ics o
he class oom, among o he s, could consequen ly de e mine hei CT
skills. A he co e o lea ning en i onmen s, eaching me hods and ac i -
i ies a e cen al hemes in empi ical CT s udies. The e a e se e al in es i-
ga ions ocused on he eaching o CT, howe e , he e a e no conclusi e
esul s on wha he bes condi ions o an ins uc ion a e o be success ul
in e ms o i s de elopmen (Ti uneh e al., 2014). In his s udy, Ennis’
(1989, 2016) amewo k o esea che s and educa o s as well as Ab ami
e al. (2015) in e en ion app oaches play a key ole since hey a e also
adop ed as analy ical amewo ks.
This hesis engages s uden s in he p ac ice o CT du ing an in-
qui y-based ac i i y ha aims o p omo e a gumen a ion and inqui y
skills. C i ical hinking is usually associa ed wi h he o he scien i ic p ac-
ice add essed in his s udy, a gumen a ion, since i la gely in ol es he
e alua ion o s a emen s o knowledge h ough he analysis o e idence
(Gi i & Paily, 2020). One o he mos ecen cha ac e iza ions o CT in
science con ibu ed by Jiménez-Aleixand e and Puig (in p ess) includes
a se ies o componen s ela ed, on he one hand, o easoned judgmen ,
and, on he o he hand, wi h he o ien a ion o ac ion. Al hough we ag ee
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
22
wi h his ision, we unde s and ha , in he ea ly childhood educa ion
s age, CT should be p omo ed om a dialogic in e ac ion in con ex s
ha p omo e cu iosi y, he o mula ion o ques ions and he sea ch o
answe s h ough expe imen s, as well as he cons uc ion o alid jus i-
ica ions e u ing al e na i es (Kuhn, 1993; Nussbaum & Sina a, 2003).
The in eg a ion o CT in science ins uc ion a ea ly yea s can be
achie ed in di e se manne s. We belie e ha CT can be embedded in
inqui y-based lea ning as a dialogic p ac ice in a way ha help s uden s
o mobilize di e se CT skills as analyse, explana ion e alua ion, e c., all
along wi h di e se inqui y and a gumen a ion skills. None heless, sca ce
esea ch has been ca ied ou on CT in ea ly yea s science and he exis -
ing s udies, as a as we ha e been able o know, end o ocus on he de-
elopmen o ce ain skills by he s uden s (Co al-Ve dugo e al., 1996;
Ha bi, 2016; León, 2015, among o he s).
Teache s’ guidance in inqui y-based eaching. The ole o ques ioning in he
ac i a ion o c i ical hinking and scien i ic p ac ices.
The ac ions o eache s a e c ucial in d i ing he hinking p ocess du -
ing he enac men o an inqui y-based ac i i y, b inging ou meaning ul
lea ning. Fo his, he ole o he eache needs o shi om an in o ma-
ion accumula o o an “ac i e designe ” (Go mally e al., 2009, p. 16).
None heless, eache s s ill ace di icul ies o implemen inqui y-based
ac i i ies and op o mo e adi ional app oaches. Be ins and P ice
(2016) and Cons an inou e al. (2018) poin ou as cons ain s he con-
en -laden cu icula, inapp op ia e assessmen p ocedu es o inqui y
app oaches as well as lack o esou ces and lack o knowledge abou he
amoun o guidance. In ecen yea s, schola s and educa o s ha e s a ed
o name inqui y-based eaching (IBT) as a way o b ing key ea u es o
au hen ic scien i ic inqui y in o he science class oom, o e ing he s u-
den s expe iences o de elop he unde s anding o scien i ic concep s and
connec hem wi h e e yday li e (Cons an inou e al., 2018). Fo he pu -
pose o his s udy IBT is ega ded as a mo i a ional app oach o lea ning
science as i ocuses on child en’s in e es s and p omp s ac i e lea ning
by enabling s uden s o conduc hei own in es iga ions (Vo holze &
23
Summa y
on Au schnai e , 2019). We concu wi h Fu ak e al. (2012) in un-
de s anding IBT as pa o a con inuum o guidance om less o mo e
guidance. Despi e he impo ance o eache s’ guidance in inqui y-based
eaching, e y ew s udies ha e ocused on eache s a egies o p omo e
inqui y skills in ea ly childhood educa ion.
Ques ions play a undamen al ole in inqui y as i s a s wi h a ques ion
(He anen & Aksela, 2019) and a e conside ed he backbone o class-
oom in es iga ions (Kawalka & Vijapu ka , 2013). Ques ioning ha e
e en been used o de ine inqui y as ‘ques ion-d i en lea ning’, since
ques ions d i e he lessons as s uden s ga he and in e p e da a o an-
swe ha ques ion, cons uc an explana ion, and communica e he e-
sul s. Teache ques ions play a c i ical impo ance in ini ia ing a ious
cogni i e unc ions (Aschne , 1961; Ca ne , 1963) ha eache s need
o be p o essional ques ione s (Gall, 1984). None heless, a se o s udies
has shown ha ques ioning is a skill ha is lacking in class ooms in ea -
ly childhood (Asay & O gill, 2010), Fu he mo e, eache s’ ques ioning
empi ical s udies in ea ly childhood a e sca ce and emphasise child en’s
concep ual unde s anding (Eshach, 2011) and concep ual change (Smi h
e al., 1993; Yip, 1998) no s essing he impo ance o he eache ’s ole. I
is also ou unde s anding ha he ype o ques ions posed by he eache
ancho he in es iga ion he child en will be unde aking in a lesson,
leading hem o ga he and use da a o de elop explana ions o scien i ic
phenomena. These ques ions a e known as in es iga ion ques ions and
a e some imes e e ed in he li e a u e as ‘d i ing ques ions’ (K ajcik e
al., 1998).
Me hods, pa icipan s, and educa ional con ex
The me hodological app oach is quali a i e, app op ia ed o s udy edu-
ca ional p ocess (C eswell & C eswell, 2014). I seeks o unde s and he
pa icipan s’ meanings, and how hey make sense abou he expe iences
li ed (Me iam, 2009). The design o he in es iga ion ollowed an em-
bedded case s udy as i conside s mul iples uni s o analysis ha ocus
on di e en aspec s o he case (Scholz & Tieje, 2002) enabling a mix u e
o quali a i e esea ch echniques o be inco po a ed in o he o e all
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
30
and e lec on possible a iables ha migh in luence he de elopmen
o he expe imen s, in pa icula , in ega ds o he expe imen al design.
The compa ison be ween he skills p omo ed by he eache and hose
pe cei ed in he s uden s showed a conco dance be ween bo h. In gen-
e al, we can a i m ha he ques ions guide s uden pa icipa ion. Mos
o he skills de eloped by he s uden s show a sligh inc ease in hei e-
quency wi h espec o he ques ions posed by he eache . None heless,
his canno be said in e ms o disposi ions, gi en ha child en’s enac -
men is lowe .
Conclusions
The analysis o he i s esea ch objec i e, o cha ac e ize he s a e o a o
scien i ic p ac ices and c i ical hinking, ega ding he scien i ic p ac ices
allowed us o s ablish h ee conclusions:
1. Inqui y is he scien i ic p ac ice ha ecei es he mos a en ion
in Galicia’s ea ly childhood educa ion cu iculum.
2. The leas p esen scien i ic p ac ice a he cu icula le el is
a gumen a ion.
3. Ini ial and con inuous eache aining plans do no o e aining
in science p ac ices.
The analysis o he i s esea ch objec i e, o cha ac e ize he s a e o
a o scien i ic p ac ices and c i ical hinking, ega ding he CT p ac ices
allowed us o s ablish eigh conclusions:
4. The li e a u e e eals ha mos CT in e en ions a e sho - e m
and ocus on skills a he han disposi ions.
5. Mos in e en ions do no make he CT eaching p inciples ex-
plici , as opposed o a mino i y ha combines implici and explici
eaching.
6. The LDT (lec u e-discussion eaching) s a egy based on dialogue
and suppo ed by indi idual ac i i ies is he mos common in he
CT in e en ions analysed.

31
Summa y
7. Educa o s ag ee in unde s anding CT as a no ion ha encompass-
es di e se skills and disposi ions, howe e , he de ini ions hey
hold a e a ied.
8. The mos alued CT skills by educa o s a e in e ence and e alua-
ion, while he disposi ions ecei e less a en ion, which is in line
wi h he esul s ound in p e ious analysed s udies.
9. C i ical hinking is implici ly in eg a ed in o eache aining,
which implies i is de eloped h ough p ac ice.
10. Dialogue and discussions a e conside ed o g ea impo ance by
educa o s as a means o p omo ing he CT, which highligh s he
connec ion be ween CT and a gumen a ion.
11. CT assessmen is no explici ly in eg a ed in educa o s’ ins uc ion
no in he p og ams o hei subjec s, bu i is ega ded as ano he
elemen o he summa i e assessmen p ocess.
The analysis o he second esea ch objec i e, o iden i y didac ic s a -
egies, pa icula ly eache ’s ques ions ha a ou he pa icipa ion o ea ly
childhood s uden s in scien i ic p ac ices h ough he analysis o each-
e -s uden s’ in e ac ions, allowed us o s ablish six conclusions:
12. The ype o ques ions posed by he eache a e epea ed ho ough
he ac i i y, c ea ing a guiding inqui y cycle eme ged om he
eache ’s expe ience and he in e ac ions wi h s uden s.
13. The mos equen ly asked ques ions show ha he eache s ess
he key p ocesses o unde s anding he ac i i y and he concep s
o d awing conclusions.
14. The e is a posi i e ela ionship be ween he ype o ques ions asked
by he eache and he skills mobilized by he s uden s.
15. The way ques ions a e asked encou ages ce ain inqui y skills.
16. The ques ions asked by he eache p omo e o a g ea e ex en
inqui y han a gumen a ion skills.
17. Scien i ic p ac ices o inqui y and a gumen a ion o e laps in hei
cogni i e and p ocedu al ields.
18. Ques ioning helps s uden s o mobilize p e iously acqui ed scien-
i ic knowledge du ing he de elopmen o he ac i i y
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
32
The analysis o he hi d esea ch objec i e, o iden i y c i ical hink-
ing skills and disposi ions in s uden s’ discou se in a science con ex , al-
lowed us o s ablish ou conclusions:
19. The e is no pa e n be ween he eache s’ ques ions and CT skills
and disposi ions a icula ed by he s uden s. Teache ques ions
do no seem o gi e ise o a signi ican a ia ion in he skills and
disposi ions o he s uden s ei he in numbe o in a ie y.
20. The skill o explana ion, linked o he scien i ic p ac ice o a gu-
men a ion, has been p omo ed and enac ed equen ly.
21. The skill o e alua ion, o i al impo ance o he c i ical analy-
sis o he in o ma ion, is no p omo ed by he eache and is no
p esen in he discou se o he s uden s.
22. Disposi ions a e p omo ed o a lesse ex en han CT skills and
ques ions ha e li le impac on hese in s uden s’ discou se.
Educa ional implica ions
An educa ional implica ion ela ed o he i s esea ch objec i e e e s
o he p esence o scien i ic p ac ices a e p esen a a cu icula le el.
Al hough hey a e p esen , being he inqui y ha ecei es he mos a -
en ion in ou cu iculum, he ini ial and con inuous eache aining
plans analysed do no include ac i i ies ha allow hei de elopmen .
Gi en he impo ance o aining eache s in scien i ic p ac ices in o de
o achie e he e ec i e ans e o hese in he class oom, we sugges , in
line wi h he p oposal o No dine e al. (2021) a icula e eache aining
plans ha p io i ize he de elopmen o a small and obus body o ideas
h ough he enac men o scien i ic p ac ices. Ex ending his app oach o
he en i e educa ion sys em a he cu icula and aining le el equi es
he pa icipa ion o a ious educa ional agen s and ins i u ions and g ea -
e esea ch a his s age o educa ion.
Ano he educa ional implica ion ega ding he i s objec i e and
CT p ac ices deals wi h he ac ha he mos lea ning en i onmen s
o p omo e CT acco ding o educa o s in ol e p ocesses o a gumen-
a ion and deba es, which e eals he connec ion be ween he CT and
33
Summa y
he a gumen a ion. In his sense, we ag ee wi h Gi y and Paily (2020)
and Kuhn (2019) ha a gumen a ion mus be in eg a ed in o a science
lea ning en i onmen o p omo e CT. Since bo h encompass highe o de
hinking skills, hei eaching in ol es s uden s exe cising hem h ough
class oom p ac ice. In addi ion, ollowing he line o he p e ious impli-
ca ion, we belie e ha an ac i e, wi h a speci ic pu pose ini ial and con-
inuous eache aining, ha a ge s CT is o i al impo ance o ac i a e
hei de elopmen by ea ly childhood s uden s. Finally, he e iew o he
in e en ions and he in e iews e ealed ha CT e alua ion should be
u he in es iga ed specially in he quali a i e e alua ion by means o
ins umen s/ ub ics ha allow i . One implica ion is he need o de elop
s udies ha allow he de elopmen o use ul ools o eache s ha can
be in eg a ed in o o mal planning.
An educa ional implica ion ela ed o he second esea ch objec i e
de i es om he indings ha ce ain ypes o ques ions p omo e ce -
ain skills among child en, which makes i easie o design ac i i ies and
ca y ou s a egies by eache s. Thus, ques ions such as “wha do you
hink will happen?” o “how will i all?” p omo e he abili y o o mula e
hypo heses. When he eache asked, “Wha do you hink happened?”,
a e engaging on he expe imen , his ques ion se ed he s uden s as
a p omp o analyse and in e p e he da a. Howe e , i should be no ed
ha no all eache s ha e su icien didac ic knowledge abou e ec i e
ways o p omo e CT and scien i ic p ac ices. Sus ained eache aining
o e ime - in addi ion o expe ience - would play a c ucial ole in no
only adop ing his ole, bu also adap ing i o he ac i i y as s uden s
demand i .
I is also wo h no ing he jus i ica ion o answe s, he mos common
skill, which is linked o a gumen a ion. This could sugges ha ea ly
childhood s uden s a e able o begin o jus i y he answe s suppo ed by
he use o e idence, so adap a ions o he CER model (K ajick & McNeill,
2015) in which he connec ion be ween hese cen al elemen s o he
a gumen a e made explici could be o g ea help a an ea ly age. In
pa icula , when s uden s a e no used o p o iding jus i ica ions and
eache s’ guidance h ough ques ioning i is no enough.
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
34
Rela ed o he hi d esea ch objec an educa ional implica ion is e-
la ed o he complexi y o he CT p ac ice, which p omp s s uden s o
pe o m disposi ions o a lesse ex en han skills. One o hese skills is
he explana ion, linked o he jus i ica ion o answe s and, he e o e, o
he scien i ic p ac ice o a gumen a ion. This e eals a gap wi h he cu -
iculum, whe e his skill did no appea collec ed and wi h he li e a u e
whe e no esea ch is known o add ess hese aspec s in ea ly childhood
educa ion. Fu he mo e, he e alua ion skill was no p omo ed by he
eache o pe o med by he s uden s. We belie e ha since child en
a e consume s o in o ma ion om an ea ly age, hey should begin o
de elop his skill, linking i o he p ac ice o a gumen a ion and wi hin
he limi s o hei expe ience, as Delamain and Sp ing (2021) ha e shown
in hei s udy wi h s uden s o his s age.
Las , he analysis o he eache ’s and s uden s’ discou se showed ha
he design and con ex o he ask mus be aken in o accoun when
p omo ing CT skills and disposi ions, since hei de elopmen depends
la gely on hem. An inqui y-based and physics- ela ed ac i i y has i s
own cha ac e is ics and, as a esul , s uden s de elop ce ain skills and
disposi ions ha would su ely a y i he ask we e di e en . Tha is, CT
de elopmen is dependen on he con ex in which s uden s a e in ol ed
(G eene & Yu, 2016). This is o g ea impo ance because he uni and,
he e o e, he ac i i ies and concep s ha a e in ended o child en o
lea n, a e no “simple” ac i i ies, bu hei design ocus a ound phenom-
ena, and may ha e in eg a ed di e en scien i ic ideas using hem as
a cen al mo i a ing and guiding elemen . Lowell and McNeill (2019)
indica e ha his ype o design can help o encou age CT in elemen a y
s uden s and he ole o eache s in his con ex is o ask ques ions abou
he phenomenon o guide s uden s owa ds he d aw o conclusions.
THEORETICAL GROUNDING

37
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Jus i ica ion o he esea ch
This doc o al hesis ocuses on analysing scien i ic p ac ices as well as
c i ical hinking ( om now on CT, in Galician PC) pe o med by ea ly
yea educa ion s uden s when lea ning science in he con ex o an in-
qui y-based ask. To add ess his main goal, i is necessa y o ca y ou
a s udy ha en ails h ee le els o analysis, since CT is a no ion ha has
no been p e iously explo ed in ea ly childhood educa ion, as a as he
li e a u e shows, om an empi ical pe spec i e. Thus, explo ing how
his no ion is con empla ed in he cu iculum and by eache s’ educa-
o s a his educa ional le el was necessa y o add ess his gene al aim.
The hesis encompasses he analysis o : 1) CT and scien i ic p ac ices in
he cu iculum and eache s’ aining p og ams in ou con ex as well
as p e-se ice eache ’s educa o s iews on CT no ion and how o p o-
mo e i ; 2) he ole o an ea ly childhood eache , pa icula ly he use o
ques ioning as a eaching s a egy and how his s a egy can enhance he
inqui y and a gumen a ion p ac ices by s uden s can and 3) he enac -
men o CT by a g oup o ea ly childhood s uden s in an inqui y-based
ac i i y guided by a eache wi h p e ious expe ience in inqui y-based
eaching and CT de elopmen h ough scien i ic p ac ices.
In e na ional e o m documen s ha e called o an emphasis on s u-
den s’ engagemen in co e scien i ic p ac ices, such as scien i ic inqui y
and a gumen a ion, om an ea ly age (Na ional Academies o Sciences,
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
38
Enginee ing, and Medicine, NASEM, 2018). A key componen o science
lea ning is o engage s uden s in scien i ic p ac ices. Resea ch shows ha
in ol ing lea ne s in scien i ic p ac ices leads o a mo e sophis ica ed
unde s anding o key ideas and scien i ic models and o he na u e o
science (Leh e & Schauble, 2015). Fo he pu pose o his s udy, we d aw
om Reise , Be land and Kenyon’s (2012) iew o scien i ic p ac ices ha
no only in ol es building he knowledge and unde s anding he eason
o i , bu also he social in e ac ions ha accompany his p ocess. We de-
ine he ope a ional de ini ions o inqui y om Eshach and F ied (2005)
consis ing o obse ing, asking ques ions, hypo hesizing, ep esen ing
da a ( ables, diag ams, e c.), in e p e ing da a and o mula ing models.
Modelling ope a ional de ini ions in ol es s uden s’ pa icipa ions on
he de elopmen , use and assessmen o models (Schwa z e al., 2009)
and, ega ding he scien i ic p ac ice o a gumen a ion, we concu wi h
Be land and Reise (2011) ha i implies lea ne s’ engagemen in a dia-
logic p ocess in which hey socially cons uc , c i ique and e ise claims
abou he na u al wo ld.
In he ecen yea s, scien i ic p ac ices ha e gained mo e p esence in
in e na ional and na ional cu icula documen s and he e is a la ge pa
o he scien i ic communi y ha accep s he me apho o child en as li le
scien is s (Lega e, 2012). Fu he mo e, hese p ac ices ha e a la ge body
o esea ch; howe e , ew s udies ocus on ea ly childhood educa ion and
he majo i y a e qui e desc ip i e. Cu en ly, s udies a e being ca ied ou
abou why ea ly childhood and p ima y educa ion ail o mee his new
app oach and au ho s as Ea ly e al., (2010), Pell and Ja is (2003) and
Kalle y and Psillos (2002) poin ou se e al ac o s ela ed o in-se ice
eache s such as lack o ma e ials, low sel -con idence, o lack o con en
knowledge o engage s uden s in science p ac ices. As he indings o his
hesis will show, hese di icul ies become mo e p ominen in ou con ex
since, on he one hand, p e-se ice eache s ha e sca ce science- ela ed
subjec s du ing he deg ee and, on he o he hand, ea ly childhood each-
e s ha e ew choices o con inuous aining abou science educa ion hese
op ions do no con ain any subjec -ma e knowledge.
The e is an ag eemen ha CT can be de eloped h ough he enac -
men o scien i ic p ac ices, none heless, esea ch had ocused mo e on
39
In oduc ion
he la e . C i ical hinking esea ch has been mos ly add essed om
a heo e ical s andpoin and ca ied ou in highe educa ional le els
(Da ies & Ba ne , 2015). In addi ion, he no ion o wha CT en ails o
he eache s emains unclea , as each holds hei own de ini ion wi h a
endency o a ou he skills (Ba giela e al., 2021). This leads o a si -
ua ion in which he e is no an ag eemen be ween esea che s as well
as educa o s o which eaching s a egy would p omo e g ea e CT ou -
comes (Ti uneh e al., 2014). In a simila line, au ho s such as Smi h and
Holmes (2020) and Willingham (2007) ha e ag eed ha CT is be e
augh in he con ex o ich subjec ma e knowledge, none heless, he e
is no much in es iga ion abou which con ex s a e mo e a ou able o
p omo e i . Fu he mo e, Ti uneh (2016) a i med he s uden s’ le el
o knowledge on he ac i i y hey a e engaged in would in luence he
de elopmen o CT skills and disposi ions. The e o e, we a i m ha in
his hesis he con ex o an inqui y-based ac i i y shapes he esea ch as
well as child en’s skill and disposi ions de elopmen .
We a gue ha lea ning bo h, scien i ic p ac ices, and CT om a young
age h ough science lea ning is impo an as i suppo s child en’s de-
elopmen in science and o he de elopmen al domains. The idea ha
child en a e inna e scien is s wi h a wide cu iosi y is accep ed by mos
o he eache s and esea che s, s a ing ha his cu iosi y is no only
sa is ied when hey engage in science lea ning, bu also i helps hem o
make sense o he wo ld hey li e in (Eshach & F ied, 2005; G een ield,
2009, 2017; Ka z, 2010). In addi ion, we belie e child en de elop a pos-
i i e a i ude owa ds science (Gomes & Flee , 2020; Man zicopoulos
e al. 2013), gains on he p ac ices needed o doing science (Fusa o
& Smi h, 2018; Sama apunga an e al., 2015) and on speci ic scien i ic
concep s (Hadzigeo giou, 2015; Sackes, 2015). Science eaching in ea ly
yea s should be augh ocusing on con en knowledge ele an o chil-
d en’s wo ld (Adams, 2012), which hey can expe ience and ca y ou
in es iga ions on. The e o e, we concu wi h La imo e (2020) ha iden-
i ying a ange o app op ia e con en , os e ing child en’s sensemaking
while building a b oade cogni i e and non-cogni i e ounda ion o
hem o connec wi h on he u u e would be app op ia e. In his hesis,
he in-se ice eache add esses di e en physical phenomena o answe
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
46
wi h an emphasis on inqui y and a gumen a ion; (b) c i ical hinking in
science educa ion; and (c) eache s’ guidance in inqui y-based eaching.
In he hi d, Me hods, i is desc ibed he ype o in es iga ion ha was
ca ied ou , meaning, a quali a i e embedded single-case s udy design.
A e wa ds, he con ex , pa icipan s, da a collec ion and da a analysis
p ocess a e add essed o each uni o analysis o answe he esea ch
ques ions.
The ollowing chap e , om ou h o se en h, co esponds o he
indings.
In he ou h, In eg a ion o he scien i ic p ac ices on he ea ly childhood
cu iculum and he eache aining plans, includes he indings a e ap-
plying con en analysis o he ea ly childhood cu iculum o ou p o ince
(Xun a de Galicia, 2009) as well as eache aining ini ial and con inuous
plans o know i and how scien i ic p ac ices a e p esen ed on hem.
In he i h, C i ical hinking: om he li e a u e o he class ooms, a sys-
ema ic li e a u e e iew was ca ied ou o cha ac e ise CT educa ional
s udies in highe educa ion. Fu he mo e, i e p e-se ice eache s’ edu-
ca o s we e in e iewed o know hei CT no ion as well as he lea ning
en i onmen hey implemen on hei own class ooms o p omo e i .
In he six h, Inqui y-based eaching: eache ole in child en’s engage-
men in inqui y and a gumen a ion p ac ices, he ques ions posed by he
eache we e analysed o conside also how hey in luenced o he chil-
d en’s enac men o inqui y and a gumen a ion skills.
In he se en h, C i ical hinking pe o mance in a science ac i i y, he
ques ions posed by he eache we e analysed o explo e how hey in lu-
enced on child en’s pe o mance on CT skills and disposi ions.
Finally, in he eigh h, Conclusions, educa ional implica ions and inal
conside a ions, he conclusions ha de i e om his s udy a e indica ed
and discussed along wi h he educa ional implica ions, bo h o esea ch
and o educa ional p ac ice. The las sec ion o he hesis has been in-
ended o commen on he limi a ions o he s udy and he u u e lines
o esea ch ha eme ge om he p esen s udy.

47
2. THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
The heo e ical amewo k o his hesis can be si ua ed wi hin he s udies
in science educa ion ha ocus on lea ning and eaching science and CT
h ough scien i ic p ac ices in ea ly yea s. Aligned wi h his app oach,
CT is conside ed a si ua ed p ac ice ha in ol es a se o skills and dis-
posi ions enac ed h ough dialogue in he science class ooms. Scien i ic
p ac ices and CT a e conside ed in e ela ed ac i i ies ha can be ac
-
i a ed by he eache h ough ques ioning. This sec ion add esses he
mos ele an heo e ical unde pinnings ha a e used in his esea ch.
2.1. Scien i ic p ac ices in ea ly yea s
Repo s om he O ganisa ion o Economic Coope a ion and
De elopmen (OECD) disclosed ha engaging in science since ea ly
yea s has a o dances in la e s uden s’ achie emen (OECD, 2012, 2017).
This b ings ligh o he impo ance o p omo ing science in ea ly child-
hood educa ion. In line wi h his si ua ion is he g owing conce n in
science ins uc ion abou how o p omo e i in conjunc ion wi h scien i ic
p ac ices. Di e se Eu opean p ojec s (e.g., S-TEAM; KidsINNScience)
ha e ocused on gene a ing esou ces and eaching ma e ials o wo k on
scien i ic p ac ices and analyse eaching s a egies o hei e ec i e im-
plemen a ion. F om hese p ojec s, and om ecen esea ch on eache
aining, hey de i e e lec ions abou he need o pay g ea e a en ion
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
48
o he pe o mance and ans e o scien i ic p ac ices om an ea ly age
(K ajcik & McNeill, 2015).
Lea ning science implies pa icipa ing in scien i ic p ac ices, which
au ho s such as Kelly (2008, p. 99) de ine as “ he speci ic ways in which
membe s o a communi y p opose, jus i y, e alua e and legi imize knowl
-
edge s a emen s in a disciplina y amewo k.” Reise , Be land and Kenyon
(2012) poin ou ha hese p ac ices imply he cons uc ion o scien i ic
knowledge and he unde s anding o why i is cons uc ed, examined,
e alua ed, and imp o ed in a ce ain way. The no ion o p ac ice, acco d-
ing o he Na ional Resea ch Council (NRC, 2012), emphasizes he need
o use no only skills, bu also speci ic knowledge o each p ac ice. This
iew seeks o p omo e he pa icipa ion o s uden s in scien i ic p ac ices,
abandoning he idea o a me e acquisi ion o heo e ical knowledge. In
his s udy we ocus on inqui y and a gumen a ion, wo o he h ee co e
p ac ices ha he e m scien i ic p ac ices encompass. The e is a need in
science educa ion o shi he ocus on class ooms om memo izing ac s
o engaging s uden s in an au hen ic scien i ic p ac ice in which hey use
he da a o shape e idence o he suppo o scien i ic claims (Chen e
al., 2017; Sampson e al., 2011).
The e is a consensus in he scien i ic communi y ha science lea ning
should be p omo ed by s uden s pa icipa ing in scien i ic p ac ices om
an ea ly age (e.g., Eshach & F ied, 2005; T undle, 2015). Au ho s such
as La imo e (2020) and Da is e al. (2020) suppo a change in science
educa ion o a mo e comp ehensi e app oach ha allow s uden s o de-
elop an unde s anding on how knowledge is buil and acqui ed h ough
he sus ained pa icipa ion in scien i ic p ac ices and discou se. One o
he p oposals which has been p esen ed wi h he aim o achie ing his
objec i e, is he idea o si ua ing he use o knowledge in meaning ul con-
ex o child en. This helps hem o make sense o eal-wo ld phenom-
ena as hey use e idence o cons uc and c i ique mul iple explana ions
(McNeill, 2020) by engaging he child en in a p ocess skill and he science
-epis emic- p ac ice o unde s and wha , how, and why i occu s he phe-
nomena (Leh e & Schauble, 2015). Ne e heless, despi e he impo ance
o in oducing hese p ac ices and he exis ence o eaching esou ces
designed o p omo e hem, ansla ing i in o p ac ice emains o be a
49
Theo e ical amewo k
challenge o eache s a di e en le els (Kelly, 2008; Reise , Be land and
Kenyon, 2012, among o he s).
This hesis ocuses on examining scien i ic and CT p ac ices pe o med
by ea ly childhood educa ion s uden s when lea ning science in he con
-
ex o an inqui y-based ask abou g a i y and ai ic ion. Inqui y and
a gumen a ion ha e p esen ed di e se de ini ions in he li e a u e. In he
ollowing pa ag aphs we ame ou s udy in he no ions o inqui y and
a gumen a ion as sepa a ed p ac ices, none heless, we concu wi h Bell
e al. (2012) ha hey a e in e ela ed.
Inqui y has i s oo s a he beginning o he wen ie h cen u y in he
s udies o Piage (1929) and he insigh s o Dewey (1933), and Vygo sky
(1978), which pu he ocus on he impo ance o he child en’s cu iosi y,
imagina ion, and hei yea ning o in e ac du ing he lea ning p ocess.
None heless, i was no un il Joseph J. Schwab’s wo k (1962) ha inqui y
began o ake signi icance in science eaching in he Uni ed S a es o
Ame ica (Bybee, 2011). In Spain, a e o m on science educa ion was ca -
ied ou du ing ha ime, conside ing ha scien i ic knowledge should
be augh ca ying in es iga ions ha e lec he ways scien is s wo k
(C ujei as-Pé ez, 2015). In his sense, inqui y would be he model ha
science educa ion should ollow.
Yea s la e , in he in e na ional con ex , he e was a shi on he ocus o
p ocesses o science, emphasizing s uden s lea n speci ic p ocesses such
as obse ing, measu ing, o in e ing a he same ime hey acqui e con-
cep s (Bybee, 2011). Howe e , his a emp led o a ou he p ocesses,
hus, inqui y was in oduced as a eaching s a egy o s ess he impo -
ance o lea ning science by p ac icing skills. Since hen, inqui y-based
science has been in oduced in mos science educa ion plans (OECD,
2007; Ramna ain, 2018; Roca d e al., 2007; Zhang, 2016), which de i a e
in mul iple meanings.
In he 1990s, he Na ional Science Educa ion S anda ds de ined he
e m in he ollowing e ms:
Inqui y is a mul i ace ed ac i i y ha in ol es making obse a ions;
posing ques ions; examining books and o he sou ces o in o ma ion o
see wha is al eady known; planning in es iga ions; e iewing wha is
al eady known in ligh o expe imen al e idence; using ools o ga he ,
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
50
analyze, and in e p e da a; p oposing answe s, explana ions, and p e-
dic ions; and communica ing he esul s. Inqui y equi es iden i ica ion
o assump ions, use o c i ical and logical hinking, and conside a ion o
al e na i e explana ions. (NRC, 1996, p. 23)
The Na ional Science Educa ion S anda ds (NSES) we e published as
a new se o s anda ds o K-12 Science Inqui y (NRC, 2000) o p omo e
s uden s’ de elopmen o (a) necessa y abili ies o do inqui y and (b)
unde s anding scien i ic inqui y. In o he wo ds, s uden s should lea n
how scien is s do hei wo k and how scien i ic knowledge is de eloped,
c i iqued, and e en ually accep ed by he communi y. This p ocess, as
Lede man e al. (2019) poin ed ou , i is in i s essence inqui y.
The skills men ioned on he NRC’s (1996) de ini ion we e es ablished
as desi able o s uden s o de elop in he NRC (2012). I is in hese
s anda ds and in Nex Gene a ion Science S anda ds (NGSS, 2013) whe e
i is emphasized he “doing” o scien i ic inqui y, naming hem p ac ic-
es. This app oach based on scien i ic p ac ices is s a ing o make some
impac on di e en coun ies such as Canada (e.g., Öbe g & Campbell,
2019), Taiwan (e.g., Cheng e al., 2021), Mexico (Bahamonde & Gómez-
Galindo, 2016), he Ne he lands (e.g., P ins e al., 2018), and Spain (e.g.,
C ujei as-Pé ez & Jiménez-Aleixand e, 2019). In some coun ies such as
ou s, he e m scien i ic p ac ices i is no explici ly used on he cu icula.
None heless, in he o icial elemen a y educa ion cu iculum (Bole ín
O icial del Es ado [BOE], 2008) is possible o ind some o he inqui y
skills: “expe imen a ion wi h objec s and ma e ials will basically allow he
inqui y in o and knowledge o he elemen s o eali y om bo h a physical
and logico-ma hema ical pe spec i e, he wo being insepa able a his age”
(p. 1033).
Inqui y has been cha ac e ized in se e al ways, some imes o e sim-
pli ying i as hands-on ac i i ies. Fu he mo e, i s ea u es anged om
simple desc ip ions o s uden s ac i ely guiding hei own lea ning wi h
he eache ac ing as a acili a o , o mo e elabo a ed lis s o ac ions o he
eache , s uden s, and cu iculum (Cu an & Ki chin, 2019; González-
Rod íguez & C ujei as-Pé ez, 2016). The e m inqui y is o en used o
e e o he scien i ic me hodology, he lea ning p ocess, o he each-
ing s a egy (Minne e al., 2010). In his hesis, we ollow he inqui y
51
Theo e ical amewo k
de ini ion p oposed by Be ins and P ice (2016), who ega ded inqui y
as a ques ion-d i en, open-ended p ocess o suppo ing s uden s’ knowl-
edge and in es iga ing skills o ind, and in e nalize, new concep s and
solu ions o he ques ions ha ha e been o mula ed. This de ini ion,
inspi ed on Dewey’s oo s and Kelly’s (2014) wo k emphasize he dia-
lec ical p ocess ha eme ge in a si ua ion whe e s uden s y o each a
solu ion. In his way, mo e a en ion is on s uden s’ as ac i e lea ne s,
engaging cogni i ely o de elop e idence-based explana ions and no on
an o e simpli ied hands-on ac i i y (Hmelo e al., 2007). In addi ion, ou
iew concu s wi h E ago ou e al. (2020), s a ing ha o he skills such as
a gumen a ion migh be also de eloped when child en engaged in an in-
qui y-based lea ning ac i i y as bo h p ac ices o e lap in hei e i o ies
o engagemen . Bigge s (2018) si ua ed bo h eache s and lea ne s a he
co e o inqui y’s de ini ion, emphasising hei pa icipa o y ela ionship
and hei enac ed scien i ic p ac ice.
Lede man e al. (2014, 2019) elabo a ed a desc ip ion o inqui y as-
pec s K-12 s uden s should de elop an unde s anding abou . Table 1
p o ides a b ie o e iew o hem.
Table 1. Desc ip ion o inqui y aspec s K-12 s u-
den s should de elop in he class oom
Fea u e Desc ip ion
Class oom in es iga ions began wi h a ques-
ion bu migh no es any hypo hesis
The NRC (2000) s a ed ha o an in es iga-
ion o be ca ied ou a ques ion abou he
na u al wo ld should be posed.
No p e-de ined sequence o s eps is
ollowed in in es iga ions
To ge a be e unde s anding o scien is s’
wo k, a a ie y o me hodologies employed
should be employed in o de o answe he
ques ion a hand.
The inqui y p ocess is guided by he
ques ion asked
S uden s should unde s and he alignmen
be ween he ques ion and me hodologies o
answe i .
The same p ocedu es ca ied ou by
di e en people migh no ge he same
esul s
S uden s need o unde s and da a does no
s and by i sel ; he scien is who explo e he
same da a may come o di e en conclu-
sions.

Inés Mosque a Ba giela
52
Fea u e Desc ip ion
Scien i ic da a and e idence a e no he
same
Da a a e obse a ions ga he ed du ing he
in es iga ion, howe e , e idence, is he
p oduc o da a analysis and in e p e a ion in
ela ion o a speci ic ques ion.
Explana ions a e de eloped om he
da a collec ed and s uden s’ p e ious
knowledge
As in es iga ions a e guided by cu en
knowledge, i is in e es ing o unde s and
conclusions ake in o accoun he new se o
da a analysed as well as he al eady accep -
ed knowledge.
We acknowledge he impossibili y o compa e he scien i ic inqui y
o he school inqui y as he la e migh su e o some cons ain s such
as ime (G andy & Duschl, 2007). O he di icul ies when i comes o
be implemen ed on ea ly childhood educa ion classes migh be ela ed
o he amoun o ime spen on science lessons a his educa ional s age
(Pias a e al., 2014; Tu, 2006). The easons o his lack o ime could be
ind because o he emphasis on language, ma hema ics, and li e acy
ins uc ion in he ea ly yea s (F ench & Wood ing, 2012; G een ield e
al., 2009; Guo e al., 2016); eache s’ limi ed knowledge abou science
con en (Kalle y & Psillos, 2001; Tu, 2006) o sel -e icacy (Ge de e al.,
2018; Oppe mann e al., 2019).
Many s udies ha e add essed he acquisi ion o scien i ic knowledge o
skills (e.g., C uz-Guzmán e al., 2018; Valls-Bau is a e al., 2021) o he ex-
p essed pe cep ions o p e-se ice eache s (e.g., an Ka wijk e al., 2021).
Fu he mo e, inqui y has been esea ched a a high school le el h ough
he lens o di e se eaching app oaches and ac i i ies such as coope a i e
(e.g., C ujei as-Pé ez & Cambei o, 2018) o mobile lea ning (e.g., Liu
e al., 2020) as well as labo a o y ac i i ies (e.g., Wa dani e al., 2017;
Sesen & Ta han, 2013). Di e se s udies ha e add essed he examina ion
o child en’s inqui y skills when dealing wi h di e se scien i ic no ions
and physical phenomena as: wa e cycle (Hsin & Wu, 2011; Kambou i
& Michaelides, 2014), he changes o s a e o di e en subs ances and
compounds (C uz-Guzmán e al., 2017), me eo ological phenomena and
as onomical e en s (Bu sche , 2011) and he concep o shadow (Bayi ,
2019). These s udies epo ed on simila esul s: s uden s’ insigh s in o
he scien i ic no ions inc eased along wi h hei inqui y skills such as
53
Theo e ical amewo k
p edic ing, manipula ing ma e ials, collec ing, and in e p e ing da a as
well as d awing conclusions. Mon ei a and Jiménez-Aleixand e’s (2016)
s udy epo ed ha child en we e able o use obse a ion and e idence
in sophis ica ed ways as o e ise hei ini ial ideas, o decide be ween
al e na i e ideas o o p opose explana ions, when s udying he beha -
iou o snails. We ag ee wi h Can ó e al., (2016) ha he acquisi ion o
scien i ic skills (e.g., hypo heses o mula ion, ca ying ou expe imen s)
is o g ea impo ance a his educa ional s age and we belie e ha im-
plemen ing inqui y-based ac i i ies could p omo e child en’s inqui y
skills, as p e ious s udies ha e shown. None heless, a en ion o eache ’s
guidance and how inqui y ac i i ies a e implemen ed is necessa y o shed
some ligh s on how s uden s be e pe o m inqui y skills, which is wha
hesis aims o in es iga e.
A gumen a ion oo s can be ound in G eece unde he name o
he o ic. The philosophe , A is o eles, was ecognised as he a he o
he a gumen a ion heo y (Wal on, 1996). He de ined i as a mode o
logical easoning ha s a om a p emise. This easoning is p oduced
h ough he he o ic unde s ood as he a o “good alking”. Fo his
philosophe a good a gumen a ion consis s o con incing o some hing
ue and e i iable by logical p ocedu es, he e o e, emo ions do no ha e
oom on i (Plan in, 2005). T ying o ad ance beyond he adi ional ini-
ia e- espond-e alua e (IRE) p ac ices o he ea ly wen ie h cen u y, he
amewo k p oposed by he NCR (2012) made some ecommenda ions.
A gumen a ion is one o he scien i ic p ac ices necessa y o unde s and
how knowledge, i is buil , assessed, and communica ed, as scien is s
p o ide a gumen s o link e idence wi h he conclusions h ough jus i i-
ca ions (B own e al., 2010; McNeill & K ajcik, 2011). Two skills s uden s
need o de elop o he pa icipa ion in he cul u e o science a e con-
s uc ing explana ions and basing hei a gumen s on e idence. In he
Eu opean con ex , he OECD also includes a gumen a ion as one o he
compe encies, linking i wi h he analysis and e alua ion o “da a, claims
and a gumen s […] o d aw app op ia e scien i ic conclusions” (OECD,
2017, p. 15, 21-24). These app oaches emphasize analy ical and e lec i e
skills; hus, i is in e ela ed wi h CT (Hand e al., 2018).
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
54
Schola s di e widely on i s de ini ion ( an Eeme en e al., 2014;
Wagemans, 2019; Allchin & Zemplén, 2020). Fo ins ance, a gumen-
a ion can be cha ac e ized as a scien i ic p ac ice ha is used o “sol e
p oblems and ad ance knowledge” (Duschl & Osbo ne, 2002, p. 41). Fo
he pu pose o his s udy, we de ine i as a socio-dialogical p ocess ha in-
ol es an in e ac ion be ween child en cons uc ing claims and e idence
and he es ablishmen o a alid conclusion, explana ion o o he claims
abou he na u al wo ld (Be land & Reise , 2011; D i e e al., 2000). The
abili y o use scien i ic e idence o suppo claims is conside ed a co e
skill o pa icipa e in scien i ic a gumen a ion (Hende son e al., 2018)
and is a key p ac ice o iden i y he a gumen ’s weaknesses and s eng hs
in o de o look o he bes explana ion o a phenomena (NRC, 2012).
As C ujei as-Pé ez e al. (2020) s a ed, o achie e his goal, i is necessa y
o in oduce his p ac ice con inuously in he class oom.
Se e al esea che s ha e p oposed dialogic eaching s a egies o os e
a gumen a ion in he class oom. Osbo ne (2012) sugges s he c ea ion o
lea ning oppo uni ies ha a ou s s uden s’ social in e ac ions among
hemsel es and wi h hei eache . On a simila line, Duschl (2008) ec-
ommends he use o con e sa ions o deepen s uden s’ unde s anding o
he ela ionship be ween he e idence and explana ion, aking on a wide
ange o applica ions. Gilles and Buck’s (2020) wo k e ealed he need
o analyse s uden s’ a gumen a i e discou se p ac ice as i was demon-
s a ed ha a e highly dependen on hose o hei eache . Despi e all
hese bene i s, a gumen a ion ha e no been inco po a ed as a usual p ac-
ice in he class ooms. Some di icul ies eache s migh ace a e ela ed
wi h he c ea ion o an au hen ic inqui y en i onmen h ough ques-
ions and guidance (Hundal e al., 2014) as well as he e- aming o he
class oom o a mo e dialogic and s uden -cen ed in e ac ion (Be land
& Hamme , 2012). On a mo e pe sonal le el, eache s migh no eel
con iden enough ega ding he (a) unde s anding and applica ion o
a gumen a ion (B aund e al., 2013; Ch is olodou & Osbo ne, 2014) and
(b) how o ame an a gumen a i e ques ion (McNeill & Knigh , 2013).
S uden s, specially om uppe educa ional s ages, also ace challenges
such as a low le el o in e ac ing wi h e idence (Be land & Reise , 2009;
Hundal e al., 2014; Yun & Kim, 2014) o lack o CT skills as well as low
55
Theo e ical amewo k
concep ual unde s anding (Choi e al., 2015; He enkohl & Co nelius,
2013).
Resea ch indings sugges ha by inco po a ing a gumen a ion in
science eaching, child en migh de elop a s onge unde s anding o
con en knowledge and imp o e hei abili y o jus i y hei own claims
(McNeill, 2011). In a gumen a i e class ooms, ha is p ecisely wha s u-
den s do, hey en a i ely cons uc hei claims suppo ed by easonable
e idence ei he as indi iduals o as a g oup o p esen i la e on o hei
pee s o seek c i ique o come up wi h al e na i es. In his sense, he goal
o a gumen a ion is no only o in e ac h ough ideas bu also o each
an ag eemen whe e eache s and s uden s wo k oge he as a communi y
o imp o e hei a gumen s h ough cogni i e con lic (Fo d & Wa go,
2012; Wallon, 1998).
The e is a big body o esea ch on a gumen a ion science educa ion.
Mos s udies ocus on he analysis o s uden s’ a gumen s, pa icula ly
he quali y o s uden s’ o al o w i en a gumen a ion (e.g.,Agei os &
Puig, 2021; E ago ou & Osbo ne, 2013). E ago ou and Osbo ne (2013)
aimed o iden i y how middle schoole s co-cons uc w i en a gumen s
when wo king in pai s when p esen ed wi h an ins uc ional app oach
wi hin an SSI. Chin and Osbo ne (2010) in es iga ed he w i en and o al
s uden s’ ques ions as a p obe o ini ia ing collabo a i e a gumen a ion.
Coope and Oli e -Hoyo (2016) in es iga ed he use o w i en and o al
a gumen s cons uc ion as a echnique o os e highe educa ion s u-
den s’ unde s anding o nonco alen in e ac ions based on McNeill e
al.’s (2006) and Sando al’s (2003) amewo k.
Resea ch on a gumen a ion in science educa ion is ela i ely ecen ,
ocusing hese ea ly s udies on explo ing whe he a gumen a ion ook
place on he class oom (Jiménez-Aleixand e & E du an, 2015). O en,
indings poin ed ou child en we e no able o o mula e sound a gu-
men s. In he las decade, sca ce s udies on a gumen a ion skills we e
ca ied ou in ea ly yea s (e.g., Kul i & P amling, 2020), usually ocusing
on child en’s easoning skills (Me cie , 2011) o in a gumen s posed by
child en in a ma hema ical ac i i y (B ei e, 2017) o con ex s o play
(Migdalek e al., 2015).
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
62
didac ic s a egies. To es Me chán and Solbes (2016) o San ika e al.’s
(2018) wo k showed he posi i e impac o didac ic in e en ions using
socio-scien i ic issues wi h uni e si y s uden s. Yulia i e al. (2018) o-
cused on he use o au hen ic p oblems o daily li e in highe educa ion
s uden s. A common cha ac e is ic o hese s udies is ha hey ocus on
s uden s’ CT de elopmen , lea ing aside he igu e o he eache and
his/he impac on his p ocess. The in es iga ion o Ten ei o-Viei a and
Viei a (2006) add ess he aining o eache s in CT and he impac o
he eaching in e en ion on he s uden s’ CT pe o mance. The au ho s
de eloped a aining p ojec in which hey in ol ed elemen a y science
eache s o p omo e he de elopmen o CT skills on he s uden s. In a
simila ein, Viei a and Ten ei o-Viei a (2014), h ough an ac ion e-
sea ch me hodology, implemen ed a model (Viei a e al., 2010) o he
o mula ion o ques ions which is based on he in e ela ion o compo-
nen s such as scien i ic knowledge, skills, disposi ions, as well as c i e ia
such as igo , p ecision o alidi y. This model showed a posi i e impac
on CT skills de elopmen and scien i ic li e acy in p ima y school s u-
den s. On a simila enue, Semila ski e al. (2019) as well as E en and
Akinoglu (2013) examined he e ec o a p oblem based (PBL) app oach
in e en ion; Fi iani e al. (2020) a combina ion o PBL wi h he p e-
dic -obse e-explain (POE) model; and Hasnunidah e al. (2020) im-
plemen ed an a gumen -d i en inqui y (ADI) lea ning model. Ruiz e
al. (2013) ecommended he use o discussions, and Sinaga and Fe anie
(2017) epo ed a de elopmen on skills h ough he use o w i ing asks.
These wo ks p o ide da a o g ea in e es in he ma e ; howe e , a gu-
men a ion does no cons i u e a dimension o be analysed. In addi ion,
eache s’ need o de elop CT in he class oom we e iden i ied in he
li e a u e. The needs ound a e: (a) speci ic eache aining on how o
e ec i ely p omo e and implemen CT in he class oom (Dominguez,
2018; Pe ek & Bedi , 2018), and (b) a amewo k o i s eaching, since i is
unde s ood ha his would help eache s os e i (Fahim & Eslamdoos ,
2014). This hesis aims o con ibu e by analysing he educa o s’ concep-
ualiza ion o CT and he lea ning en i onmen s hey decla e o p omo e
i . Fu he mo e, we aim o show he ole o a kinde ga en eache wi h

63
Theo e ical amewo k
a long adi ion on eaching science h ough scien i ic p ac ices, help
s uden s o de elop CT.
The e a e se e al in es iga ions ocused on he eaching o CT, how-
e e , he e a e no conclusi e esul s on wha he bes condi ions o an
ins uc ion a e o be success ul in e ms o i s de elopmen (Ti uneh
e al., 2014). Ennis (1989) ied o p o ide a amewo k o esea che s
and educa o s by p esen ing ou ins uc ional app oaches. The gene al
app oach occu s when skills and disposi ions a e augh sepa a ely om
con en knowledge, while in he in usion app oach ins uc ion occu s
wi hin he subjec combined wi h explici eaching o gene al p inciples.
The imme sion app oach in eg a es he CT in o he subjec ins uc ion,
bu wi h he assump ion ha s uden s will acqui e he skills once hey
engage in subjec ins uc ion. Finally, he mixed app oach, p oposed by
S e nbe g (1986), consis s o a combina ion o he gene al app oach wi h
he in usion o imme sion app oach. Ab ami e al. (2008) in es iga ed
he e ec s o di e en CT ins uc ion me hods using he app oaches
p oposed by Ennis (1989) and, in a la e wo k, Ab ami e al. (2015), p o-
ided a mo e de ailed app oach by de eloping a se o ou ins uc ional
s a egies, which a e desc ibed in Table 4.
Table 4. Desc ip ion o c i ical hinking in e en ion
Ca ego y Desc ip ion
Indi idual S udy
This includes ins uc ional echniques and lea ning ac i i ies ha
a e based on s uden s’ indi idual wo k. Among he ac i i ies a e
eading, ac i e lis ening, e lec ing, and sol ing p oblems on he
lea ne s’ own.
Dialogue
This ins uc ional in e en ion has i s oo s in he Soc a ic me h-
od, hence why he didac ic s a egy used o in eg a e he dialogue
is he discussion. This discussion can adop mul iple o ms, such
as whole-class deba es, wi hin-g oups discussions and/o online
discussion o ums.
Au hen ic ins uc ion
In his ca ego y, s uden s a e p esen ed wi h au hen ic p oblems
ha may o may no be ela ed o daily-li e issues ha engage
hem and s imula e hem o inqui y. Simula ions, ole-playing and
dilemmas a e included as possible me hods.
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
64
Ca ego y Desc ip ion
Men o ing
Men o ing is one-on-one in e ac ion be ween someone wi h mo e
expe ise and someone wi h less expe ise. Tu o ing, coaching,
app en iceship, o modelling a e examples o men o ing.
Sou ce: Adap ed om Ab ami e al. (2015)
The s udy by Ab ami e al. (2015) e ealed ha he mos e ec i e ype
o in e en ion o p omo e CT skills was a combina ion o au hen ic in-
s uc ion, dialogue, and men o ing. Likewise, hese au ho s, in a p e ious
s udy (Ab ami e al., 2008), a i med ha aining ac ions ocused spe-
ci ically on he eaching o CT helped eache s o achie e mo e e ec i e
pedagogical esul s. In a simila line, Ennis (2016) p oposes wo basic
eaching me hods o p omo e i : discussion-based eaching (LDT) and
p oblem-based lea ning (PBL). LDT consis s o a alk -usually accompa-
nied by a eading om a ex book- ollowed by a discussion. None heless,
he PBL me hod equi es add essing an issue ha gene ally equi es e-
sea ching, de eloping, es ing and discussing hypo heses o solu ions
and possible al e na i es.
This hesis engages s uden s in he p ac ice o CT du ing an in-
qui y-based ac i i y ha aims o p omo e a gumen a ion and inqui y
skills. D awing om Kuhn (2019) CT is conside ed as a dynamic ac i i y
ha can be de eloped h ough he p ac ice, howe e as Puig e al. (2021)
sugges , i s exe cise migh a y in complexi y depending on he opic and
he con ex . Fo ins ance, assessing he a gumen s p oduced by classma e
in pee nego ia ion may pose less di icul ies han assessing in o ma ion
p esen ed by he eache . Fu he mo e, CT is usually associa ed wi h he
o he scien i ic p ac ice add essed in his s udy, a gumen a ion, since
i la gely in ol es he e alua ion o s a emen s o knowledge h ough
he analysis o e idence (Gi i & Paily, 2020). One o he mos ecen
cha ac e iza ions o CT in science con ibu ed by Jiménez-Aleixand e
and Puig (in p ess) includes a se ies o componen s ela ed, on he one
hand, o easoned judgmen , and, on he o he hand, wi h he o ien a-
ion o ac ion. Al hough we ag ee wi h his ision, we unde s and ha ,
in he ea ly childhood educa ion s age, CT should be p omo ed om a
dialogic in e ac ion in con ex s ha p omo e cu iosi y, he o mula ion
65
Theo e ical amewo k
o ques ions and he sea ch o answe s h ough expe imen s, as well
as he cons uc ion o alid jus i ica ions e u ing al e na i es (Kuhn,
1993; Nussbaum & Sina a, 2003), as his is he case o he p esen s udy.
We concu wi h Gi i and Paily (2020) ha a gumen a ion should be in-
eg a ed in o he science lea ning en i onmen o p omo e CT. Since
bo h, CT and a gumen a ion, equi e highe o de hinking skills, hei
eaching in ol e s a egies o be p ac iced by s uden s (Mason, 1996).
None heless, ea ly childhood educa ion p esen s challenges since he
belie ha s uden s a his s age a e no capable o de eloping abs ac
hinking o o pose sound a gumen s, despi e he exis ence o s udies
ha con adic his idea wi h da a (Jiménez-Aleixand e & E du an, 2015;
Zembal-Saul, 2008).
The in eg a ion o CT in science ins uc ion a ea ly yea s can be
achie ed in di e se manne s. We belie e ha CT can be embedded in
inqui y-based lea ning as a dialogic p ac ice in a way ha help s uden s
o mobilize di e se CT skills as analyse, explana ion e alua ion, e c., all
along wi h di e se inqui y and a gumen a ion skills. Howe e , eache s
migh ace some di icul ies as he numbe o s uden s, he numbe o
hou s o eaching, he cu iculum and hei own aining and knowledge
on CT ins uc ion, among o he elemen s (Puig & Jiménez Aleixand e,
in p ess). Acco ding o Vincen -Lac in (2019), he conside a ion o CT
as a p ac ice ha equi es ime o de eloped and he acknowledgmen
ha CT can be augh om ea ly yea s o highe educa ion, migh mo i-
a e educa ional ins i u ions and eache s o dedica e mo e ime o hei
s uden s o cul i a e CT.
Resea ch on CT in science ins uc ion in ea ly yea s is sca ce. The
exis ing s udies, as a as we ha e been able o know, end o ocus on he
de elopmen o ce ain skills by he s uden s (Co al-Ve dugo e al., 1996;
Ha bi, 2016; León, 2015, among o he s). Co al-Ve dugo e al.’s (1996)
wo k in ol ed 64 5-yea -old child en in a ask ha equi es disce ning
be ween ac s and opinions abou he c isis caused by he gene a ion o
was e. Ha bi (2016) inco po a ed some o he p inciples o Edga Mo in’s
educa ional philosophy in a comic ha was used as eading ma e ial in a
discussion g oup o child en. The esul s sugges ed ha he use o com-
ics may be a sui able means o de eloping CT and in oducing complex
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
66
and abs ac concep s o child en. León (2015) iden i ied he di e en
aspec s o CT in i e kinde ga en class ooms and he s a egies used by
eache s in he de elopmen o his ype o hinking in child en. The da a
e ealed ha he s uden s de eloped CT skills by p omo ing cu iosi y,
ques ioning, discussion and e lec ion du ing class ime. O he s udies
such as ha o Kuhn (1999) p oposed a model o he de elopmen o
CT add essing me acogni ion and epis emic knowledge. Finally, o he e-
sea ch ocuses on examining he impac o p og ams such as Philosophy
o Child en (P4C), whe e CT plays a cen al ole. Daniel e al. (2017)
implemen ed P4C-based ac i i ies in 28 class ooms aged 5 o 12 in ou
di e en coun ies. The esul s showed ha hese ac i i ies p omo ed
he cogni i e de elopmen o he s uden s, in addi ion o p o iding in-
dica ions o he modes o hough and epis emological pe spec i es ha
a e in ol ed in he de elopmen o he dialogic CT. A common cha ac-
e is ic o hese s udies is ha hey ocus on he ole o he s uden , no
paying a en ion o he eache ’s ole and how i in luences he lea ning
p ocess. I is he s udy by Do igo (2016) he only one, as a as we know,
ha links a gumen a ion and CT, analysing how a gumen a ion begins
o ake shape in child en h ough dialogic mo emen s be ween eache s
and child en as well as be ween pee s. In his con ex , we ag ee wi h
E ago ou e al. (2020) ha a en ion o dialogue and a gumen a ion can
also be p omo ed h ough inqui y con ex s, since bo h p ac ices sha e
cha ac e is ics and o e lap in hei p ocedu es when implemen ing hem.
We concu wi h he pe spec i e o Do igo (2016) unde s anding ha o
de elop CT a an ea ly age i is necessa y o analyse he dialogic p ac ice
be ween eache s and s uden s.
2.3. Teache s’ guidance in inqui y-based eaching.
The ole o ques ioning in he ac i a ion o
c i ical hinking and scien i ic p ac ices
The e is a weal h body o esea ch abou eache s’ guidance in di e en
con ex s and app oaches such as inqui y-based eaching. None heless,
examining he li e a u e, i is no clea unde wha ci cums ances he
eache ac i a es mo e e ec i ely inqui y skills on child en. Ki schne
67
Theo e ical amewo k
e al. (2006) s a ed inqui y-based lea ning is less e ec i e han di ec
ins uc ion as he eache p o ides minimal supe iso , whe eas Chinn
(2007) conside ed i o be mo e e ec i e i su icien and app op ia e
sca olding is gi en. Fu ak e al. (2012) conclude om hei me a-anal-
ysis ha eache -led ac i i ies had a g ea e e ec on s uden s’ ou comes.
Lazonde and Ha msen (2016) in es iga ed he ole o guidance in in-
qui y-based con ex s. The indings e ealed posi i e e ec s o guidance
on lea ning ac i i ies, as well as s uden s’ pe o mance and lea ning
ou comes. Two conclusions can be d aw om he li e a u e: (a) i s ill
emains unclea which eaching s a egies migh ha e g ea e lea ning
ou comes; (b) in many s udies he e ms “guidance” and “sca olding” a e
used indi e en ly. I is ou belie e ha bo h no ions need some cla i i-
ca ion. Sca olding e e s o p o ide ailo ed suppo o s uden s’ needs,
implying a ading in he esponsibili y om he eache o he lea ne
(Fe nández-Mon ei a e al., 2020). Guidance s essed he deg ee o au-
onomy gi en o he s uden s, es ablishing ou le els o inqui y - e i i-
ca ion, s uc u ed, guided, and open- depending on i he eache allow
hem o come up wi h he esea ch ques ion, collec he da a as well as
in e p e he esul s by hemsel es. This wo k is si ua ed on a guided
inqui y gi en ha he eache p esen s a s uc u ed ac i i y ha , on he
one hand, allows he o gene a e he own inqui y cycle and, on he o he
hand, allows he s uden s o come up wi h hei own ideas and in e p e-
a ions du ing i s de elopmen .
To enac inqui y-based lea ning success ully, he ac ions o eache s
a e c ucial in d i ing he hinking p ocess ha , in u n, will b ing ou
meaning ul lea ning. Fo his, he ole o he eache needs o shi om
an in o ma ion accumula o o an “ac i e designe ” (Go mally e al.,
2009, p. 16). C aw o d (2000) iden i ied how di e en asks equi ed
he eache o assume di e en oles, some o hem wi h a high le el o
expe ise. Among oles can be ind mo i a o , diagnos ician, guide, in-
no a o , expe imen e , esea che , modelle , men o , collabo a o , lea n-
e . Howe e , he implemen a ion o he inqui y-based con ex does no
come wi hou challenges. Schwab (1958) iden i ied ou easons eache s
op ed o a mo e adi ional app oach: (a) i is ime-consuming, and con-
en would ha e o be le unco e ed; (b) p esen ing he s uden s wi h a

Inés Mosque a Ba giela
68
wide a ay o op ions could po en ially c ea e mo e doub s; (c) p essu e
om indus y o he acquisi ion o ce ain skills; (d) hey belie ed i
would be oo cos ly. Be ins and P ice (2016) and Cons an inou e al.
(2018) poin ou as cons ain s he con en -laden cu icula, inapp op ia e
assessmen p ocedu es o inqui y app oaches, lack o esou ces, lack o
knowledge abou he amoun o guidance, and he endency o op o
ecipe- ype ac i i ies due o a lack o con idence in hei skills o peda-
gogical con en knowledge.
In ecen yea s, schola s and educa o s ha e s a ed o name in-
qui y-based eaching (IBT) as a way o b ing key ea u es o au hen ic
scien i ic inqui y in o he science class oom, o e ing he s uden s expe-
iences o de elop he unde s anding o scien i ic concep s and connec
hem wi h e e yday li e (Cons an inou e al., 2018). Fo he pu pose o
his s udy IBT is ega ded as a mo i a ional app oach o lea ning sci-
ence as i ocuses on child en’s in e es s and p omp s ac i e lea ning
by enabling s uden s o conduc hei own in es iga ions (Vo holze &
on Au schnai e , 2019). This e m encompasses he eaching o speci ic
science p ocess skills ( eaching o inqui y) and he scien i ic concep s
o using inqui y p ocess skills ( eaching h ough inqui y). We concu
wi h Fu ak e al. (2012) in unde s anding IBT as pa o a con inuum o
guidance om less o mo e guidance. Despi e he impo ance o eache s’
guidance in inqui y-based eaching, e y ew s udies ha e ocused on
eache s a egies o p omo e inqui y skills in ea ly childhood educa ion.
Gi en his sca ci y o li e a u e in wha ollows, we p o ide an o e iew o
some s udies ca ied ou in he con ex o elemen a y educa ion, assum-
ing ha gi en he age p oximi y, speci ic insigh s would be s ill ele an
o his s udy.
Cu an and Ki chin (2019) and Zimme man (2007) ha e s a ed ha
child en a ea ly ages ha e well de eloped abili ies o engage in scien i ic
easoning when he ac i i y is adap ed o hem, and he eache p o-
ide app op ia e lea ning suppo o sca olding. Pa icula ly ele an
o he pu poses o his hesis is he s udy de eloped by Jenns and Mills
(2009), who ollowed a single coho o s uden s om kinde ga en o
i h g ade wi h he aim o in es iga e how eache s and child en co-con-
s uc ed a discou se o inqui y. The au ho s poin o he c i ical ole o
69
Theo e ical amewo k
he eache answe ing s uden s’ ques ions and commen s in ways ha
allowed hem o deepen hei inqui ies as collabo a i e lea ne s, a key as-
pec o ou s udy. Ano he s udy aligned wi h he ocus o ou esea ch,
he ela ionships be ween eache alk and child en’s p ac ices, ca ied
ou by S udhal e e al. (2021), poin s o he impo ance o language in
inqui y-based ins uc ion in ea ly science ins uc ion. The au ho s con-
cep ualized he ole o eache alk wi hin bo h a sca olding and guidance
amewo k, wha his s udy suppo s. Rega ding he ype o sca olding
p o ided by he eache s, He enkohl e al. (2011) illus a ed eache s’
pedagogical p ac ices a ound he eaching scien i ic inqui y h ough a
web-based sys em called Web o Inqui y (WOI). This websi e sca olded
s uden s as hey wo ked oge he de eloping hypo hesis, designing ex-
pe imen s, collec ing, and analysing da a abou physical, ea h, and li e
science con en . Resul s poin ed ou o ins uc ional explana ions, dia-
logues, sca olding, he used o WOI and pee -dialogue as key p ac ised.
In addi ion, eache s guided s uden s in de eloping mo e sophis ica ed
connec ions be ween heo y, o mula ing al e na i e hypo hesis, expe -
imen al design, and da a analysis.
A ele an s udy was de eloped by Eshach’s (2011), who p oposed a
ange o didac ic s a egies ha ea ly childhood educa ion eache s can
conside when implemen ing an inqui y-based app oach, such as using
simila i ies, epea ing child en’s answe s, oicing he beginning o e ms,
p o iding ges u e hin s, and ques ioning.
Ques ions play a undamen al ole in inqui y as i s a s wi h a ques ion
(He anen & Aksela, 2019) and a e conside ed he backbone o class oom
in es iga ions (Kawalka & Vijapu ka , 2013). Ques ioning ha e e en
been used o de ine inqui y as ‘ques ion-d i en lea ning’, since ques ions
d i e he lessons as s uden s ga he and in e p e da a o answe ha
ques ion, cons uc an explana ion, and communica e he esul s. Teache
ques ions should help s uden s o de elop di e en cogni i e unc ions in
a class oom discou se. In addi ion, ques ioning should help s uden s o
sol e expe imen al p oblems and sca old he knowledge acqui ed (Wells,
1993), s uc u ing discu si e and analy ic a i udes (C aw o d, 2000).
The ole o he eache in inc easing s uden alk (e.g., Günel e al., 2012;
Ma in & Hand, 2009), guiding he nego ia ions (Kawalka & Vijapu ka ,
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
70
2013), implemen ing a gumen a ion (Ma in & Hand, 2009) and imp o -
ing he easoning skills (Benus e al., 2010) esona es in hei pedagogi-
cal de elopmen (McNeill & Pimen el, 2010; Oli ei a, 2010; Pimen el &
McNeill, 2013). Teache ques ions play a c i ical impo ance in ini ia ing
a ious cogni i e unc ions (Aschne , 1961; Ca ne , 1963) ha eache s
need o be p o essional ques ione s (Gall, 1984). None heless, a se o
s udies has shown ha ques ioning is a skill ha is lacking in class ooms
in ea ly childhood (Asay & O gill, 2010), in a ou o collec ing da a
(Fo bes e al., 2013). Fu he mo e, eache s’ ques ioning empi ical s ud-
ies in ea ly childhood a e sca ce and emphasise child en’s concep ual
unde s anding (Eshach, 2011) and concep ual change (Smi h e al., 1993;
Yip, 1998) no s essing he impo ance o he eache ’s ole. I is also ou
unde s anding ha he ype o ques ions posed by he eache ancho he
in es iga ion he child en will be unde aking in a lesson, leading hem
o ga he and use da a o de elop explana ions o scien i ic phenomena.
These ques ions a e known as in es iga ion ques ions and a e some imes
e e ed in he li e a u e as ‘d i ing ques ions’ (K ajcik e al., 1998).
The ole o he eache in ea ly yea s a hese con ex s would be based
on p o iding guidance o s uden s and o mula ing ques ions ha s imu-
la e hei hinking (Eshach & F ied, 2005). As men ioned be o e, we con-
side ques ioning o be a powe ul ool ha helps educa o s lea n abou
s uden s’ ideas, o mula e hypo heses, elabo a e explana ions, e alua e
e idence, jus i y s a emen s, and help child en build scien i ic knowledge
(Chin & Osbo ne, 2008). These a e inqui y skills collec ed in educa ional
documen s (NGSS, 2013; NRC, 2012) and no ed in he li e a u e (Eshach
& F ied, 2005; Me z, 2008), since inqui y in ol es s uden s in esea ch
on na u al phenomena h ough expe imen al and concep ual explo a-
ions, as well as in collabo a i e discussions o communica e scien i ic
ideas o de elop a consensus on he opic unde discussion. The e o e,
explo ing wha he eache does, says, and hinks alongside child en’s
in e ac ions is c i ical o de e mining how hei pa icipa ion changes
o e ime, bu also o unde s anding s uden hinking and pa icipa ion
in scien i ic p ac ices (Flee & Robbins, 2003), as well as he s a egies
ha he eache uses o p omo e hese p ac ices and he de elopmen o
o he skills such as CT.
METHODS
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
78
Figu e 1. Uni s o analysis in he embedded single-case s udy
A main s eng h o he case s udy esea ch lies wi hin he possibili y
o expe ience eal-li e si ua ions di ec ly in ela ion wi h he phenomena
as hey un old in p ac ice, p o iding a de ailed desc ip ion (Fly bje g,
2006). In addi ion, he abili y o iangula e da a by using a mix u e o
me hods is seen as an ad an age (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004) and
can also add o he c edibili y o a s udy (Robson, 2011). None heless,
some limi a ions o he me hodology need o be add essed. Cohen e al.
(2007) and Yin (2009) ha e ques ioned ha case designs lack igou and
indings canno be gene alised. S ake (1976) ha e a gued ha he e a e
wo kinds o gene aliza ions, one ela ed o a a ionalis ic app oach and
o he mo e in ui i e, empi ical, based on pe sonal di ec and ica ious
expe ience. The au ho asse s ha case s udies may no add much o
he o me bu o he la e a e conside ed a powe ul means o build-
ing hem. We concu wi h his pe spec i e as well as Guen e and Falk’s
(2019) iewpoin , who concluded ha he knowledge de i ed om small
quali a i e in es iga ions is as alid and use ul as he o he s since he

79
Me hodology
c ea ion o new knowledge is an i e a i e p ocess, in which claims o u h
a e dispu ed and con i med based on e idence and heo ies.
3.2. Resea ch con ex : con ex s, pa icipan s,
da a collec ion and analysis
In his sec ion we p esen he con ex , pa icipan s, da a collec ion and
analysis p ocess ega ding each uni o analysis. Below, in able 5 we
p esen a ela ionship o he uni s o analysis and each esea ch objec i e
and esea ch ques ion.
Table 5. Resea ch objec i e, ques ions, objec o analysis and i s uni o analysis
Resea ch objec-
i e Resea ch ques ion Objec o analysis Uni o
analysis
O1. To cha ac e -
ize he s a e o
a o scien i ic
p ac ices and
c i ical hinking
RQ1) How a e scien i ic p ac ices
in eg a ed in o he ea ly childhood
educa ion cu iculum?
RQ2) How a e hese p ac ices
p esen ed on ini ial and con inuous
aining plans o p e-se ice and
in-se ice ea ly childhood eache s?
Ea ly childhood ed-
uca ion cu iculum;
p e-se ice eache
aining and in-se ice
eache o ma i e
plans.
1 and 2
RQ3) How c i ical hinking in e -
en ions s udies in highe educa ion
a e cha ac e ised?
Cha ac e iza ion o
c i ical hinking in e -
en ion s udies on he
li e a u e
3
RQ4) Wha no ion o c i ical
hinking do p e-se ice eache
educa o s ha e?
RQ5) Wha ype o lea ning en i-
onmen s do p e-se ice eache
educa o s decla e o implemen in
hei ins uc ion o p omo e c i ical
hinking?
Iden i ica ion o CT
no ion and lea ning
en i onmen s decla ed
by p e-se ice eache ’s
educa o s
4
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
80
Resea ch objec-
i e Resea ch ques ion Objec o analysis Uni o
analysis
O2. To iden i y
didac ic s a e-
gies, pa icula ly
eache ’s ques-
ions ha a ou
he pa icipa ion
o ea ly childhood
s uden s in sci-
en i ic p ac ices
h ough he anal-
ysis o each-
e -s uden s’ in-
e ac ions
RQ6) Wha is he na u e o a each-
e ’s guidance in an inqui y-based
lea ning ac i i y? Speci ically,
wha kinds o d i ing ques ions do
eache s use o engage child en in
inqui y?
RQ7) How does eache s’ d i ing
ques ions a ec s uden s’ enac -
men o inqui y-based skills?
Teache ’s ques ions
and hei in luence on
s uden s’ engagemen
on inqui y and a gumen-
a ion skills
5
O3. To iden i y
c i ical hinking
skills and disposi-
ions in s uden s’
discou se in a
science con ex
RQ8) How a e he ques ions posed
by he eache ha ac i a e ce ain
c i ical hinking skills and disposi-
ions by ea ly childhood s uden s?
RQ9) Wha is he ela ionship be-
ween he eache ’s ques ions and
he p ac ice o c i ical hinking by
he s uden s?
Teache ’s ques ions and
hei in luence on s u-
den s’ c i ical hinking
skills and disposi ions
6
3.2.1. Uni o analysis 1: Ea ly childhood cu iculum
The i s uni o he analysis e e s o he ea ly childhood educa ion cu -
iculum o Galicia (Xun a de Galicia, 2009) in o de o cha ac e ize he
s a e o a o scien i ic p ac ices and c i ical hinking and speci ically, o
answe he i s esea ch ques ion:
RQ1) How a e scien i ic p ac ices in eg a ed in o he ea ly childhood
educa ion cu iculum?
The Spanish cu iculum se he basic compe ences, con en s, and
dimensions ha all child en should de elop, and he p o inces ha e
au onomy o add o modi y some aspec s. In he case o Galicia, bo h
documen s a e e y simila ha ing he same con en a eas, among o he
dimensions. The analysed cu iculum was downloaded om he o icial
websi e o Xun a de Galicia, he local go e nmen , o be mo e speci ic,
om he educa ion depa men . The esea ch amilia ized he sel wi h
81
Me hodology
he o icial documen h ough di e en cycles o eading. A e ha , a
sea ch on he li e a u e abou he scien i ic p ac ices o inqui y, model-
ling, and a gumen a ion was conduc ed o iden i y he desc ip o s o said
p ac ices. A se o desc ip o s we e iden i ied in he NRC (2012) docu-
men as well as on Gilbe and Jus i (2016) and E du an and Jiménez-
Aleixand e (2007) s udies.
A con en analysis was ca ied ou , unde s anding his analysis s a -
egy as a p ocess o iden i ica ion, codi ica ion, and ca ego iza ion o he
p ima y pa e ns on he da a (Pa on, 2002). We analysed he con en o
he cu iculum o ou p o ince (Xun a de Galicia, 2009), ocusing on he
inqui y, modelling and a gumen a ion p ac ices p esen in he p esc ip-
i e elemen s. A ub ic was buil based on he desc ip o s iden i ied in
he li e a u e and in in e ac ion wi h he da a ( able 6). The analysis was
ca ied ou by wo o he au ho s and con as ed by a hi d.
Table 6. Inqui y, modelling, and a gumen a ion ope a ions
Scien i ic p ac ices Ope a ions
Inqui y
Obse e
Ask ques ions
Fo mula e hypo heses
Design expe imen s
Expe imen - Manipula e
In es iga e
Explo e
Collec da a
In e p e in o ma ion
Modelling
Explain (na u al) phenomena
Rep esen en i ies o phenomena h ough d awings, models, e c.
Use o models
A gumen a ion
Use and iden i y e idence
Jus i y answe s
D aw conclusions
In he analysis o he cu iculum, he scien i ic p ac ices and ope -
a ions ha we e pa o hese we e iden i ied in he i s place in he
p esc ip i e elemen s (objec i es, con en s, and e alua ion c i e ia). This
was done o each o he h ee con en a eas o he cu iculum, which
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
82
a e: 1) sel -knowledge and pe sonal au onomy, 2) knowledge o he en i-
onmen , and 3) languages: communica ion and ep esen a ion. The i s
wo a eas we e subdi ided in o ou blocks, and he las one in o h ee.
The second a ea is linked o all hose aspec s ela ed o science, namely:
i) physical en i onmen : elemen s, ela ions, and measu emen , ii) ap-
p oxima ion o na u e, and iii) cul u e and li e in socie y. A e wa ds,
he da a we e classi ied acco ding o he indica o s p e iously p esen ed,
coun ing he o al numbe , and classi ying he ope a ions acco ding o
scien i ic p ac ice and he p esc ip i e elemen in which i was ound.
3.2.2. Uni o analysis 2: Ini ial and annual
eache aining plans
The second uni o analysis deals wi h he iden i ica ion o he scien i -
ic p ac ices on he ini ial and con inuous eache aining plans, co e-
sponding o he 1s esea ch objec i e, o cha ac e ize he s a e o a o
scien i ic p ac ices and c i ical hinking, speci ically he second esea ch
ques ion:
RQ2) How a e hese p ac ices p esen ed on ini ial and con inuous ain-
ing plans o p e-se ice and in-se ice ea ly childhood eache s?
Ou p o ince, Galicia, has h ee uni e si ies and all o hem o e he
Ea ly Childhood Teache Educa ion deg ee. We analysed he p e-se ice
eache aining plans o he h ee uni e si ies o iden i y he numbe o
subjec s ela ed o science educa ion. None heless, he e is no an ac u-
al cu iculum o he deg ee, he e o e, he esea che explo ed on he
deg ee websi e o each uni e si y he published syllabus o each subjec .
Two subjec s om each uni e si y we e iden i ied as ela ed o science
educa ion, and con en analysis was applied ocusing he analysis on h ee
dimensions: 1) numbe o subjec s ela ed o science educa ion, 2) com-
ponen s o he cu iculum and 3) explici men ion o scien i ic p ac ices
in he subjec p og am.
The p o essional de elopmen o ea ly childhood in-se ice eache s
is o e ed h ough he educa ion depa men o he Xun a de Galicia.
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Me hodology
Speci ically, he e a e se e al cen es such as he Au onomic Cen e o
T aining and Inno a ion (CAFI in Spanish) and he ne o Cen es o
he Teache T aining (CFR in Spanish) a e sca e ed h ough he p o ince
and o e online as well as ace- o- ace aining ac i i ies. In he pas , he
Xun a de Galicia used o publish a compila ion documen in which hese
ac i i ies o eache s o all educa ional le els we e speci ied. The analysis
was ca ied a he end o 2016; howe e , he annual in-se ice eache
plan o ha yea has no been published ye by ha ime. The e o e, we
op ed o analyse he documen o 2015 (Xun a de Galicia, 2015) in o de
o iden i y which science aining ac i i ies in-se ice ea ly childhood
eache s, ha e access o.
The was ca ied ou h ough con en analysis and comp ised h ee
phases: 1) iden i ica ion and coun ing o he numbe o aining ac ions,
2) iden i ica ion o he ecipien s and how many o hese ac ions we e
aimed a in-se ice eache s o ea ly childhood educa ion and 3) iden i-
ica ion o he compe ences included in he ac ions and whe he o no
he e we e explici e e ences o scien i ic p ac ices.
3.2.3. Uni o analysis 3: Sys ema ic li e a u e e iew
The hi d uni o analysis aims o answe he 1
s
esea ch objec i e, o
cha ac e ize he s a e o a o scien i ic p ac ices and c i ical hinking, mo e
p ecisely he hi d esea ch ques ion:
RQ3) How c i ical hinking in e en ions s udies in highe educa ion
a e cha ac e ised?
A b oade sys ema ic li e a u e e iew was ca ied ou wi hin he
CRITHINKEDU p ojec scope; he e o e, he esea che and he supe -
iso s me wi h o he CT expe s o discuss and ag ee on he s eps hey
should be aken in o de o s ablish a sys ema ic p ocess ega ding he
sea ch, selec ion, as well as da a ex ac ion. These s eps a e discussed
below, none heless, as i is no ed on s ep (c), ou s udy only ocus on he
a icles ha belong o he educa ion ield.

Inés Mosque a Ba giela
84
a) Da abase and Keywo ds iden i ica ion: he pape s we e sea ched
in na ional and in e na ional da abases, wi h con en published
bo h in English o in Spanish. The da abases used we e: Web o
Science, SCOPUS, EBSCO, P oQues , ERIC, JSTOR, RCAAP,
ESCI, SCIELO, Index Cope nicus, RACO, Dialne , and Google
Schola . The keywo ds selec ed o he sea ch we e: c i ical hink-
ing, highe educa ion, and in e en ions. O he e ms ela ed o
hese keywo ds we e included and connec ed wi h Boolean ope a-
o s (o , and) o ex end, de ine, and e ine he quali y o he sea ch.
A o al o 276 s udies we e ound.
b) Selec ion o pape s as well as inclusion and exclusion c i e ia: he
selec ed pape s had o be pee - e iewed a icles ega ding CT in-
e en ions in HE and empi ically based esea ch. Book chap e s,
p oceedings and heses we e excluded om he ini ial co pus.
Mo eo e , he s udies mus p esen some kind o ins uc ional
in e en ion, which in ol es ei he eache -led class oom ins uc-
ion o compu e -based ins uc ion, o any o he some so o
ins uc ion by he eache o esea che (Ti uneh e al., 2014). This
esul ed in 27 pape s.
c) Sample e inemen : he 27 pape s we e ca e ully ead and classi ied
acco ding o hei a ea o knowledge. Gi en his s udy deals wi h
p e-se ice eache s, only s udies in he scope o he educa ion
ield we e selec ed. This esul ed in a o al o 12 a icles, which will
be indica ed wi h an as e isk (*) on he bibliog aphic e e ences
sec ion.
d) Da a ex ac ion and analysis: o he cha ac e iza ion o CT in e -
en ions, a ub ic was buil join ly on he li e a u e on CT in e en-
ions (e.g., Ab ami e al., 2015; Ennis, 1989, 2016; Facione, 1990)
and he da a, in discussion wi h in e na ional CT expe s. The
ub ic comp ises 7 dimensions desc ibed below:
1. Type o s udy. I comp ises h ee me hods used o esea ch
design and d aws by C eswell and C eswell (2014): quan i a i e,
when he s udy aims o es CT by examining he ela ionship
among a iables ha can be measu ed on ins umen s, allowing
85
Me hodology
o nume ic da a o be analysed; quali a i e, i he s udy ex-
plo es he meaning ha pa icipan s (indi iduals o g oups)
asc ibe o CT; and mixed me hods, when he s udy combines
elemen s o quali a i e and quan i a i e app oaches o he pu -
poses o b ead h and dep h o unde s anding.
2. C i ical hinking aims. The ca ego ies ha e been d awn om
he APA Delphi Repo (Facione, 1990) as well as Facione e
al. (1995), including skills, disposi ions, and a combina ion o
bo h elemen s.
3. C i ical hinking app oach. We d aw om Ennis’ (1989) and
S e nbe g’s (1986) ca ego ies o CT ins uc ion ha include:
he gene al app oach, in which CT is augh sepa a ely om he
con en o an exis ing subjec -ma e . The in usion app oach
a emp s o in eg a e CT ins uc ion in o s anda d subjec -ma -
e ins uc ion and makes he gene al p inciples o CT explici
o he s uden s. The imme sion app oach ies o inco po a e
CT wi hin s anda d subjec -ma e ins uc ion, al hough he
gene al CT p inciples and p ocedu es a e no made explici o
s uden s. Las , he mixed app oach, consis s o a combina ion o
he gene al app oach wi h ei he he in usion o he imme sion
app oach.
4. Type o in e en ions. The ca ego ies ha e been aken om
Ab ami e al.’s (2015) ca ego isa ion o ins uc ion in e en-
ions. Sel -s udy includes ins uc ional echniques and lea n-
ing ac i i ies ha a e based on he s uden s’ indi idual wo k.
Dialogue encompasses lea ning h ough discussion. Au hen ic
ins uc ion consis s o p esen ing s uden s wi h eal p oblems,
o p oblems ha engaging and s imula e hem o enqui e. The
ca ego y o he includes any in e en ions ha do no i in he
p e ious ca ego ies as desc ibed by Ab ami e al. (2015).
5. Teaching s a egies. This dimension includes he wo eaching
me hods o os e ing CT as desc ibed by Ennis (2016): Lec u e-
discussion eaching (LDT) and P oblem-Based Lea ning (PBL).
I should be no ed ha a combina ion o bo h o o he s a e-
gies could be included in his dimension. Lec u e-discussion
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
86
eaching consis s o a lec u e (usually accompanied by some
ex book eading) p esen ing one o a ious aspec s o he sub-
jec ma e , ollowed by a discussion sec ion. P oblem-Based
Lea ning deals wi h a subjec -ma e issue, which usually e-
qui es esea ching, de eloping, es ing, and discussing hypo h-
eses o solu ions and possible al e na i es.
6. Teaching ma e ials. This co esponds o i ems o ac i i ies used
in CT in e en ions and includes ou eme ging ca ego ies om
he da a analysis.
7. Repo ed di icul ies. I includes eme ging ca ego ies in he in-
e en ion s udies om he da a analysis.
3.2.4. Uni o analysis 4: P e-se ice eache s’ educa o s
The ou h uni o analysis e e s o he i s esea ch objec i e, o cha ac-
e ize he s a e o a o scien i ic p ac ices and c i ical hinking, speci ically,
he ou h and i h esea ch ques ion:
RQ4) Wha no ion o c i ical hinking do p e-se ice eache educa o s
ha e?
RQ5) Wha ype o lea ning en i onmen s do p e-se ice eache ed-
uca o s decla e o implemen in hei ins uc ion o p omo e c i ical
hinking?
The esea che and he supe iso s con ac ed po en ial pa icipan s
wo king in he Facul ies o Educa ion (San iago de Compos ela) and
Teache T aining (Lugo) om a Galician public uni e si y as i is ou
unde s anding hei impo ance lies wi hin; hey a e he ones ha a e
ans e ing hei knowledge o p e-se ice eache s who in a u u e will
each child en. They we e in o med abou he pu pose and he p oce-
du e ollow o he de elopmen o in e iews and ask hei a ailabili y
o pa icipa e in he s udy. Fi e p e-se ice eache s’ educa o s we e se-
lec ed on he ollowing basis: (a) ha hey we e educa o s in g adua e o
pos g adua e eache aining cou ses, (b) ha hey come om di e en
87
Me hodology
domains, and (c) ha he p omo ion o CT is explici ly men ioned in
he syllabus o hei cou ses. All he eache s who a e p esen ed below,
boas ex ensi e expe ience implemen ing ac i e pedagogies in hei own
class ooms, and while hei esea ch in e es s di e , hey all include CT.
Below, we p esen a mo e de ailed desc ip ion o he pa icipan s:
· T1 is in e es ed in CT in ela ion wi h he Didac ics o Social
Sciences h ough a place-based lea ning app oach. He also wo ks
closely wi h o he eache s who implemen inno a i e ac i i ies in
hei own class ooms, and as such, he is able o p esen examples
o hei ac i i ies in he acul y. His esea ch in e es s include he
way in which CT can be linked wi h he social ep esen a ions and
iden i ies o s uden s as well as wi h he i age in educa ion.
· T2 is om he indus y, which means ha she is able o b ing a
new pe spec i e o eaching Pedagogy and T aining P ocesses. In
he class oom, she implemen s CT h ough he concep o dem-
oc a ic class ooms; a sys em in which e e yone has he igh o
ha e and exp ess hei own oice. He esea ch in e es s include
u o ing and eaching E-lea ning, and she is also in e es ed in he
ways in which b idges can be c ea ed be ween he uni e si y and
he wo k o ce.
· T3 eaches de elopmen al and educa ional psychology. In he
class oom, she uses he Soc a ic Me hod o make he ideas and
easoning o s uden s explici h ough ques ioning and discussion.
He esea ch in e es s include c ea i i y and CT using he SEM
model.
· T4 implemen s CT in his Sociology lessons om a gende and ac-
i ism pe spec i e, and his class oom ac i i ies encompass a wide
ange o opics: co-educa ion, gende iolence, social change, so-
cial and e hnical p oblems, o name jus a ew, and he ela ionship
ha hese opics ha e wi h educa ion.
· T5 also uses place-based lea ning o each he Didac ics o Social
Sciences, speci ically his o y, by isi ing places o elici emo ions
in his s uden s. He also inco po a es CT in he class oom om an
ac i ism pe spec i e. His a eas o in e es include he social and
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
94
e lec ing back o he esul s, and so on. This p ocess was execu ed mul-
iple imes o deepen he analysis. None heless, as he second and hi d
objec i e ha e pa icula i ies, hey will be p esen ed and discussed on
he nex subsec ions.
3.2.5.1. Teache s’ ques ions and inqui y and a gumen a ion
skills enac ed by ea ly childhood s uden s
The analy ical p ocess ha he i h uni o analysis had ollowed, o ex-
plo e he s uden s’ and eache in e en ions h ough hei discou se,
consis ed o a se o s eps summa ised on he nex pa ag aph.
Fi s , he esea che o ganised he da a co pus and amilia ised he sel
wi h i . A e ha , i was decided he audio was going o be ansc ibed
o answe he esea ch objec i es. The esea che came back o he lis-
ening- ansc ip ion p ocess ime and ime again, gi en ha quali a i e
esea ch ad ances and ques ions changed (Moo e & Llompa , 2017). The
da a was ansc ip as li e ally as possible, espec ing he pa icipan s’ i s
language (Galician, Spanish) and exp essions used.
Fo analy ical pu poses, he uni o analysis de ined was he u e ances.
This comp ised each in e en ion o he pa icipan s in which di e en
s a emen s, ques ions o skills we e e lec ed in i . A e se e al eadings
and ge ing a comp ehensi e idea, u ns can be compiled in o episodes.
Some episodes migh be made up o se e al u ns ela ed o he same
discussed issue o he same skill de eloped (Gee, 2015). In his uni o
analysis, he episodes we e de ined by he objec s uden s es ed. A o al
o 13 episodes we e iden i ied.
Two di e en coding amewo ks we e de eloped o code he u e anc-
es o add ess he wo esea ch ques ions, espec i ely: eache ’s ques ions
posed o engage child en (RQ6) and how eache ’s ques ioning in lu-
ence child en’s engagemen in he p ac ices o inqui y and a gumen a ion
(RQ7).
Fo he RQ6, 100 u e ances we e iden i ied in Anne’s discou se, dis-
ibu ed une enly in he episodes. The analysis ocussed on he ype o
ques ions posed by he eache du ing he ac i i y. I needs o be high-
ligh ed ha in he same u e ance, mo e han one ques ion can show;

95
Me hodology
he e o e, di e en ca ego ies and a g ea e numbe o ques ions han
u e ances can appea . The analysis on eache ’s ques ions ollowed an in-
duc i e and i e a i e p ocess, in which ca ego ies eme ged in in e ac ion
wi h da a and li e a u e e iew (Mills e al., 2010). The coding scheme
comp ised he inqui y and a gumen a ion ques ions ha eme ged om
eache ’s discou se. A e in e p e ing indi idually, he ype o ques ions
o mula ed by he eache , esul s we e u he e ined and inalised
h ough g oup discussions among he au ho s and in collabo a ion wi h
P o . Lucy A aamidou.
Rega ding he RQ7, 104 u e ances we e iden i ied in child en’s dis-
cou se, dis ibu ed une enly in 13 episodes. To iden i y he di e en
kinds and pa e ns o in e ac ion in class oom alk, we aced he ques-
ion asked by Anne, he esponses hey p omp ed on he child en, and
how she ollowed-up on hem. Fo he analysis, we i s iden i ied he
inqui y and a gumen a ion skills enac ed by s uden s, in co espond-
ence o he same ca ego ies de ined o eache ’s ques ions; and hen, we
compa ed in each episode he numbe and ype o ques ions posed by
he eache wi h he numbe and a ie y o skills enac ed by he s uden s.
3.2.5.2. Teache s’ ques ions and c i ical hinking skills
and disposi ions de eloped by child en
The analy ical p ocess ha he six h uni o analysis also comp ised he
s uden s’ and eache in e en ions h ough hei discou se, he e o e,
he ansc ip ion p ocess ollowed was he same as he desc ibed in he
3.2.5.1. subsec ion. Fu he mo e, bo h uni s o analysis sha e he u e -
ances as analy ical uni as well as he same c i e ia and numbe o he
de ini ion o episodes.
An analy ical amewo k o he coding o he u e ances was de el-
oped based on he CT skills (Facione, 1990) and disposi ions (Facione e
al., 1995) heo e ical amewo k (see sec ion 2 o he chap e 2) o add ess
he wo esea ch ques ions, espec i ely: he eache ’s ques ions posed o
he s uden s (RQ8) and he ela ionship be ween said ques ions and he
CT skills and disposi ions de eloped by he child en (RQ9).
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
96
Fo he RQ8, 99 u e ances we e iden i ied in he eache ’s discou se,
une enly dis ibu ed in he 13 episodes. The analysis ocused on he
ques ions posed by he eache du ing he ac i i y. I should be no ed
ha mo e han one ques ion can be shown in he same u e ance; hus,
di e en CT skills and disposi ions may appea . The analysis o he each-
e ’s ques ions ollowed an induc i e and i e a i e p ocess, in which he
ca ego ies eme ged in in e ac ion wi h he da a and he li e a u e e iew
(Mills e al., 2010). A e indi idually in e p e ing he ype o ques ions
asked, he esul s we e e ined and inalized h ough g oup discussions
among he au ho s.
Rega ding he RQ9, 101 u e ances we e iden i ied in he child en’s
discou se, une enly dis ibu ed in he episodes. Fo he analysis, we i s
iden i ied he skills and disposi ions exp essed by he s uden s, and hen
we examined he ela ionship be ween he numbe and ype o ques ions
posed by he eache and he numbe and a ie y o skills and disposi-
ions enac ed by he s uden s.
3.3. E hical conside a ions
Empi ical esea ch in ol es in e e ing in educa ional se ings ha o he -
wise would be engaging in eaching o lea ning. The e o e, he esea che
should ask he sel whe he i is o no cul u ally and e hically accep -
able o meddle in he e e yday li es o educa o s and hei s uden s.
Educa ional esea ch en ails inding ou wha we do no know and is
dependen on a clea ques ion, pu pose, and me hodology. E hical ig-
o , hen, demands ha i seeks he us and in eg i y on he esea ched
and he educa ion communi y (Cla ke, 2006; Limes-Taylo Hende son
& Esposi o, 2017). This hesis in ol es analysing da a ob ained om o i-
cial documen s, in e iews wi h highe educa ion eache s, and an ea ly
childhood class oom’s eco ding, he e o e i ollows h ee main e hical
p inciples: 1) esea ch should be o he bene i o he socie y, and no isk
should be done o he indi iduals pa icipa ing; 2) pa icipan s should be
ea ed wi h espec ; and 3) p ocedu es should no exploi pa icipan s
and should be jus (Me ens, 2014). The esea che s in ol ed a e obliga -
ed o conside he belie s, alues, and e hical p inciples ha guide hei
97
Me hodology
esea ch. In addi ion, a numbe o e hical conside a ions we e aken in o
accoun o ensu e he in eg i y o he pa icipan s:
- W i en consen . The in-se ice eache was in o med o he ob-
jec i es o his s udy and was asked o pa icipa e so o sa egua d
he olun a y pa icipa ion. A e wa ds, he amilies we e gi en a
w i en consen o m, p o iding in o ma ion abou he pu pose
o he esea ch and he use o da a, and hei au ho iza ion was
eques ed o he pa icipa ion o he s uden s, as all we e mino s.
This consen allowed o he pa icipan s o be eco ded on audio
and go aken pic u es. These ma e ials will be used gua an eeing
anonymi y; he e o e, he images will always be edi ed o p e en
he iden i ica ion o he child en. The p e-se ice eache s’ educa-
o s we e also in o med h ough a w i en au ho iza ion abou he
pu pose o he s udy, he use o da a, as well as hei au ho iza ion.
- Anonymi y and con iden iali y. In his s udy, he in-se ice eache
as well as he child en we e iden i ied wi h pseudonyms, espec -
ing he sex o he s uden . P e-se ice eache s’ educa o s we e
iden i ied as “ eache s (T)”. No e e ences o he school cen e o
uni e si ies we e made in o de o ensu e he p i acy.
FINDINGS

101
RESULTADOS
Os esul ados da ese abó danse en 4 capí ulos. Nos capí ulos cua o
e quin o discú ense os esul ados e e en es ao p imei o obxec i o de
in es igación elacionado coas p ác icas cien í icas e o PC, espec i a-
men e. Dunha banda, o cua o capí ulo abo da os esul ados da análise
de p ác icas cien í icas no cu ículo de in an il, así como nos plans de
o mación inicial e pe manen e do p o eso ado des a e apa educa i a.
Dou a banda, no quin o capí ulo, p esén ase unha análise das e in e -
encións de PC en educación supe io co in de iden i ica como se
p omo e o PC pa a, a pos e io i, compa alos coa noción de PC e os am-
bien es de ap endizaxe que o p omo en decla ados polos/as o mado es/
as de mes es/as de in an il.
Unha ez ealizada a diagnose inicial das p ác icas cien í icas e de PC
en educación in an il, dáse espos a ao segundo e e cei o obxec i os
de in es igación. Pa a iso analízanse as in e accións dialóxicas en e a
mes a e os/as nenos/as du an e o desen ol emen o dunha ac i idade
sob e a icción do ai e e a g a idade na caída dos obxec os. En conc e o,
pa a abo da o segundo obxec i o, examínase o ol da mes a e como es e
in lúe no desempeños p ác icas de indagación e a gumen ación po pa e
do alumnado. Men es que no sé imo capí ulo, discú ense os esul ados
do e cei o obxec i o examinando o ol da mes a e a súa in luencia no
desen ol emen o de des ezas e disposicións de PC po pa e do alum-
nado de in an il.
103
4. A INTEGRACIÓN DAS
PRÁCTICAS CIENTÍFICAS
NO CURRÍCULO DE
EDUCACIÓN INFANTIL
E NOS PLANS DE
FORMACIÓN DOCENTE
Nes e capí ulo p esén anse os esul ados ela i os ás dúas p imei as p e-
gun as de in es igación do p imei o obxec i o, ca ac e iza o es ado da
cues ión das p ác icas cien í icas e do pensamen o c í ico, as cales son:
RQ1) Como se in eg an as p ác icas cien í icas no cu ículo de edu-
cación in an il?
RQ2) Como se p esen an di as p ác icas nos plans de o mación inicial
e pe manen e do p o eso ado de in an il?
Con es as p egun as p e endemos diagnos ica a in eg ación das p ác-
icas cien í icas no cu ículo de in an il (Xun a de Galicia, 2009), así
como nos plans de o mación inicial e pe manen e do p o eso ado des a
e apa educa i a. Pa a iso iden i icá onse, en p imei o luga , as p ác icas
cien í icas nos elemen os p esc i i os (obxec i os, compe encias bási-
cas, con idos, c i e ios de a aliación e mé odos pedagóxicos) das es
á eas de coñecemen o do cu ículo, emp egando a úb ica p esen ada
na áboa X (p esen ada no apa ado 3.2.1. da me odoloxía). En segundo
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
110
Acción o ma i a Compe encias Des ina io(s)
Emp ego de disposi-
i os móbiles na eal-
ización de p oxec os
cien í icos
1. Educado /a guía no p oceso ensinan-
za-ap endizaxe
2. Didác icas especí icas
3. Me odoloxías e TAC
4. Compe en e en TIC – So wa e
P o eso ado de ciencias
de secunda ia
Ensina e ap ende
ciencias no MUNCYT
1. Educado /a guía no p oceso ensinan-
za-ap endizaxe
2. Didác icas especí icas
3. Me odoloxías e TAC
4. Especialis a na súa ma e ia
5. Coñecemen o nas á eas, ma e ias e
módulos cu icula es
P o eso ado de ciencias
de secunda ia
Ac i idades expe i-
men ais nas ma e ias
do ámbi o cien í ico
1. Educado /a guía no p oceso ensinan-
za-ap endizaxe
2. P og amación, seguimen o e a alia-
ción.
3. Especialis a na súa ma e ia
4. Coñecemen o nas á eas, ma e ias e
módulos cu icula es
Ca ed á icos de ensinan-
za secunda ia
P o eso ado de ciencias
de secunda ia
O Plan Anual de Fo mación do P o eso ado 2015-2016 (Xun a de
Galicia, 2015) con én 226 accións o ma i as, sen conside a ou as
modalidades de o mación como os g upos de aballo, os semina ios
de o mación e as con oca o ias pa a o P og ama E asmus+. O núme-
o de accións o ma i as inculadas á ciencia e/ou a súa didác ica é de
13, das que dúas se elacionan co uso das ecnoloxías da in o mación e
comunicación (TIC) aplicadas ao campo cien í ico-educa i o. As compe-
encias que se indican na áboa 10 son as ecollidas no documen o anal-
izado pa a cada acción o ma i a, malia que nes e non se p opo ciona
unha de inición de que en enden po cada unha des as compe encias.
Cómp e des aca pola súa ele ada p esencia as seguin es: i) educado /a
guía no p oceso de ensinanza-ap endizaxe; ii) p og amación, seguimen-
o, a aliación; iii) especialis a na súa ma e ia, e i ) coñecemen o nas á eas,
ma e ias e módulos cu icula es. Respec o aos/ás des ina a ios/as das
ac i idades, cabe sinala que só 1 das 226 ac i idades, a denominada
“A xes ión e a amen o dos esiduos u banos no modelo Sogama”, es á
di ixida a mes es/as de educación in an il. O es o de accións es án di-
ixidas a p o eso ado de ciencias de secunda ia, así como a ca ed á icos/

111
A in eg ación das p ác icas cien í icas no cu ículo de educación in an il
as. En ningún caso exis en e e encias explíci as ás p ác icas cien í icas
den o das compe encias a aballa .
4.3. Discusión e conclusións pa ciais
T as os esul ados comen ados, puidemos comp oba que a p ác i-
ca de indagación é a que apa ece con maio ecuencia, seguida da de
modelización e a de a gumen ación. O ei o de que a indagación sexa a
p ác ica cien í ica que cob a máis impo ancia no cu ículo é cohe en e
co sinalado po Me z (2004, 2008), que en ende a indagación como un
con ex o e/ou po enciado pa a que o alumnado de in an il e p ima ia
se inicie no aballo cien í ico e, des e xei o, sexa quen de desen ol e
coñecemen os cien í icos.
In es igacións sob e p ác icas cien í icas en in an il poñen de mani-
es o que o alumnado des a e apa é capaz de pa icipa en p ocesos de
indagación como os que implican os expe imen os do g upo To que
(Mon ei a & Jiménez-Aleixand e, 2016). Es es expe imen os in oluc an
ao alumnado en p ác icas de modelización como a ep esen ación me-
dian e debuxos de obxec os ou enómenos obse ados ou expe imen-
ados. A modelización, en endida des e xei o, apa ece ecollida no cu -
ículo nos bloques 1) Medio ísico: elemen os, elacións e medidas, e
2) Achegamen o á na u eza. Os debuxos cob an especial in e ese nes a
e apa como ía que acili a a exp esión de ideas cien í icas, axudando aos/
ás nenos/as a achega se a unha ealidade pouco amilia pa a eles/as. A
ep esen ación de en idades ou enómenos median e debuxos debe ía
p ac ica se cunha inalidade, a ando de a as a se de aspec os p ocedi-
men ais e ac i udinais con comen a ios como “que debuxo an boni o” e
que, a miúdo, son os máis ecuen es (Pujol, 2003). B ooks (2009) suxi e
que o p o eso ado emp egue es e medio de ep esen ación como pa e do
p oceso de ap endizaxe, animando ao alumnado a que e ise, descon ex
-
ualice y e aga os seus debuxos, xa que is o axuda á a que e lexione e,
en úl ima ins ancia, acade habilidades de pensamen o de o de supe io .
A p ác ica cien í ica con meno p esencia no cu ículo oi a a gumen -
ación, especi icamen e a ope ación de iden i ica e usa p obas. Is o es á
en liña coa al a de in es igación de p ác ica de a gumen ación en idades
empe ás e con as a coa p opos a de Kuhn (2015) dun cu ículo de
pensamen o no que a a gumen ación é unha compe encia independen e
pa a os/as es udan es, o que debe ía o ece lles a opo unidade de expo
a i macións, xus i icalas, a alia p obas e e lexiona sob e a súa ele an-
cia de aco do co ema que es ean a in es iga .
A ap endizaxe median e p ác icas cien í icas pode esul a pouco sig-
ni ica i a se non se en en conside ación ao p o eso ado e, en consecuen-
cia, a súa o mación. Es e oi o mo i o polo que abo damos nes a ese
a análise dos plans de o mación inicial e pe manen e do p o eso ado.
A análise des es plans amosa que as p ác icas cien í icas apenas se in-
eg an den o dos plans o ma i os das es uni e sidades públicas de
nosa comunidade. Malia que es e análise limí ase ao ma co cu icula de
Galicia e aos p og amas o ma i os das nosas uni e sidades, podemos
concluí que es e ma co non impulsa a ap endizaxe de ciencias median e
p ác icas cien í icas. A a onde puidemos sabe , na e isión de li e a u a,
encon amos que son escasos os es udos que abo dan a iden i icación de
necesidades o ma i as p io i a ias nos plans de o mación inicial nos
g aos de in an il. Es a cues ión oi sinalada po Can ó Doménech e al.
(2016) nun es udo p e io que des aca a necesidade de e isa os plans
de o mación inicial de aco do ás di icul ades a opadas pa a a pos e io
ans e encia á aula. Nunha liña semellan e, a análise do Plan Anual de
Fo mación do P o eso ado 2015-2016 (Xun a de Galicia, 2015) le ada a
cabo nes e es udo amosa que só unha acción o ma i a di ixida ao p o-
eso ado de in an il é de con ido cien í ico. Is o pon de mani es o a al a
de o mación do p o eso ado en ac i o en p ác icas cien í icas.
113
5. CRITICAL THINKING:
FROM THE LITERATURE
TO THE CLASSROOMS
This chap e ocuses on he second pa o he i s esea ch objec i e,
o cha ac e ize he s a e o a o scien i ic p ac ices and c i ical hinking,
ega ding he s a e o a o CT p ac ices. Pa icula ly, in his esul s’
sec ion he esea ch ques ions add essed a e:
RQ3) How c i ical hinking in e en ions s udies in highe educa ion
a e cha ac e ised?
RQ4) How do p e-se ice eache educa o s concep ualize c i ical
hinking?
RQ5) Wha ype o lea ning en i onmen s do p e-se ice eache ed-
uca o s decla e o implemen in hei ins uc ion o p omo e c i ical
hinking?
To answe he RQ3, as i was men ioned in he me hods sec ion, a
li e a u e e iew was ca ied ou in o de o iden i y and e ie e em-
pi ical da a on CT in e en ions. The pape s we e sea ched in na ional
and in e na ional da abases (e.g., WoS, Scopus, Scielo) wi h con en pub-
lished bo h in English o in Spanish. The selec ed pape s had o be (a)
pee - e iewed a icles ega ding CT in e en ions in highe educa ion
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
114
and empi ically based esea ch as well as (b) p esen some kind o in-
s uc ional in e en ion. The examina ion o RQ4 and RQ5 consis ed
o an analysis o semi-s uc u ed in e iews o i e p e-se ice eache s’
educa o s (T), which aimed o explo e hei CT concep ualiza ion and
he ype o CT lea ning en i onmen ha hey implemen ed on hei
own class ooms. Fo he cha ac e isa ion o RQ3 and RQ5, he CT in-
e en ions and he lea ning en i onmen s, a ub ic was buil join ly on
he li e a u e on CT in e en ions (e.g., Ab ami e al., 2015; Ennis, 1989,
2016; Facione, 1990) and he da a, in discussion wi h in e na ional CT
expe s. The ub ic comp ises 7 dimensions ( ype o s udy, CT aims, CT
app oach, ype o in e en ions, eaching s a egies, eaching ma e ials,
epo ed di icul ies), p e iously desc ibed in sec ion 3.2.3.
The indings ela ed o he RQ3 p esen ed in he nex sec ion ha e been
pa ially published on Dominguez (2018).
5.1. C i ical hinking in e en ions in highe educa ion
A e he selec ion o pape s om he li e a u e e iew, wel e s udies,
om he ield o educa ion, me he s ablished c i e ia and we e analysed.
In able 11, we p esen a cha ac e iza ion o hese s udies.
Table 11. Cha ac e iza ion o c i ical hinking in e -
en ions (adap ed om Dominguez, 2018)
Dimensions S udies
Type o s udy
Quan i a i e 5
Quali a i e 4
Mixed me hods 3
CT aims
Skills 5
Disposi ions 0
Skills and disposi ions 4
No speci ied 3
115
C i ical hinking: om he li e a u e o he class ooms
Dimensions S udies
CT app oach
Imme sion 9
In usion 3
Gene al 0
Mixed 0
Type o in e en-
ion
Sel -s udy 8
Dialogue 5
Au hen ic ins uc ions 1
Men o ing 0
Teaching s a egies
LDT 4
PBL 2
LDT + PBL 3
No de ined 1
O he s 2
Teaching ma e ials
Tex s (a icles, essays…) 4
E-lea ning ac i i ies 3
Au hen ic p oblems 1
No speci ied 7
Repo ed di icul ies 0
Almos hal o he analysed s udies (N=5) used quan i a i e me hods; 4
quali a i e; and 3 mixed me hods. In addi ion, also 6 s udies aimed o an-
alyse CT skills and 4 op ed o ocusing on bo h, skills, and disposi ions.
No s udies we e ca ied ou o only de elop disposi ions. Conside ing
he skills p omo ed, analysis and e alua ion as well as he disposi ions
o analy ici y and sys ema ici y we e he ones ha we e a ge ed mo e
equen ly. Fo ins ance, Ve ecchi e al. (2017) op ed o exclusi ely a ge
he skills o in e p e a ion and analysis, whe eas Co cione e al. (2013)
add essed he skills o in e ence, analysis, in e p e a ion, e alua ion,
and explana ion, as well as he disposi ions o analy ici y, sys ema ici y,

Inés Mosque a Ba giela
116
inquisi i eness and cogni i e ma u i y. Las , he e we e h ee s udies in
which he CT aims we e no speci ied.
Sil a e al. (2016), de Souza (2014), and Ve ecchi e al. (2017), among
o he s, op ed o implemen an imme si e CT app oach, being his he
mos common one (9 ou o 12). The in usion app oach was he sec-
ond mo e equen ly wi h a o al o h ee s udies (e.g., Janule ičiene &
Ka aliauskiene, 2012; Klimo iene e al., 2006). Conce ning he ypes o
in e en ion, sel -s udy was he mos equen (N=8), ollowed by dia-
logue (N=6). Some examples can be ound on Sil a e al. (2015, 2016)
uden s needed o analyse a scien i ic pape and w i e an ou pu ha
la ely would be submi ed o pee - e iew. Poce e al. (2012) and Ve ecchi
e al. (2017) asked he s uden s o lea n abou classical au ho s such as
Rousseau and de elop an a gumen a i e essay ha in he case o Poce e
al. (2012) was p esen ed in public. In gene al, i can be said ha dialogue
is ela ed wi h a gumen a i e p ac ices in di e en o ms. Men o ing
was no epo ed in any s udy. In line wi h he ype o in e en ion a e
he indings ela ed o he eaching s a egies as hey poin ed ou ha
Lec u e-Discussion Teaching (LDT) was p esen in 4 s udies, whe eas
a combina ion o LDT and PBL was only p esen in 3 s udies. Mos o
hese s udies p omo ed an a gumen a i e con ex h ough he use online
pla o ms, ex s, o he deli e y o lec u es. I should be no ed ha o he
eaching s a egies we e p oposed on he esea ch, namely: pee -obse -
a ion and sel -assessmen (Janule ičiene & Ka aliauskiene, 2012), and
coope a i e lea ning (Klimo iene e al., 2006).
The e iewed pape s p o ided di e se con ex s and eaching ma e ials
o he p omo ion o CT, wi h mos o hem implemen ing w i ing ac-
i i ies and deba es. Some (Co cione e al., 2013; Poce e al., 2012; Sil a
e al., 2016) used i ual lea ning en i onmen s and one o hem used a
weblog (Janule ičiene & Ka aliauskiene, 2012). To es Me chán and So
lbes (2016) epo ed he use o au hen ic p oblems h ough ex s abou
socio-scien i ic issues. Despi e 7 s udies did no men ion which lea ning
ma e ials we e used, 5 o hem (e.g., To es Me chán & Solbes, 2012; Sil a
e al., 2016) men ioned a icles, ex s, and essays as eaching ma e ials.
No di icul ies du ing he implemen a ion we e epo ed.
117
C i ical hinking: om he li e a u e o he class ooms
5.2. The con ibu ion o p e-se ice eache educa o s
o he de elopmen o c i ical hinking
The analysis o in e iews allowed us o iden i y he CT concep ualisa ion
by p e-se ice eache s’ educa o s, along wi h he ype o CT lea ning
en i onmen s ha hey decla e o implemen in o de o p omo e i .
In he ables ha a e p esen ed in he nex sec ions, ca ego ies wi h no
examples (e.g., sys ema ici y) ha e been omi ed.
5.2.1. C i ical hinking concep ualisa ion by
p e-se ice eache s’ educa o s
The analysis o in e iews poin ed ou ha pa icipan s (T) conside ed
CT as a se o skills and disposi ions. Two o he CT de ini ions gi en
by he pa icipa ing educa o s we e cohe en wi h Facione’s de ini ion
(1990), making explici ha CT is comp ised o se e al sub-skills, (T1: ‘I
hink ha i is a hinking a i ude and also a skill ha may consis o se -
e al sub-skills o p ocesses ha cha ac e ise his […]’), o ha i implici ly
in eg a es skills, (T2: ‘I is he capaci y o use ou own ision o espond
o p oblems and si ua ions ha we ace in ou mos immedia e con ex , as
well as in o he s’). On he o he hand, T3 and T4 cha ac e ised CT as a
‘ hough ’ o a ‘p ocess’, espec i ely, wi h bo h emphasising ha i can be
used o ques ion he es ablished o no malised ideas. The las in e iew-
ee, T5, de ined CT as a ‘me hodology ha leads s uden s o hink c i ically’.
C i ical hinking aims. Table 12 summa ises he esul s o he CT skills
and disposi ions which we e men ioned by he pa icipan s and a ep e-
sen a i e quo e is p o ided o each ca ego y. The pa icipan s e e ed
o all he skills, howe e hey s essed ha hey conside ed in e ence
and e alua ion o be he mos impo an skills o s uden s o de elop.
Educa o s associa ed he e alua ion skill wi h he assessmen o sou ces
o in o ma ion, discussing he possible consequences o di e en s uden s
coming up wi h di e se solu ions and how hey should ‘in es iga e in
o de disco e ha he e is no one u h’ (T5). This las aspec was closely
connec ed wi h he skill o in e ence, which he in e iewees linked wi h
he idea o ques ioning he and ocen ic o de , he eali y we li e in, he
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
118
es ablished no ms and ‘ he s uden s’ own hinking’ (T3). To a lesse ex-
en , he in e iewees also ci ed he skills o explana ion, sel - egula ion,
analysis, and in e p e a ion. Thei analysis e e ed o he iden i ica ion
and examina ion o ideas and a gumen s ha help p e-se ice eache s
o ‘ques ion he male no mali y’ (T4). The examina ion o he p e iously
men ioned skills also e ealed a e e ence o ele an p oblems in di e -
en con ex s (e.g., cul u al, scien i ic) and in o ma ion sou ces in o de o
be awa e o hei ‘in en ion o who has pu i he e’ (T1). Sel - egula ion
was conside ed as a necessa y skill, gi en ha o an ex en , i mus in lu-
ence, modi y, o con ol he s uden s’ own hough s and beha iou s in
he a o emen ioned ques ioning p ocess. Las , by linking he educa o ’s
answe s wi h he ma e ials and he eaching s a egy hey used, an ex-
plana ion could be ound.
Table 12. C i ical hinking aims (skills and disposi-
ions) p omo ed by educa o s (N=5).
CT aims F Quo es
CT Skills
In e p e a ion 1 “I ’s no enough o gi e he u h, s uden s ha e o
in es iga e o know ha he e isn’ one u h” (T5)
Analysis 2 “CT has o be buil esea ching how hings happened in
en i onmen ” (T5)
In e ence 5
“[…] i ’s e y impo an he ques ioning o he and-
ocen ic o de , e e y hing ha has o do wi h he
ques ioning o male no mali y in his socie y; ha ’s a
way o de elop CT” (T4)
E alua ion 4 “[…] in e p e a ion o se e al in o ma ion sou ces […],
i ’s necessa y o s uden s e alua e hem” (T1)
Explana ion 3
“I pu s uden s in he con ex o imagine hey we e go-
ing o go o a cong ess o w i e an a icle as hei inal
wo k […]. S uden s also had o elabo a e hei speech
and p esen i in on o hei classma es, who could
make objec ions and aise di e en poin s o iew” (T2)
Sel - egula ion 2
“I y o pu examples ha a e con a y o he o ho-
dox, ha is o say, hey c ea e bewilde men , e lec ion
[…]” (T2)
119
C i ical hinking: om he li e a u e o he class ooms
CT aims F Quo es
CT disposi ions
T u h seeking 3 “I ’s no enough o gi e he u h, s uden s ha e o
in es iga e o know ha he e isn’ one u h” (T5)
Open-mindedness 4 “They [s uden s] should ha e an open and lexible mind
as well as be e lec i e abou he eali y” (T3)
Analy ici y 3
“I usually s a by asking he s uden s ques ions abou
how hey see he landscape hey ha e in on o hem
(a pic u e), how hey in e p e he e i o y o some o
he p ocesses ha occu in i o which he main p ob-
lems ha a ec he e i o y hey li e in a e […]” (T1)
O he (disposi ions) 3
Mo i a ion: “To mo i a e s uden s, you ha e o s im-
ula e s uden s, jus so you ge hem o engage in he
subjec and hey change hei ways o hinking […]” (T5)
F= equency o appea ance
In e ms o he CT disposi ions, no e e ence was made o sys ema-
ici y, sel -con idence, inquisi i eness, and cogni i e ma u i y. Educa o s
conside ed open-mindedness as he mos impo an disposi ion o
p e-se ice eache s o de elop. They iden i ied his disposi ion wi h
he idea o ha ing an open and lexible mind (see example in able 1),
some hing ha is necessa y in o de o ‘ os e in he s uden s he e hical
o poli ical dimension’ (T1), as well as he capaci y o accep ha he e
a e se e al ways o see he wo ld. This capaci y can be ela ed o ano he
disposi ion, u h-seeking, as T3 a i med he impo ance o s uden s
‘lea ning how o ques ion hemsel es’, and T1 implied on accep ing ‘some
deg ee o dis us in he commonly accep ed ideas’. Analy ici y was asso-
cia ed wi h he ma e ials men ioned by educa o s, implying he use o
easoning when sol ing asks. Fo ins ance, when de eloping a p ojec ,
s uden s should sea ch o in o ma ion, con as he in o ma ion, and
ul ima ely use i o sol e he ask a hand. O he disposi ions ha did
no i in o Facione and Facione’s (1992) amewo k we e awa eness, he
idea ha acco ding o T1 mos p oblems o solu ions ha e an e hical o
poli ical dimension as well as s uden s’ mo i a ion and eelings when
eache s engage hem in a opic.
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
126
he enac men o inqui y and a gumen a ion p ac ices. Fo his pu pose,
hey we e in ol ed in a weekly session o 2 mon hs abou o ces wi hin
an inqui y-based app oach. The class oom eco dings we e i s an-
sc ibed and hen ead se e al imes o di ide he whole ansc ip in o
episodes, de ined by he objec he s uden s we e es ing (e.g., play dough,
ock, shee o pape ). A o al o 13 episodes we e iden i ied, as displayed
in able 14.
Table 14. Iden i ied episodes and he objec es ed on each
Episode Objec
1Play dough
2Co on wool
3Rock
4Shee o pape
5Co on wool s ock
6Two shee s o pape (open)
7One shee o pape s one shee o pape shaped in a ball
8 Book s shee ( h own sepa a ely)
9 Book s shee o pape on op
10 Two ocks
11 Fea he s shee o pape
12 A balloon
13 Balloon, ubbe .
D awing gene al conclusions
The analysis o he da a was ca ied ou in collabo a ion wi h P o . Lucy
A aamidou unde a esea ch s ay a he Ins i u e o Science Educa ion
and Communica ion (ISEC), and i comp ises a discou se-analysis (Gee,
2014) and open-coding echniques o iden i y pa e ns ha eme ge om
da a. The e o e, wo di e en coding amewo ks we e de eloped o code
he u e ances o add ess he wo esea ch ques ions, espec i ely: each-
e ’s ques ions posed o child en (RQ6), and s uden s’ inqui y and a gu-
men a ion skills (RQ7), bo h wi h he pu pose o explo e how eache ’s

127
Inqui y-based eaching: eache ole in child en’s engagemen
ques ioning a ec s s uden s’ engagemen in he p ac ices o inqui y and
a gumen a ion.
Fo RQ6, one hund ed u e ances we e iden i ied in Anne’s discou se
(see able 15), dis ibu ed une enly in he episodes. The analysis ocussed
on he ype o ques ions posed by he du ing he ac i i y. I needs o
be highligh ed ha in he same u e ance, mo e han one ques ion can
show; he e o e, i can be classi ied in di e en ca ego ies. The analysis o
eache ’s ques ions ollowed an induc i e and i e a i e p ocess, in which
ca ego ies eme ged in in e ac ion wi h da a and li e a u e e iew (Mills e
al., 2010). The coding scheme comp ised he inqui y and a gumen a ion
ques ions ha eme ged om eache ’s discou se. Da a we e analysed by
he au ho o he hesis and u he e ined h ough g oup discussions
wi h he supe iso s o his hesis un il an ag eemen was eached.
Rega ding he RQ7, 103 u e ances we e iden i ied in child en’s dis-
cou se, dis ibu ed une enly in 13 episodes ( able 15). To iden i y he
di e en kinds and pa e ns o in e ac ion in class oom alk, we aced
he ques ion asked by Anne, he esponses hey p omp ed on he chil-
d en, and how she ollowed-up on hem. Fo he analysis, we i s iden-
i ied he inqui y and a gumen a ion skills enac ed by s uden s, which
co esponded o he same ca ego ies de ined o eache ’s ques ions; and
hen, we compa ed in each episode he numbe and ype o ques ions
posed by he eache wi h he numbe and a ie y o skills enac ed by
he s uden s. I should be no ed o analy ical pu pose ha one u e ance
can comp ise se e al ques ions.
Table 15. Numbe o eache ’s and s uden s’ u -
e ances iden i ied in each episode
Episode (u e -
ances) Du a ion Objec Teache ’s
u e ances
S uden s’
u e ances
1 (1-5) 24 seconds Play dough 2 3
2 (6-7) 5 seconds Co on wool 1 1
3 (8-17) 51 seconds Rock 3 6
4 (18-20) 12 seconds Shee o pape 1 2
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
128
Episode (u e -
ances) Du a ion Objec Teache ’s
u e ances
S uden s’
u e ances
5 (21-26) 48 seconds Co on wool s ock 4 2
6 (27-32) 25 seconds Two shee s o pape (open) 3 3
7 (33-56) 2 minu es
20 seconds
One shee o pape s one
shee o pape shaped in a ball 12 12
8 (57 -76) 2 minu es
25 seconds
Book s shee ( h own sepa-
a ely) 9 11
9 (77-110) 3 minu es
44 seconds Book s shee o pape on op 20 16
10 (111-116) 30 seconds Two ocks 4 2
11 (117-126) 33 seconds Fea he s shee o pape 5 5
12 (127-163) 4 minu es
38 seconds A balloon 17 20
13 (164-203) 6 minu es
23 seconds
Balloon, ubbe .
D awing gene al conclusions. 19 20
To al numbe o u e ances (N=203) 100 103
6.1. Resul s: eache ’s ques ions o guide
s uden s’ engagemen in an inqui y ask
The eache , Anne, ollowed an inqui y eaching cycle ha eme ged om
he own p ac ice and s uden s’ answe s, ha allowed he o help hem
in he cons uc ion o scien i ic knowledge abou g a i y and ai ic-
ion. He eaching cycle can be cha ac e ized by a ‘closed guidance’ ha
included en ypes o d i ing ques ions, who whose main ea u es and
goals behind a e desc ibed below in able 16.
Table 16. Fea u es o d i ing ques ions posed by he eache
Type o ques ion Fea u es
Hypo hesis
To s a e he expec ed ou come o he expe imen , which goal
is o answe he ques ions “why i happens?” and “wha will
happen i we le an objec all?”. The eache usually s a ed
he episodes in oducing his ype o ques ions.
129
Inqui y-based eaching: eache ole in child en’s engagemen
Type o ques ion Fea u es
Exp ess scien i ic ideas
The eache asked his ype o ques ions o explici and ge a
be e unde s anding o hei pe sonal ideas abou scien i ic
knowledge. Child en can exp ess hem h ough e bal, ges-
u e, iconic o g aphic language.
Design pa o he expe -
imen
Child en we e p omp ed o hink abou how o he a iables
(e.g., o ce, heigh , mass) migh a ec he ou come o he
expe imen and o ake ini ia i e o p oposing ways o p o e
hei new hypo hesis.
Collec da a
This p ocess was guided h ough dialogue, p omp ing child en
o go o he middle o he ci cle and es he objec . These
kinds o ques ions helped child en unde s and ha hey need-
ed o collec da a o la e jus i y hei claims.
Analyse and in e p e da a
The eache posed hese ypes o ques ions usually a e he
da a collec ion p ocess in o de o guide child en on he p o-
cess o in e p e ing he meaning o he collec ed da a, while
looking o simila i ies o di e ences wi h he o he objec s as
well as wha hey could mean.
Cons uc claims jus i ying
hei answe s
The eache asked s uden s ‘why…?’ as a way o p omp hem
o jus i y hei analysis o in e p e a ion o he da a using
e idence.
Re ise claims
This ype o ques ion a emp ed o build an en i onmen in
which he eache p omp ed he s uden s o e hink, deba e
and coope a i ely cons uc a new and e ised claim. The
ques ions ha aimed o e ise s uden s’ claims we e o mu-
la ed by he eache a e s uden s s a ed hei hypo hesis o
hei da a analysis and in e p e a ion.
Assess claims
The eache posed hese ques ions o p omp s uden s o
ques ion i hei p e ious claims p o ided a good explana ion
o he phenomena.
D aw conclusions This ype o ques ion helped s uden s o come up wi h a con-
clusion ha a emp s o summa ise he indings o he es ing.
Rebu o he s’ claims
The eache o mula ed his ype o ques ion o p omp s u-
den s o hink he e migh be ano he plausible explana ion
o answe o he phenomena. The e o e, hey should e u e
he p e iously s a ed and p opose wi h coun e e idence and
easoning a new possible explana ion.
The sequence o hese ques ions allows us o in e he inqui y eaching
cycle displayed in igu e 3.
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130
Figu e 3. Inqui y cycle o he eache (Episodes: E1, E2…E13)
A he beginning o he inqui y-based ac i i y, Anne s a ed p esen ing
he objec s, which we e p e iously kep in a plas ic ay co e ed up by a
piece o clo h. When he s uden s we e sea ed in a ci cle, she old hem
‘Hey, look wha I’ e go he e! […] A su p ise’, ying o engage hem
om he i s momen . A e he clo h was li ed, he eache s a ed igh
away ‘Wow! Look, wha is his?’, while li ing a shee o pape . Child en
iden i ied i and p oceeded o p esen he o he objec s hey we e going
o es . A e wa ds, Anna asked hem i hey knew wha he expe imen
could be abou and, Ge a do, ges u ed as i he picked an objec and le i
all. Once Anne was su e he s uden s had iden i ied he objec s co ec ly
and knew abou he p ocedu e, she began he inqui y eaching cycle.
We iden i ied he ype o ques ions p esen ed by he eache in each
episode (co esponding o a cycle s age). As igu e 3 shows, he mos
equen episodes wi h a g ea e du a ion comp ised he skills o (a)
131
Inqui y-based eaching: eache ole in child en’s engagemen
hypo hesis, (b) collec da a, (c) analyse and in e p e da a, and (d) con-
s uc claims o jus i ying hei answe s. Table 17 shows he equencies o
each ype o ques ion in each episode and he o al numbe o ques ions
posed by he eache .
Table 17. F equencies o eache ’s d i ing inqui y ques-
ions iden i ied in he eaching cycle
Ques ions E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 E10 E11 E12 E13 To al
Hypo hesis 1111222161 7 25
Exp ess
scien i ic
ideas
1 2 5 8
Design pa
o he ex-
pe imen
1 1 3 5
Collec da a 1 313111 11
Analyse and
in e p e
da a
11314 311 15
Cons uc
claims jus-
i ying hei
answe s
2 3 3 2 3 3 16
Assess
claims 1 1 2
Re ise
claims 1 1 2 2 1 1 8
D aw con-
clusions 3 1 3 1 1 1 10
Rebu o h-
e s’ claims 1 1 2 4
Numbe
o inqui y
ope a ions
3 1 3 1 4 4 16 9 22 4 5 16 16 104
E= episode
Mos o he ques ions o mula ed by Anne we e ela ed o posing hy-
po hesis (N=25), which we e p esen a he beginning o almos e e y
episode and used as a s a egy o engage child en in he inqui y ac i i y.
Specially, du ing he i s ou episodes, in which she explo ed child en’s
scien i ic ideas abou wha would happen i hey le an objec all. In he

Inés Mosque a Ba giela
132
nex episodes, he numbe o hese ques ions inc eased p og essi ely bu
no cons an ly.
The ques ions ha aimed a he assessmen o claims (N=2) o he e-
bu al o o he s’ claims (N=3) we e he leas o mula ed. They appea ed
in E6 and E7 as well as E9 and E12, espec i ely. In addi ion, ques ions
ha p omp ed s uden s o collec (N=11), analyse and in e p e o da a
(N=16), cons uc claims o he jus i ica ion o child en’s answe s (N=16)
as well as conclusion d awing (N=10), we e he mos p esen om epi-
sodes 7 o 13. The e ision o claims (N=8) was in oduced ea ly in he
ac i i y and was usually associa ed o p omp child en o e hink hei
hypo hesis o claims.
As able 17 shows, whene e child en di ed in o he ac i i y es ing
mo e objec s, he ques ions became mo e equen and complex, eme g-
ing as he ones ela ed o he design o he expe imen , he exp ession o
scien i ic ideas, o he ebu al o o he s’ claims. Al hough, in episodes 10
and 11, his endency e e se, and only ou and i e ques ions espec-
i ely we e posed by he eache . A possible eason o his migh be he
numbe o u ns o said episodes, as i was al eady exposed in able 15.
I should be men ioned ha episode 13, in ended o conclusions,
comp ised he h ee ypes o ques ions men ioned abo e -design o he
expe imen , he exp ession o scien i ic ideas and ebu al o o he s’
claims- as well as he ones in ended o d aw conclusions, since s uden s
we e asked o engage in a dialogical p ocess o con ey all he scien i ic
no ions (e.g., concep o g a i y) hey had acqui ed du ing he ac i i y.
Wi h mo e de ail, we desc ibed he con ex in which he ques ions
appea ed in Anne’s discou se, exempli ying each ca ego y wi h exce p s
om he ansc ip as examples. The ca ego ies we e p esen ed ollowing
he equency o appea ance, om mo e o less equen .
• Hypo hesis (N=25): These ques ions we e ound a he begin-
ning o almos e e y episode asking, o ins ance, ‘Wha do you
hink will happen?’ o ‘How will i [shee o pape ] all?’, when
child en we e es ing he all o a book e sus a shee o pape
si ua ed on op o i (E9) and a balloon (E12).
133
Inqui y-based eaching: eache ole in child en’s engagemen
•
Analyse and in e p e da a (N=15) and cons uc claims o
jus i y hei answe s (N=16): Ques ions ha aimed o guide
he analysis and in e p e he da a wen almos hand in hand
wi h he p ocess o collec ion o da a and he cons uc ion o
claims o jus i y child en’s answe s. Al hough hei dis ibu ion
was sligh ly di e en , bo h had a highe equency du ing he
es ing o he book and he shee o pape si ua ed on op o
he book (E9), when compa ing i wi h o he episodes since
i was he longes episode in e ms o du a ions (see able 15).
I should be highligh ed ha Anne asked ques ions o p omp
s uden s o jus i y hei answe s mos ly when hey o mula ed a
hypo hesis o we e s a ing he esul s. An example o his can be
ound when he eache asked ‘Wha do you hink i happened?
[…]’, ying o p omp child en o analyse he da a ob ained
du ing he es . Immedia ely, a s uden answe ed, ‘The book
landed i s …because he book is hea ie ’, no only in e p e ing
he da a bu also jus i ying he answe .
•
Collec da a (N=11): This p ocess was guided h ough dialogue,
p omp ing child en o go o he middle o he ci cle and es
he objec . These kinds o ques ions helped child en unde s and
ha hey needed o collec da a o la e jus i y hei claims. I
appea ed mos ly om episode 7–12. In E7, a child asse ed ‘Bu
ha d hings all as e , and so hings all mo e slowly’, and o
cue he on collec ing mo e da a h ough obse a ion, she asked
he ‘Bu is his [ball o pape ] so ?’, alluding o he p ope ies
o he objec .
•
D aw conclusions (N=10): This ype o ques ion helped s uden s
o come up wi h a conclusion ha a emp s o summa ise he
indings o he es ing. She usually asked ‘[…] wha happened?’
a e s uden s es ed he objec s, o which hey eached a con-
clusion oge he . A he end o each inqui y es ing cycle, she
asked ‘Oh, so wha happened o i ? Wha happened when i
ell?’ o induce child en o d aw a conclusion.
• Re ise claims (N=8): These ques ions we e in oduced by he
eache o guide s uden s and make hem hink abou hei
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
134
claims. Thei p esence in he i s episodes (1, 3) aimed o he
e o mula ion o child en’s hypo hesis (e.g., ‘A e you su e i will
all?’). Whe eas, in he las episodes (7, 8, 9, 13), hey we e
linked o he e o mula ion o child en’s analysis and in e p e-
a ion o he da a (e.g., ‘Wha do you mean i he book alls, i
makes mo e ai ?’).
• Exp ess scien i ic ideas (N=8): These ques ions did no appea
much, al hough hey held aluable in o ma ion o bo h, each-
e , and pee s. Child en can exp ess hei ideas h ough e bal,
ges u e, iconic, o g aphic language. An example can be ound
when Anne asked he s uden s ‘Wha will happen i I d op he
ock?’ and comple ed i wi h ‘A e you su e? This ype o ques-
ioning igge ed a ew answe s in which s uden s p esen ed a
mo e elabo a ed explana ion abou why hey hough he ock
will all as e and e en elici ing ha wo o he pee s men ioned
he ole o g a i y in he alling objec s. This was key o he
de elopmen o he session because i hin ed he eache ha
she could mo e o wa d in o a mo e elabo a e inqui y p ocess,
ying o help s uden s unde s and which a iables (e.g., heigh ,
mass) in luenced in he all o he objec s. O he examples ha
p omp ed he exp ession o hei ideas we e ‘and wha is g a -
i y?’, eplying ha ‘i is a o ce ha … ha pull us down’, which
in u n, led o ano he ques ion: ‘[…] whe e is ha o ce?’. We
acknowledge g a i y is a p ope y o ma e ial objec s and no
a o ce as he child s a ed, none heless, his sub le app ecia ion
is a oo ad ance o 5 yea s old.
• Design o he expe imen (N=5): Ques ions like ‘[..] wha do we
ha e o do o le he balloon go?’ and ‘[…] o be able o pull,
wha do we ha e o do?’ ocused on allowing he s uden s o
decide and di ec hei a en ion on how he a iables o he
es ing and o he s hey could in oduce migh a ec he es ing.
These ques ions appea ed in he la es episodes.
•
Rebu o he ’s claims (N=3): These ypes o ques ions we e sca ce
and mos ly appea ed a he end o he ac i i y, du ing he con-
clusions. Anne wonde ed ‘…does e e y single hing all i we
135
Inqui y-based eaching: eache ole in child en’s engagemen
d op i ?’ o ‘Don’ balloon all?’ o p omp s uden s o hink
abou i he e could be ano he possible answe .
•
Assess claims (N=2): These ypes o ques ions we e sca cely
posed, and when Anne o mula ed hem, i was o ques ion
s uden s i hei p e ious answe s o claims p o ided a good
explana ion. The mos illus a i e example can be ound in E6
and E7, as she asked hem ‘Do hey weigh he same?’ o e alua e
i bo h shee s o pape s weighed he same when hey we e open
and when one o hem was olled in o a ball o pape .
Based on hese indings, he d i ing ques ions ha we e asked he mos
p omp ed child en o pose hypo hesis and jus i y hei answe s whe eas
he ypes ha we e asked he leas cued s uden s o ebu and assess
claims. These esul s hin ed ha he eache ’s ole a ied depending on
he momen o he ac i i y and, complex ques ions, e en i hey a e no
e y equen , appea ed.
6.2. Child en enac men o inqui y
and a gumen a ion skills
This sec ion add esses he analysis o he RQ7. Fi s , we p esen he in-
qui y and a gumen a ion skills iden i ied in s uden s’ discou se. Secondly,
we show he ela ionships be ween eache s’ ques ions and s uden s’
skills. Table 18 summa ises child en’s inqui y and a gumen a ion skills.
Table 18. F equencies o s uden s’ skills iden i-
ied in he inqui y-based eaching cycle
Inqui y and a gumen a ion skills To al
Hypo hesis 26
Exp ess scien i ic ideas 12
Design pa o he expe imen 6
Collec da a 12
Obse a ion 15

143
7. A PRÁCTICA DE
PENSAMENTO CRÍTICO
POLO ALUMNADO DE
EDUCACIÓN INFANTIL.
O PAPEL DAS PREGUNTAS
NA ACTIVACIÓN
DE DESTREZAS E
DISPOSICIÓNS
Es e capí ulo abo da e discu e os esul ados ela i os ao e cei o obxec i-
o de in es igación, iden i ica as des ezas e disposicións de pensamen o
c í ico no discu so da mes a e do alumnado nun con ex o de ciencias. Es e
obxec i o conc é ase en dúas p egun as de in es igación:
RQ7) Como son as cues ións dunha mes a que ac i a des ezas e dis-
posicións de pensamen o c í ico polo alumnado de educación in an il?
RQ8) Cal é a elación en e as cues ións da mes a e o p ác ica do pen-
samen o c í ico polos/as es udan es?
Co in de esponde ás p egun as de in es igación examinamos as in-
e accións dialóxicas en e os axen es educa i os implicados. En pa icu-
la , poñemos o oco no ol da mes a e a súa in luencia no desen ol e-
men o de des ezas e disposicións de pensamen o c í ico po pa e do
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
144
alumnado de in an il du an e o desen ol emen o dunha ac i idade sob e
a icción do ai e e a g a idade na caída dos obxec os.
A ac i idade analizada é a p esen ada no capí ulo an e io , de xei o que
a ansc ición e os episodios es ablecidos son os xa mencionados, mais
nes e capí ulo cen ámonos no pensamen o c í ico. Pa a a RQ8 iden i-
icá onse 99 enunciados no discu so da docen e dis ibuídos de o ma
desigual ao longo dos 13 episodios. A análise cen ouse nas p egun as
expos as pola mes a du an e a ac i idade. Cabe esal a que nun mesmo
enunciado pódense amosa máis dunha p egun a; po an o, poden apa-
ece dis in as des ezas e disposicións de pensamen o c í ico. Seguindo
a Mills e al. (2010), a análise das cues ións da mes a seguiu un p oceso
indu i o e i e a i o, no que as ca ego ías eme xe on en in e acción cos
da os e a e isión da li e a u a (Facione e al., 1995; Facione, 2000).
En can o á RQ9, iden i icá onse 101 enunciados no discu so dos/as
nenos/as, dis ibuídos de o ma desigual en 13 episodios. Pa a a análise,
p imei o iden i icamos as des ezas e disposicións exp esadas polo
alumnado, que co espondían ás mesmas ca ego ías de inidas pa a as
cues ións da mes a. A con inuación, examinamos a elación en e o
núme o e ipo de p egun as ei as pola mes a co núme o e a iedade de
des ezas e disposicións pos as en p ác ica polos/as es udan es.
En ambas p egun as de in es igación, despois de in e p e a indi-
idualmen e o ipo de p egun as o muladas, os esul ados e iná onse
e inalizá onse a a és de discusións g upais en e a dou o anda e as
di ec o as.
7.1. Ca ego ización das p egun as da docen e e
desempeño do pensamen o c í ico do alumnado
Nes e apa ado p esén anse os esul ados do es udo que conci nen a am-
bas p egun as de in es igación, debido á g an in e elación en e elas.
Coa inalidade de con ex ualiza a análise, eco damos ao/á lec o /a
que a ac i idade de indagación na que pa icipa o alumnado é a desc i a
no capí ulo an e io . Es a iña como obxec i o con ibuí á comp ensión
po pa e do alumnado dos aspec os cien í icos do mundo que os odea a
a és do desempeño de p ác icas cien í icas e pensamen o c í ico. Nes a
145
A p ác ica de pensamen o c í ico polo alumnado de educación in an il
ac i idade iden i icá ase que a mes a seguía ciclos de ensinanza basea-
dos indagación e cada un deles co espondíase coa comp obación da caí-
da dun ou a ios dos obxec os. Du an e o desen ol emen o dos ciclos de
indagación, es ablecidos du an e a análise das indagación, iden i icamos
5 des ezas de PC (in e p e ación, análise, in e encia, explicación, e au-
o egulación) e 3 disposicións de PC (sis ema icidade, se inquisi i o/a,
ape u a de men e), que se esumen nas áboas 20 e 21.
As des ezas a o ecidas pola in e ención docen e ecóllense na áboa
20. Nes a se p esen an as ecuencias de apa ición das p egun as o mu-
ladas pola docen e, seguidas de exemplos, e a ecuencia coa que di a
des eza se pe cibe no discu so do alumnado.
Táboa 20. F ecuencia e exemplos de p egun-
as que ac i an des ezas no alumnado
Des ezas
p omo idas
F ecuencia de
apa ición Exemplos de p egun as
F ecuencia
de des eza
pe cibida no
alumnado
In e encia 24 “¿Que c edes que cae á p imei o?”
“En ón así, como cae á?” 27
Explicación 29 “E, po que oa?”
“Como que se cae o lib o colle máis ai e?” 34
Análise 23 “Que pasou en ón?”
“A goma chegou despois?” 25
In e -
p e ación 8
“Se [o globo] impulsa con que?, que hai
den o?”
“Que que e dici desincha se?”
11
Au o egu-
lación 5
“Segu o?”
“Ah! Pe o segu o que é po que… en ón é que
as cousas du as se caen an es que as cosas
b andi as?”
-
A in e encia p esén ase ao comezo de cada ciclo ao longo de odos
os episodios agás do úl imo cando os/as nenos/as ex aen conclusións.
Asóciase coa pe ición de o mulación ou e isión de hipó eses se algún
alumno/a p opón unha explicación al e na i a. Un exemplo ep esen a-
i o a opámolo cando a mes a o mula a p egun a “¿[...] que ai pasa se
o [anaco de plas ilina] sol o?”, ao que unha alumna esponde que cae á,
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
146
sen emba go, algúns negan es a posibilidade e p opoñen que “ oa e aise
caendo”. Das 91 in e encións da docen e, 24 es imulan ao alumnado a
ealiza as 27 in e encias pe cibidas, nas cales se pe ciben di e en e seu
g ao de conc eción en maio (“ ai cae o lib o e o papel ai es a oando”)
ou meno (“[chega án] igual”) medida.
As cues ións asociadas á des eza de explicación amén se p esen an
ao longo dos episodios, cunha maio p esencia a pa i do momen o no
que a docen e lles demanda compa a a caída de dous obxec os, o cal
esul a máis complexo e inci a a xe a máis explicacións. Es a des eza
asóciase á pe ición de explicacións nas que o alumnado p esen a a gu-
men os elacionados coas hipó eses p e iamen e o muladas coas que
in en an explica o obse ado. A con inuación, p esen amos un ex ac o
do diálogo onde se exempli ica es a des eza asociada á a gumen ación
dunha hipó ese.
“Mes a: ós que c edes que…?
Alumna: a goma ai chega an es po que pesa máis que o globo.
Mes a: pe o seguides pensando que é po que pesa máis? É po que
pesa? Todos edes cla o que é po que pesa?
[…]
Alumna 2: non, po que a sos én o ai e.
Mes a: aaaah! Po que o ai e sos én máis a que?
Alumno: po que a goma pesa moi o e… e… e… a goma en moi a
máis o za que o…
Mes a: a goma en máis o za? Pe o onde en o za a goma?
Alumno 2: po que pesa moi o
Mes a: pe o a goma en o za?
Alumno: non, é polo peso que o ai e non a pode empuxa .”
O diálogo, ademais, e lexa a co-cons ución do coñecemen o cien í i-
co en e docen e e alumnado. Is o equi e un p oceso dialóxico, aducín-
dose nun núme o ele ado de cues ións o muladas po pa e da docen e
(N=29), omen ando que o alumnado desen ol a explicacións median e
as súas pa icipacións (N=34).
147
A p ác ica de pensamen o c í ico polo alumnado de educación in an il
O apoio p opo cionado pola mes a espec o á des eza de análise é
máis e iden e no in e do ciclo de indagación cando se analizan os e-
sul ados dos seus expe imen os, sob e odo en aqueles episodios nos que
eñen ce a complexidade pa a os/as nenos/as e equi en que os epi an.
Así mesmo, es a axuda adoi a a apa ece cando hai compa acións de
obxec os ou in oducen algunha no a a iable (ex., deixa cae o obxec o
desde máis al u a). A docen e o mula un o al de 23 p egun as, ac i-
ando 25 in e encións que p omo en o desen ol emen o da des eza
de análise no alumnado. Un exemplo des e ipo de cues ións o muladas,
que p omo en que os/as nenos/as iden i iquen p opiedades como a du-
eza ou a masa dos obxec os cos que es án expe imen ando, a opámolo
cando unha alumna a güía que “as cousas du as cáense máis ápido e as
cousas b andi as cáense máis a modo”. Es a idea p o oca que a mes a in-
oduza a cues ión “pe o is o [ olla de papel], é b andi o?”, ao que a nena
esponde a i ma i amen e e comeza un no o expe imen o co obxec i o
de que ela comp obe a alidez das súas ideas. Ou o exemplo achámolo
cando os/as nenos/as deixan cae dous olios ao mesmo empo, un coa
súa o ma o ixinal e ou o con o ma de bóla. A con inuación, a mes a
p egun a “[...] cal chegou an es?”, p omo endo que analicen os da os
ob idos nos expe imen os, como é o caso do alumno que espos a “ese,
o plano”. Sen emba go, a docen e espe a unha explicación máis azoada
e p egun a “Ah, ¿en ón a is o que lle pasou? Que ao cae había, que?”, ao
que unha nena con es a “Ai e”, de o ma que con ibúe a que a alumna
exp ese ideas coas que e o za esas explicacións.
A opamos a des eza de in e p e ación no p imei o e nos dous úl imos
episodios, onde a docen e explo a as ideas iniciais e inais do alumna-
do. Non é das des ezas máis ecuen es, a opando só 8 cues ións que
ac i an 11 in e encións dos/as nenos/as nas que se pe cibe a des eza
de in e p e ación. Es e ipo de p egun as p omo en no alumnado a ex-
p esión das súas ideas ace ca de concep os cien í icos coma o ai e, ou a
g a idade. Des a o ma, cando a mes a cues iona ao alumando como
se á a caída de calque a obxec o, azoa que es a caída debe ase á al u a.
A pa i dese momen o, o concep o de g a idade co-cons úese en e
dous compañei os/as, e inando o mesmo, al e como se pode obse a
no seguin e ex ac o:

Inés Mosque a Ba giela
148
“Alumno: Po que en…(dubida) g a idade.
Mes a: Po que en que? [...] G a idade, e que é iso de g a idade?
Alumna: É unha o za [...] que ai que che baixes.
Alumno: É como unha co en e
Alumna: É como unha co en e que ai que che baixes.”
Ou as cues ións omen an es a des eza median e a in e elación e
exp esión de ideas dos/as nenos/as espec o ás súas i encias dia ias e
a iables do expe imen o. Exemplo dis o é a p egun a “O ai e onde es á?
Onde emos ai e?”, espos ando unha nena esponde que “aquí”, men es
sinalaba oda a aula.
Po úl imo, a des eza de au o egulación, elacionada con p ocesos
me a cogni i os, oi p omo ida ao longo de oda a ac i idade coas in-
e encións docen es, se ben só hai unhas poucas p egun as da docen e
que a e lexen explici amen e (N=5). Cues ións como “segu o?” e “pe o,
sube ou… queda á [o globo] no ceo? Non ai baixa ?”, eñen como
obxec i o ace que el alumnado e lexione sob e as súas explicacións
pa a que de e minen se se axus an ao enómeno explo ado. É des acable
que non se p esen a unha co espondencia cla a de di a des eza nas
in e encións do alumnado, pois es e esponde ás p egun as da docen e
xe ando unha no a explicación, pe o non se au o egula, polo que non
p esen a un desen ol emen o cla o des a des eza. Unha posible expli-
cación é o con ex o des a in es igación, onde só p esen amos a análise
da p imei a de dez sesións, en endendo que es a pode ía adqui i se co
a ance das mesmas.
A análise dos da os e elou que as p egun as da mes a amén omen-
an o desen ol emen o dalgunhas disposicións de PC. A áboa 21 amosa
as ecuencias das cues ións que p omo en as disposicións a opadas,
exempli icacións das mesmas e a ecuencia de disposicións pe cibidas
no discu so do alumnado.
149
A p ác ica de pensamen o c í ico polo alumnado de educación in an il
Táboa 21. F ecuencia e exemplos de p egun-
as que ac i an disposicións no alumnado
Disposición F ecuencia de
apa ición Exemplos de p egun as
F ecuencia
de disposición
pe cibida no
alumnado
Sis ema i-
cidade
8 “Pois ago a ou a en olla a olla de papel
así ( uído). Ap e o, ap e o, ap e o, ap e o,
ap e o, ap e o, ap e o, ap e o…e ago a?
Cal chega á an es [das dúas ollas de
papel]?”
“A e Damián, como acemos? Damián,
Damián, cón anos.”
4
Se inquisi-
i o/a
2 “Mi ade, que é? ¿que é is o?”
“Escoi ade, en ón imos p oba con dúas
cousas...un lib o e un olio”
2
Ape u a
de men e
-Re líc ese no discu so da docen e. Non se
a opa on p egun as especí icas.
-
En e es as a opamos a disposición elacionada coa sis ema icidade, é
dici , as p egun as da docen e axudan ao alumnado a pe cibi e e lexio-
na ace ca de posibles a iables que podan a ec a ao desen ol emen o
da indagación, en conc e o, na pa e do deseño expe imen al. Es a dis-
posición, en e mos de p egun as o muladas, é a máis ecuen e (N=8),
e apa ece du an e oda a ac i idade. Sen emba go, en un meno impac o
no desempeño do alumnado quen só in e eñen en 4 ocasións. Un exem-
plo ca ac e ís ico achámolo cando a mes a lles cues iona ace ca de dúas
ollas de papel: “Dúas ollas iguali as, ós cal c edes que pesa á máis?”,
se indo como e amen a non só pa a p omo e que os/as nenos/as
e lexionen sob e a a iable masa e como a ec a ía á caída do obxec o,
senón amén pa a coñece a súa noción de conse ación. Nou as oca-
sións é o p opio alumnado quen in oduce unha no a a iable, como é o
caso do alumno que a i ma que na caída a olla de papel chegou despois
que o lib o xa que “[...] non lle dou empo a que se mo ese [...]”. Es e a i -
mación p o oca que ol an a ealiza o expe imen o, pa a o que a mes a
p egun a “P obamos? Ana (ela) é máis al a? [...] Tí oo eu?”, p ocedendo
a ealiza o expe imen o con es a no a a iable.
Inés Mosque a Ba giela
150
A disposición de se inquisi i o/a é p omo ida pola docen e en escasas
ocasións (N=2), as cales eñen como obxec i o omen a a cu iosidade
do alumnado pa a mo i alos coa ac i idade ou man e a súa a ención.
Na in odución ao p esen a os obxec os a mes a p egun aba “Mi ade,
que é? Que é is o?”, así como ao a i ma “Escoi ade, en ón imos p oba
con dúas cousas...un lib o e un olio”. Un alumno mani es a cu iosidade
en di e en es momen os da ac i idade po como o cambio na o ma do
olio (“ou amén pode íase ace un a ión de papel…”) y la a iable
al u a (“e ago a desde o ei o”) in lui ía nos esul ados dos expe imen os.
Po úl imo, como se ap ecia no seguin e ex ac o, o discu so da docen e
p omo e en a ias ocasiones la ape u a de men e do alumnado.
“Mes a: Pau, i que c es que ai pasa ?
Alumno3: a p imei a páxina [do lib o] e a úl ima pesan.
Mes a: a p imei a páxina e a úl ima, as ou as non pesan?
Alumno: eh...un pouco.
Mes a: ( uído de oces) Eu non me es ou en e ando. A e , Ismael,
Ismael.
[...]
Alumno3: o que pesa do lib o é a po ada e a con apo ada.
Mes a: e po que pesa a po ada e a con apo ada?
Va ios: po que son máis du as
Alumna2: non, po que son máis go das
Mes a: po que son máis go das. En ón, c edes que se i o o papel
e o…Sa a, a e [...].”
A di e encia das ou as disposicións, a docen e non omen a es a dis-
posición a a és de p egun as especí icas, senón que o ai median e o
seu discu so, especi icamen e, median e o in e cambio de opinións, p o-
mo endo a pa icipación de odo o alumnado, e endo en con a as súas
ideas pa a a co-cons ución de coñecemen o.
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A p ác ica de pensamen o c í ico polo alumnado de educación in an il
7.2. Discusión e conclusións pa ciais
Os esul ados o ecen in o mación sob e como as p egun as da docen e
ac i an o desempeño de des ezas e disposicións de PC nos es udan es
de educación in an il. Es es esul ados e o zan a idea da idoneidade das
p egun as como es a exia de andamiaxe que acili a o PC e a comp en-
sión de coñecemen os cien í icos polo alumnado ( an Uum e al., 2016).
Bigge s (2018) a i ma que os/as docen es deben inicia aos/ás nenos/as
na indagación pa indo de si uacións es u u adas pa a desa ia se a si
mesmos/as con espec o con espec o ao con ido e a au onomía. En liña
con es a au o a, coincidimos en que debido a que o desen ol emen o do
PC é dependen e do con ex o da a e a na que o alumnado es á implicado
(G eene & Yu, 2016) e á complexidade das des ezas e disposicións de
PC pa a es e, especialmen e en in an il, é p eciso que a mes a se mo a
den o dun con ínuum bas an e es u u ado. Nes e sen ido, León (2015),
e Hmelo-Sli e e al. (2007) a i ma on que pa a axuda ao alumnado a
desen ol e o PC un al o g ao de au onomía pode ía non se e ec i o.
É po is o que esul a ele an e coñece as es a exias que emp ega a
docen e pa a in oduci ao alumnado de educación in an il nes e ipo
de p ác icas.
A compa ación en e as des ezas p omo idas pola docen e coas pe -
cibidas no alumnado pon de mani es o unha conco dancia en e ambas.
En liñas xe ais, podemos a i ma que as p egun as guían a pa icipación
do alumnado. A maio ía das des ezas desen ol idas polo alumnado
amosan un le e inc emen o na súa ecuencia con espec o ás cues ións
o muladas pola docen e. Exemplo dis o é a des eza de explicación, a
cal ga da unha es ei a elación coa p ác ica cien í ica de a gumen ación
pudendo ambas desen ol e se de o ma conxun a, como demos ou o
es udio con es udan es de secunda ia de Glassne e Schwa z (2005). Sen
emba go, a a onde sabemos, non se coñecen in es igacións que abo den
es es aspec os en educación in an il. A des eza de in e encia, asociada
á o mulación de hipó eses, oi a segunda máis p omo ida pola docen e.
Chin e Osbo ne (2008) examina on a o mulación de hipó eses nes a
e apa educa i a e a inculan coa es a exia de cues ionamen o pa a p o-
mo e a cons ución de coñecemen o cien í ico, ambas inculadas ao PC.