Young Children's Epistemic Operations and Emergent Argumentation in Inquiry-Based Discussions: The Role of Teacher Questioning and Collaborative Interactions

Jou nal o Resea ch in Science Teaching, 2025; 0:1–20
h ps://doi.o g/10.1002/ ea.70010
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Jou nal o Resea ch in Science Teaching
RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS
Young Child en's Epis emic Ope a ions and Eme gen
A gumen a ion in Inqui y- Based Discussions: The Role o
Teache Ques ioning and Collabo a i e In e ac ions
LidiaCaño | JosuSanz
Depa men o Didac ics o Ma hema ics, Expe imen al and Social Sciences, Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU),Spain
Co espondence: Lidia Caño ([email protected])
Recei ed: 2 Ap il 2022 | Re ised: 30 Ap il 2025 | Accep ed: 2 May 2025
Funding: This wo k was suppo ed by Euskal He iko Unibe si a ea, GIU21/031, Minis e io de Ciencia e Inno ación, PID2022- 137010OB- I00.
Keywo ds: a gumen a ion| epis emic ope a ions| p ima y school science| eache ques ioning| use o e idence
ABSTRACT
P omo ing a gumen a ion based on e idence allows s uden s o gi e meaning o he phenomena obse ed, enabling he cons uc-
ion o knowledge. Child en's a gumen a i e discou se can be ac i a ed by app op ia e ins uc ion, bu he e is li le in o ma ion
on a gumen a ion a ea ly ages and he e is a need o he eache o unde s and how o os e and guide he a icula ion o ideas
a his s age. In his s udy we aim o assess how eache s' dialogical p ac ices s imula e young child en o engage in a gumen-
a ion and knowledge cons uc ion h ough simul aneously analyzing he eache 's ques ions and child en's answe s, om he
double scope o he epis emic and a gumen a i e ope a ions. We analyzed elemen a y class oom discussions o s uden s in ol ed
in inqui y ac i i ies on plan g ow h led by wo di e en ainee eache s. Ou esul s show ha 6–7- yea - olds we e able o no
only use expe imen al da a and p io knowledge as e idence o gene a e explana ions and d aw conclusions bu also e alua e and
ques ion he ideas o o he s. This ga e ise o small a gumen a i e nodes in which a p ocess o co- cons uc ion o knowledge on
plan g ow h and co e concep s o he li ing being ook place. We ha e iden i ied h ee undamen al cha ac e is ics o he dia-
logical s a egies ha can condi ion he quali y o he s uden s' p ac ice: he ype o eache 's ques ions, he o de o ques ioning
sequence, and ce ain alk mo es o manage co ec o inco ec esponses and o s imula e pee collabo a ion. Ou esul s indi-
ca e ha eache s could in ol e s uden s in high- le el epis emic ope a ions bu also implemen app op ia e dialogic echniques
o aise he le el o a gumen a ion and scien i ic easoning om an ea ly age.
1 | In oduc ion
Lea ning akes place h ough social in e ac ion, so ha
knowledge eme ges om complex and con inuous exchanges
be ween hough , language, and he en i onmen (Me ce
e  al. 2004; Si y e  al. 2012). Social in e ac ions be ween s u-
den s and eache s h ough he use o discou se allow ideas
o be es ed and acili a e he cons uc ion o scien i ic unde -
s anding o phenomena (D i e e al.2000). Child en wo king
oge he and wi h he eache in small- g oup si ua ions can use
e idence and easoning o gene a e scien i ic knowledge, o
explain na u al phenomena, and o a gue and c ea e a sha ed
unde s anding, hus engaging in he p ac ice o a gumen a ion
(Jiménez- Aleixand e e al.2000; Jin and Kim2020; Lemke1990;
Naylo e al.2007; Oli ei a2010; Si y e al.2012). Bu o s u-
den s o ac i a e hei a gumen a i e science discou se, hey
mus be engaged in se e al epis emic ope a ions in ol ed in
he p ocesses o gene a ing o ga he ing da a (e.g., obse ing
o measu ing), and in using e idence o ex ac knowledge
(e.g., cons uc ing o e alua ing explana ions) (Ch is odoulou
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2 o 20 Jou nal o Resea ch in Science Teaching, 2025
and Osbo ne2014; Jiménez- Aleixand e e al.2000; Kelly2008;
Lemke1990; NRC2012).
When s uden s gene a e and e alua e e idence h ough class
discussions, p oduc i e dialogue akes place (Hogan e al.1999).
Howe e , he eache acili a es he cons uc ion o knowledge
h ough dialogue by guiding he s uden s' discou se owa ds he
lea ning o he co e scien i ic ideas (Chen e al.2014; Windschi l
e al.2008; Yip2004) h ough app op ia e discu si e p ac ices,
such as ques ioning and alk mo es (Chin2007; Els gees 1985;
Soysal and Yilmaz- Tuzun2021).
The main goal o his s udy is o imp o e ou unde s anding o
science alk in elemen a y class ooms and ge insigh s o in o m
e ec i e eache 's dialogical s a egies. Unde s anding which
dialogic p ac ices a e mos e ec i e in p omo ing s uden s'
co- cons uc ion o knowledge equi es a comp ehensi e exam-
ina ion o he class discou se and he eache - s uden dialogic
in e ac ions in a eal class oom con ex .
Resea ch on class oom scien i ic dialogue has ocused
on he analysis o he s uden s' s a emen s and explana-
ions (e.g., E du an e al.2004; Jin and Kim2020; Maloney
and Simon 2006), he eache s' ques ions and p omp s
(e.g., Benedic - Chambe s e  al. 2017; Ch is odoulou and
Osbo ne2014; Kawalka and Vijapu ka  2013; Soysal2019)
o bo h (Chin 2006, 2007; Lee and Kinzie 2012; Lowell
e al.2022; Manz and Renga2017). To cap u e he complexi y
o class oom scien i ic dialogue, we unde ake a mul idimen-
sional analysis o bo h eache –s uden and s uden –s uden
in e ac ions ha in eg a es he simul aneous ca ego iza ion
o se e al cons uc s o class oom con e sa ion ha a e in i-
ma ely ela ed o each o he .
Speci ically, in his s udy, we analyze scien i ic discussions o
a g oup o 6–7- yea - old child en engaged in expe imen al in-
qui y wi h plan s. Resea ch on a gumen a i e p ac ices has
mos ly ocused on seconda y and uppe elemen a y school
class ooms (e.g., Jiménez- Aleixand e e  al. 2000; Kawalka
and Vijapu ka  2013; McNeill and Pimen el 2010), bu om
he age o 4–6 yea s, child en a e able o gene a e p edic ions,
use obse a ions as e idence, and e alua e and ques ion each
o he (F ejd2019; Kim and Ro h2018; Me z 2011; Manz and
Allen2017; Ru man e al.1993; Si y e al.2012). Since young
child en a e o en mis ep esen ed in he scien i ic li e a u e, ou
esea ch aims o p o ide e idence on he abili y o s uden s in
he p eope a ional s age o engage in a gumen a i e and epis-
emic ope a ions.
We speci ically seek o answe he ollowing esea ch ques ions
RQ1. Wha epis emic and a gumen a i e ope a ions eme ge in
young child en's alk du ing a eache - guided a gumen - based
inqui y ac i i y?
RQ2. Wha is he con ibu ion o he eache 's dialogical s a -
egies o he child en's pe o mance o epis emic ope a ions and
a gumen a ion?
RQ3. How does guided a gumen a ion p omo e sense- making
o concep ual co e ideas?
2 | Theo e ical Backg ound
In his s udy, we assess ou majo cons uc s in class oom alk
h ough discou se analysis: child en's a gumen a ion, child en's
epis emic ope a ions, he eache ques ions ha guide he dis-
cussion, and he co e scien i ic ideas add essed. In his sec ion,
we de ine and e iew hese cons uc s and hei implica ions
in he con ex o science lea ning and he me hodological ap-
p oaches adop ed o analyze hei accomplishmen in science
class oom se ings.
2.1 | Engaging in A gumen a ion and Epis emic
Ope a ions o Sense- Making and Knowledge
Cons uc ion
In a gumen a ion p ac ice, empi ical o heo e ical e idence is
used o cons uc and e alua e knowledge claims indi idually
and collabo a i ely (E du an and Jiménez- Aleixand e 2007).
Class oom communi ies should allow s uden s o engage in
a gumen s and discussions abou he easons and c i e ia hey
use o choosing one explana ion o e ano he by es ablish-
ing explici ela ionships be ween e idence and conclusion
(Duschl2008; Kim and Ro h2018; McNeill and Pimen el2010).
The mos widely used me hodological ool o analyze a gumen-
a ion in class oom alk is Toulmin's a gumen pa e n (TAP)
(Toulmin2003), which consis s o a claim, e idence, wa an s,
backings, ebu als, and quali ie s (e.g., Ca agne o e al.2010;
McNeill2011; Maloney and Simon2006; Mon ei a and Jiménez-
Aleixand e 2016; Soysal 2023). Howe e , some s udies ha e
highligh ed me hodological limi a ions associa ed wi h he cod-
ing p ocess o a gumen a ion and o he ac ha i p o ides li le
speci ic in o ma ion abou he quali y o he a gumen (E du an
e al.2004; Jiménez- Aleixand e e al.2000; Kelly e al.1998). In
o de o allow he global na u e o he a gumen a ion o be in-
es iga ed, E du an e al.(2004) ex ended he uni o analysis o
b oade sequences a he han indi idual componen s. S udies
adop ing his app oach (di e en amewo ks e iewed in Cla k
e al.2007) ca ego ize di e en a gumen a i e ope a ions, such
as ein o cing a claim wi h addi ional da a and/o wa an s, o
p o iding coun e a gumen s ha challenge he alidi y o he
claim. Mo eo e , he analysis o con e sa ional sequences p o-
ides insigh in o he di e en pa e ns o in e ac ion and he
quan i y and quali y o exchanges (s uden –s uden o eache –
s uden ) ha occu du ing he discussion (Soysal2023).
In ou s udy, we ha e adop ed he a o emen ioned amewo ks
o he analysis o bo h he a gumen cons uc ion and a gu-
men a i e p ocess. In addi ion, in o de o accoun also o he
quali y o he a gumen , we belie e i is necessa y o examine
he epis emic na u e o easoning, ha is, wha s uden s ap-
peal o in hei explana ions, since he e is an in e nal link
be ween epis emic and a gumen a i e ope a ions (Pon eco o
and Gi a de 1993). The p ac ice o a gumen a ion in ol es in-
deed he sum o a se ies o epis emic ope a ions ha con ibu e
o he cons uc ion o knowledge h ough scien i ic dialogue
(Ch is odoulou and Osbo ne2014; Kelly2008). In his ega d,
some s udies ha e de eloped a amewo k ela ing a gumen-
a i e ope a ions and epis emic ope a ions h ough a double
ca ego iza ion o s uden s' discou se elemen s. Mason(1996)
10982736, 0, Downloaded om h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ ea.70010 by Uni e sidad Del País Vasco, Wiley Online Lib a y on [26/09/2025]. See he Te ms and Condi ions (h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/ e ms-and-condi ions) on Wiley Online Lib a y o ules o use; OA a icles a e go e ned by he applicable C ea i e Commons License
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and Jiménez- Aleixand e e  al. (2000) de eloped Pon eco o
and Gi a de 's(1993) amewo k o he social sciences o in-
es iga e how s uden s cons uc and e alua e a gumen s in
he expe imen al sciences domain. The epis emic ope a ions
iden i ied in hese and subsequen s udies (e.g., Ch is odoulou
and Osbo ne2014) included iden i ying a iables, desc ibing,
classi ying, o appealing o analogies o a ibu es. This ap-
p oach allows o a mo e de ailed analysis o he epis emic
c i e ia (how he claim is jus i ied) used o es ablish he qual-
i y and soundness o he a gumen (E du an and Jiménez-
Aleixand e 2007; Jiménez- Aleixand e e  al. 2000; Sampson
and Cla k2008).
The e o e, in his s udy we iden i ied bo h he a gumen a i e
and epis emic ope a ions in child en's dialogue in an inqui y
se ing. Inqui y si ua ions p o ide s uden s wi h a amewo k
o es ablishing explici ela ionships be ween e idence and
conclusion (Duschl 2008; Kim and Ro h 2018; McNeill and
Pimen el2010), as lea ne s go h ough se e al epis emic ope a-
ions (obse e, desc ibe, explain, ques ion…) o gene a e da a ha
u n in o e idence o knowledge cons uc ion (Ch is odoulou
and Osbo ne2014; Jiménez- Aleixand e e al.2000; Kelly2008;
Lemke1990; NRC2012). Howe e , along wi h epis emic p ac-
ices, s uden s mus also be in ol ed wi h scien i ic con en
(Chen e  al.2014; Windschi l e al. 2008; Yip 2004). E du an
and Jiménez- Aleixand e(2007) a gue ha i we wan o know
whe he a gumen a ion skills in luence he acquisi ion o scien-
i ic knowledge, we should simul aneously measu e a gumen-
a ion skills and concep ual knowledge in class oom scien i ic
dialogue (e.g., F ejd2019; Yip2004).
2.2 | The Role o he Teache in P omo ing
S uden s' A gumen a ion and Knowledge
Cons uc ion
Teache s' discu si e p ac ices a e de e minan in os e ing he
eache - s uden ela ionship and he collec i e sense- making.
This is pa icula ly ue o young child en, who need app o-
p ia e ins uc ional s a egies o mo e beyond obse a ion and
desc ip ion o engage in explana o y and e alua i e easoning
(Maloney and Simon2006; Manz and Allen2017; Me z2011;
Va elas and Pappas2013).
S uden s can eel encou aged o pa icipa e in he co- cons uc ion
o science meaning when he eache 's discou se o e comes he
“ iadic dialogue” (ini ia ion- esponse- e alua ion, IRE pa e n,
Lemke1990; Chin2006). This ole encompasses eache s o -
mula ing ques ions in a neu al non- e alua i e way (i.e., a e-
lec i e ques ioning) by cap u ing he meaning o he s uden 's
s a emen s and e u ning he esponsibili y o e lec ion back
o he s uden s ( an Zee and Mins ell1997). Howe e , adop ing
his esponsi e eaching s a egy inc eases he unp edic abili y
o s uden esponses and equi es eache s o make con inu-
ous decisions o suppo o e ame ideas in a p oduc i e way
(K is and Shim2024; Wa kins and Manz2022). In his ega d,
a majo challenge o esea ch is o iden i y and p o ide ools o
in- se ice bu also p e- se ice science eache s o engage s u-
den s in p oduc i e dialogue, especially in he ea ly educa ional
s ages. Se e al s udies ha e in eg a ed esea ch and p ac ice
o de elop pedagogical s a egies o eaching science eache s
o suppo a gumen a ion in he class oom (Simon e al.2006;
Zembal- Saul2009). In his wo k, we in end o cha ac e ize he
discu si e s a egies used by p e- se ice eache s wi h young
child en in o de o gain insigh s ha we can, in u n, use in
eache aining p og ams.
P e ious s udies ha e de ined speci ic ca ego ies o ques ions
and alk mo es used by eache s o elici ing, challenging, and
ex ending s uden s' ideas. Els gees  (1985) desc ibed di e en
ypes o p oduc i e ques ions (e.g., a en ion, ocusing o ea-
soning ques ions), and, om empi ical esea ch, Chin (2006)
ca ego ized eache ques ions acco ding o hei pu pose o cog-
ni i e unc ion (elici ing, p obing, ex ending, cla i ying o chal-
lenging). Wi hin he amewo k o eache eedback on s uden
con ibu ion, an Zee and Mins ell(1997) desc ibed a numbe
o e lec i e osses o e u n he esponsibili y o knowledge
cons uc ion back o he lea ne . Likewise, Chin(2006) iden-
i ied ollow- up mo es such as “Ex ension by esponsi e ques-
ioning” o co ec answe s and “Cons uc i e challenge” o
inco ec answe s. She also included “ e oicing” s a emen s,
p e iously desc ibed by O'Conno and Michaels(1993), in which
he eache es a ed o e o mula e s uden s' o al con ibu ions
o a i m hei esponses and make hei ideas a ailable o all.
Mo e ecen ly, V ikki and E ago ou (2023) de eloped a cod-
ing scheme ha g ouped p e iously conside ed and new ques-
ions ypes in o con en - ela ed ca ego ies and o ma - ela ed
ca ego ies.
In he con ex o inqui y- based eaching, empi ical wo ks
(Benedic - Chambe s e al.2017; Kawalka and Vijapu ka 2013;
S udhal e e al.2021) ha e desc ibed a p og ession o ques ion-
ing ca ego ies o sca old inqui y and a gumen a ion p ocesses
h ough he inqui y phases: explo e, make p edic ions, eco d
obse a ions, explain, p o e o challenge ideas, e ine, and ex-
end ideas. O he s udies ha e also ca ego ized he cogni i e
demand o eache s' ques ions as lowe ( hose used o e alua e
he knowledge le el o s uden s, such as ecogni ion o ecall
ques ions) o highe ( easoning o e alua ion ques ions) (e.g.,
Lee and Kinzie2012; Oli ei a2010; Soysal2019, 2023; V ikki
and E ago ou2023).
Se e al au ho s ha e join ly e alua ed eache and s uden u e -
ances by iden i ying he unc ion o cogni i e le el o he ques-
ion, and he cogni i e p ocess o quali y o he a gumen a ion
o easoning gene a ed in he lea ne 's esponse (Chin 2007;
Manz and Renga2017; Pimen el and McNeill2013; Soysal and
Yilmaz- Tuzun2021; V ikki and E ago ou2023). Mo e ecen
s udies emphasize he impo ance o esponsi e eaching s a e-
gies o s uden s' easoning a c i ical momen s o sense- making,
e en cha ac e izing he a ious pedagogical decisions made
by he eache du ing en i e episodes (K is and Shim 2024;
Soysal2023; Wa kins and Manz2022).
2.3 | Ou F amewo k
We wo k on he assump ion ha he eache 's ques ions s im-
ula e he pe o mance o epis emic ope a ions by he s uden s,
which in u n leads o he cons uc ion o a gumen s and en-
gagemen in he a gumen a ion p ocess, he con en o which
is ocused on he co e scien i ic ideas. The e o e, al hough mos
10982736, 0, Downloaded om h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ ea.70010 by Uni e sidad Del País Vasco, Wiley Online Lib a y on [26/09/2025]. See he Te ms and Condi ions (h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/ e ms-and-condi ions) on Wiley Online Lib a y o ules o use; OA a icles a e go e ned by he applicable C ea i e Commons License
4 o 20 Jou nal o Resea ch in Science Teaching, 2025
s udies on class oom alk ocus in one aspec o he s uden 's
and/o he eache 's discou se ( he abo e- desc ibed ame-
wo ks), we p opose a mul idimensional analysis o add ess he
ou cons uc s e iewed abo e by simul aneously coding he
eache 's ques ions, he epis emic ope a ions hey encou age,
hei linguis ic exp ession— he a gumen a ion p ac ice—and
he concep ual knowledge ha a ises.
Th ough his de ailed analysis, we in end o cap u e and cha -
ac e ize he mos ele an aspec s o class oom discu si e and
easoning p ac ices, and o iden i y eache s' mos e ec i e di-
alogical s a egies du ing guided inqui y wi h young child en.
3 | Me hods
3.1 | S udy Design and Pa icipan s
We quan i a i ely and quali a i ely analyzed wo case s ud-
ies consis ing o elemen a y class oom discussions a ound he
esul s o inqui y ac i i ies and he ways in which p e- se ice
eache s suppo ed s uden alk du ing hose ac i i ies. The ex-
plo a o y case s udy was ound o be he mos con enien e-
sea ch design o cap u e he complexi y o eache –s uden and
s uden –s uden discu si e in e ac ions. The case s udy acil-
i a es he esea ch conce ning con ex s in eal ime when he
objec i e o he in es iga ion is mo e he lea ning p ocess han
he esul i sel and when he esea che has limi ed con ol
(Yin2009).
The i s case s udy consis ed o a g oup o 1s - g ade s uden s
who ca ied ou an expe imen al inqui y ac i i y on plan s
and a discussion on he esul s led by Teache Ai o (pseud-
onym), who was a school pa en and had expe ience as an
adul eache . The second case s udy consis ed o he same
g oup o s uden s du ing he 2nd g ade who ca ied ou an
expe imen al inqui y ac i i y ela ed o he p e ious one and
a discussion on he esul s led by Teache No a (pseudonym),
who had no eaching expe ience a he ime o he s udy. The
wo p e- se ice eache s we e senio s om he uni e si y, o -
me pupils o he i s au ho , and hey we e also alumni o
he s udy school. A he ime o he s udy, bo h p e- se ice
eache s had ecei ed gene al ins uc ion on science educa-
ion du ing hei unde g adua e cou ses bu no speci ic ain-
ing in eache ques ioning.
Add essing hese wo cases allowed us o ob ain mo e in o ma-
ion abou he deg ee o consis ency o he esul s and de ec pos-
sible di e ences be ween he eache 's discu si e pa e ns. The
selec ion o pa icipan s was based on con enience sampling. A
eache in cha ge o a g oup o p ima y school s uden s ag eed
o pa icipa e in he in es iga ion by aking and men o ing wo
ainee eache s who collabo a ed in he esea ch p ojec o
12 weeks pe yea o wo consecu i e yea s. A he ime o he
s udy, he main eache had 14 yea s o eaching expe ience in
he school, du ing which ime she had men o ed 14 p e- se ice
eache s.
The pa icipan s consis ed o 21 s uden s, 10 gi ls and 11 boys,
and all s uden s we e bo n in he small own o he s udy school.
The na i e ongue o all he pa icipan s is Basque, and eaching
was conduc ed en i ely in he Basque language. The school was
loca ed in a small coas al own o abou 6000 inhabi an s in he
Basque Coun y (Spain). The main pedagogical s a egy o he
school is p ojec - based lea ning (PBL) whe e s uden s ollow
hei own in e es s, esponding o challenges and si ua ions cen-
e ed on eal issues.
3.2 | Con ex o he S udy and Da a Collec ion
This s udy was no an in e en ion s udy since he speci ic
lea ning ac i i y was join ly designed by he head eache and
co esponding p e- se ice eache . The se ings o bo h lea ning
ac i i ies we e es ablished be o ehand and ag eed upon wi h he
esea che s, namely (1) engaging s uden s in an in es iga ion o
ga he and use e idence, (2) add essing he main co e ideas o
he li ing being h ough plan s, and (3) o he 2nd yea , ollow-
ing up he concep s add essed du ing he 1s yea .
The guidelines o leading class oom discussions we e designed
and conduc ed by Teache Ai o and Teache No a, who had
ag eed wi h he esea che s o adop he ollowing eaching se-
quence: (1) de ec ing p e ious ideas abou li ing beings; (2) en-
gaging s uden s in science p ac ices o knowledge cons uc ion:
designing an expe imen (in 2nd g ade), ob aining and using
e idence, and e alua ing he ideas o o he s; (3) s uc u ing and
gene alizing eme ging scien i ic ideas.
Se e al ini ial d awings o 1s g ade s showed ha some inan-
ima e elemen s we e conside ed as li ing beings while plan s
we e no . Fo his eason, Teache Ai o p oposed wo king on
he cha ac e is ics o li ing beings by ob aining e idence ela ed
o plan s h ough an expe imen al in es iga ion o plan ge mi-
na ion and g ow h p ocesses. The inqui y ques ion aised by
Teache Ai o was “Is he plan a li ing being? Why?” The ex-
pe imen al design consis ed o g owing le uce plan s and sow-
ing bean and le uce seeds wi h and wi hou wa e . The child en
conduc ed a isual ollow- up o he expe imen and a discussion
o he esul s.
Teache No a con i med h ough d awings ha 2nd g ade chil-
d en conside ed plan s o be li ing beings bu some misconcep-
ions a ose ega ding he p ocess o ge mina ion and g ow h.
The e o e, she guided he child en in designing an expe imen
consis ing o sowing pea seeds in and ou side he class oom and
s udying he e ec o wo a iables, wa e and ligh , on ge mina-
ion and ea ly g ow h. The inqui y ques ion o he second case
s udy was: “Wha does a plan need o be bo n? And o g ow?”
Child en indi idually moni o ed he esul s o he expe imen
using a simple da a collec ion empla e and engaged in he dis-
cussion o he esul s.
Each eache subdi ided he g oup in o wo subg oups o
abou 10 s uden s o acili a e s uden pa icipa ion, he ea e
g oups A and B o Teache Ai o 's s uden s and g oups C and
D o Teache No a's. Each eache led a 15–20- min discus-
sion wi h each subg oup based on obse a ions made du ing
he expe imen , so ha child en had he oppo uni y o con-
s uc e idence- based explana ions. Resea che s and eache s
esol ed o use ques ions o ge he child en o alk abou wha
hey obse ed, o use e idence o answe he ini ial ques ion,
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5 o 20
and o b ing ou hei ideas and allow in e ac ion. Bo h each-
e s elabo a ed a sc ip o speci ic ques ions acco ding o hese
c i e ia and hei own, wi hou elying on any bibliog aphic
ma e ial.
In he i s case s udy, he ques ions posed as a guide by Teache
Ai o we e he ollowing: “Wha has happened hese days wi h he
plan s?”, “Do you hink plan s a e li ing beings? Why?”, “When
do you know ha some hing you see is a li ing being?”, “How do
you dis inguish i i is a li ing o non- li ing hing?”. In he second
case s udy, he ques ions posed as a guide by Teache No a we e:
“Wha ha e you lea ned om his expe imen ? Why?”, “Why do
you hink ha happened?”, “Wha do plan s need o be bo n? And
o g ow? Why?”. In bo h cases, deba es a ose ollowing hese guid-
ing ques ions, leading o bo h eache s ha ing o aise mo e spon-
aneous ques ions and s a emen s as eedback, always wi h a iew
o helping s uden s ques ion and e o mula e hei ini ial ideas and
disco e pa e ns based on wha had been obse ed.
In bo h case s udies, eache s pe o med o maliza ion ac i i ies
o s uc u e he concep s lea ned du ing he inqui y using ad-
di ional explana ions and Suppo ing In o ma ion. All he nec-
essa y pe mission consen s we e ob ained, and he p ocess o
ensu e anonymi y and o gua an ee he e hical managemen o
he da a was ca e ully obse ed.
3.3 | Da a Analysis
Reco dings o he discussion sessions we e ansc ibed and
pseudonyms we e assigned o he child en. The uni o analy-
sis was he speaking u n, de ined as each o he s a emen s o
he pa icipan s in he discussion. S a emen s in which he chil-
d en de ia ed comple ely om he opic being add essed we e
excluded om he analysis.
We ca ego ize epis emic and a gumen a i e ope a ions ha
eme ge in young child en's alk (RQ1) based on bibliog aphy.
Since we aimed o engage s uden s in ope a ions o iden i ica-
ion and use o e idence, we applied a double ca ego iza ion
o s uden s' s a emen s o ela e a gumen a i e ope a ions and
epis emic ope a ions, as in Mason(1996), Jiménez- Aleixand e
e al.(2000) and Pon eco o and Gi a de (1993). In his s udy,
we adop ed he TAP amewo k (Toulmin2003) o iden i y in
child en's u e ances e idence, claim, easoning, o wa an s
ha jus i y he connec ion be ween he e idence and he claim,
modal quali ie s ha e e o he eliabili y o be placed on he
claim, and backing s a emen s, ha is, heo e ical o empi ical
knowledge on which easoning elies. When he claim and he
co esponding easoning we e included in he same s a emen ,
we conside ed he s a emen as a comple e a gumen , sensu
McNeill(2011).
We also analyzed he a gumen a ion p ocess, i.e., he s a emen s
in esponse o he cons uc ed a gumen s adap ed om E du an
e al.(2004). On he one hand, we iden i ied coun e a gumen s
and p o- a gumen s and e alua ed whe he hese consis ed
o simple claims o i hey used e idence. On he o he hand,
we iden i ied and examined episodes o s uden collabo a ion
in which a gumen a ion ook place h ough s uden –s uden
in e ac ions.
We analyzed he epis emic ope a ions pe o med by child en
and he epis emic c i e ia used in hei easoning, ha is, wha
s uden s appeal o in hei explana ions, acco ding o he li e -
a u e (Ch is odoulou and Osbo ne 2014; Jiménez- Aleixand e
e al.2000; Lemke1990; Mason1996). In ou pa icula con ex ,
we ha e iden i ied six key epis emic ope a ions in ela ion o he
collec ing and using o e idence: obse e, desc ibe, compa e,
in e p e , explain, and e alua e. Obse a ion is linked o di ec
expe ience in he class oom while desc ibing can be based on
bo h di ec obse a ion and p io knowledge. Compa ing (e.g.,
be ween expe imen al condi ions) is he ac ion o iden i ying
pa e ns and beginning o in e p e da a. In e p e a ion e e s o
he induc i e s a emen s ha child en make on aw da a p io o
cons uc ing a mo e sound explana ion. Explaining in ol es ex-
p essing easoning on a phenomenon based on da a o e idence,
and e alua ing in ol es making judgmen s abou easoning p e-
iously explained by o he s uden s. In he case o explana ions
and e alua ions, we u he iden i ied wha s uden s appealed o
in suppo o hei easoning. Two epis emic le els we e de ined
in ela ion o he use o e idence (Duschl2008): ope a ions lead-
ing o he iden i ica ion o e idence (le el 1), such as obse ing,
desc ibing, and compa ing, and ope a ions ha in ol e he use
o e idence h ough e alua i e judgmen s, such as in e p e ing,
explaining, and e alua ing easoning (le el 2) (Table1).
To assess he con ibu ion o eache 's dialogical s a egies o
he child en's pe o mance o epis emic ope a ions and a gu-
men a ion (RQ2) we i s ca ego ized he eache s' ques ions
and alk mo es acco ding o he li e a u e and hen e al-
ua ed he pa e ns o s uden – eache and s uden –s uden
in e ac ions.
We ocused on ques ions ha po en ially s imula ed he use
o e idence and he epis emic ope a ions equi ed o i . Fo
ha eason, we combined Els gees 's(1985) app oach o p o-
duc i e ques ions and Chin's(2006) conside a ion o ypes o
eache eedback h ough di e en ques ions o alk mo es
(O'Conno and Michaels 1993; Oli ei a 2010; Pimen el and
McNeill2013; Soysal2019). The ca ego iza ion o p oduc i e
ques ions o alk mo es used in his s udy, i s desc ip ion, and
co esponding examples and bibliog aphical e e ences a e
shown in Table1.
We e alua ed he pa e ns o in e ac ions by assessing whe he
each s uden ope a ion occu ed in di ec esponse o he each-
e 's ques ion o s a emen (s uden - eache in e ac ions), in
esponse o ano he s uden 's s a emen (s uden –s uden in e -
ac ion), o spon aneously. Fo each discussion g oup, he p o-
po ion o ope a ions o each epis emic le el pe o med h ough
each pa e n o in e ac ion was calcula ed. Likewise, we calcu-
la ed he p opo ion o p oduc i e ques ions and epis emic op-
e a ions o each le el and he esponse a e o he ques ions o
each le el.
To isualize he knowledge cons uc ion h ough he a gu-
men a ion p ocess (RQ3) we elabo a ed an a gumen a ion–
concep ualiza ion map o he co e ideas ha a ose in he
discussion guided by Teache Ai o . We did so by in eg a ing
hese eme ging ideas in a Toulmin's layou o a gumen a ion
ha summa izes he e idences, easoning, and coun e - and
p o- a gumen s issued du ing he en i e discussion ha led o
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6 o 20 Jou nal o Resea ch in Science Teaching, 2025
he claim ha plan s a e li ing hings (in esponse o he in-
qui y ques ion).
The coding o he s a emen s based on he ca ego ies ag eed
upon by bo h esea che s was ca ied ou by each o hem in-
dependen ly. In he case o he eache 's ques ions and s uden s'
a gumen a i e ope a ions, a single ca ego y was a ibu ed o
each s a emen . Epis emic ope a ions we e no mu ually ex-
clusi e, so mo e han one ope a ion could be a ibu ed o each
s a emen . Fo ins ance, an explana ion s a emen could include
a p ocess o obse a ion and desc ip ion. In he i s ound o
independen coding, we checked in e - a e eliabili y using
kappa coe icien s. The Kappa alue was 0.98 o p oduc i e
ques ions and alk mo es, 0.85 o a gumen a ion componen s,
0.78 o epis emic ope a ions, and 0.73 o co e ideas. Acco ding
o Fleiss(1981), kappa coe icien s abo e 0.75 a e ega ded as
excellen ag eemen indica o s.
A e an ini ial independen analysis he wo esea che s me
o each ag eemen on each disc epan coding by amilia izing
ou sel es wi h he da a o seek common in e p e a ions.
C i e ia o disambigua ion we e ag eed on be ween esea ch-
e s o deal wi h issues ha a ose du ing he ca ego iza ion
p ocess. One o he main conce ns was ela ed o he ac ha
child en o en oiced incomple e u e ances. Fo he ca ego i-
za ion p ocess bo h esea che s ag eed o conside as expla-
na ion o easoning hose desc ip i e s a emen s ha clea ly
answe ed a easoning ques ion despi e no including con-
nec o s such as “because” (e.g., “Why (do you say hey don'
always need soil)?”, “One had no soil and i was bo n e y
quickly”). Ano he issue a ose when i came o iden i ying
e alua i e ope a ions h ough collabo a i e s uden –s uden
in e ac ions. The s a emen o one child ha ollowed ano he
child's s a emen did no necessa ily co espond o an e alua-
i e judgmen in esponse o ha child bu a delayed esponse
o he eache . The dis inc ion be ween s uden –s uden and
eache –s uden in e ac ions was esol ed by lis ening di ec ly
o he eco dings. Finally, when a s a emen ha p o ided an
explana ion o easoning was no based on e idence, was no
ela ed o he ques ion o be answe ed o he conclusion o was
TABLE 1 | Types o p oduc i e ques ions o alk mo e made by he eache , co esponding epis emic ope a ion ca ied ou by s uden s, and
epis emic le el a ibu ed.
Ques ion/ alk
mo e ype De ini ion Example
Associa ed
ope a ion Le el
0. Con ex ques ion I allows ecalling he
con ex o he discussion
Wha ha e we done? — —
1. Focusing
ques iona–c
I p omp s s uden s o
ocus on he da a
Wha ha e you seen?
Wha happened?
Obse e, desc ibe 1
2. Compa ison
ques ionb
I p omp s o iden i y pa e ns
h ough compa isons
We e he ones in he
back like hese ones?
Compa e
3. Reasoning
ques iona,c
I p omp s s uden s o build ideas
and explana ions upon hei
expe iences o obse a ions
Why do you hink ha
has happened?
How do you know ha
plan s a e li ing beings?
In e p e ,
explain, e alua e
2
3.1. Cons uc i e
challenged,e
I aises a cogni i e con lic
and p omp s o amend
disc epancies o con adic ions.
Bu do beans ha e eyes?
and you jus said ha
hey a e li ing beings…
3.2. Toss back I p omp s o e alua e
o he 's s a emen s
Jon says ha …wha do you hink?
4. Cla i ica ion
eques b,
I p omp s o elabo a e, quali y
o cla i y p e ious answe s.
… hey a e like s ones, wha do
you mean by “like s ones”?
Obse e, desc ibe 1
Why do you say ha some needs
wa e while o he s don' ?
Explain 2
5. Re oicinggI epea s, ewo ds o
syn hesizes he easoning
p o ided by he s uden s
So we a e li ing beings
because we die
— —
6. Posi i e eed- backdI alida es he s a emen
made by he s uden
Fine
Al igh
— —
aEls gees (1985).
bOli ei a(2010).
cBenedic - Chambe s e al.(2017).
dChin(2006).
eSoysal(2019).
Pimen el and McNeill(2013).
gO'Conno and Michaels(1993).
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7 o 20
based on “ an as ic” c i e ia, hey we e conside ed as “o he
easoning” (e.g., “… he seeds a e sma ”).
Con lic ing cases we e discussed acco ding o he a o emen-
ioned c i e ia un il a consensus was eached. Following hese
nego ia ions, we e iewed and, i necessa y, modi ied he de i-
ni ions o he ca ego ies (see Table1).
4 | Resul s
In his sec ion, we i s iden i y he epis emic ope a ions and
componen s o a gumen a ion ha eme ged in he child en's
s a emen s (RQ1). We hen iden i y he p oduc i e ques ions
posed by bo h eache s and quan i a i ely and quali a i ely
analyze he ela ionship be ween he eache 's dialogical s a e-
gies and he ope a ions pe o med by he child en (RQ2). In he
las pa o he sec ion, we summa ize he co e ideas abou he
li ing beings ha eme ged h ough he a gumen a i e p ocess
and i s componen s (RQ3).
4.1 | Epis emic Ope a ions and Componen s
o A gumen a ion (RQ1)
To answe RQ1, we desc ibe quan i a i e pa e ns in he ope a-
ions and a gumen s ha eme ge in he child en's discou se ha
a ise om Figu e1 and Table2 (quan i a i e da a on speci ic
ea u es o he s uden s' u e ances) and hen illus a e hem
quali a i ely wi h exce p s p o ided in Tables3 and 4.
FIGURE 1 | F equency o (a) each ype o epis emic ope a ion and (b) a gumen componen pe o med by s uden s and (c) each ype o eache 's
p oduc i e ques ion in Teache Ai o 's (g ay) and Teache No a's (whi e) class.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Obse e (1)Desc ibe (1)Compa e (1)In e p e (2)Explain (2)E alua e (2)
% wi h espec o o o al ope aons
Epis emic ope aon (le el)
A (N=76)
B (N=85)
C (N=91)
D (N=69)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
E idence ClaimReasoning Claim+ eas.Coun e -p o.Backing Quali ie
% wi h espec o al a gumen a e
ue ances
A gumen a e componen
A (N=46)
B (N=78)
C (N=59)
D (N=56)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Focus (1)Compa ison (1)Cla i icaon (1/2)Reasoning (2)Challenge(2)
% wi h espec o o al p oduc e
quesons
Type o poduc e queson (Epis emic le el)
A (N=30)
B (N=49)
C (N=43)
D (N=29)
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8 o 20 Jou nal o Resea ch in Science Teaching, 2025
Mos s uden s' s a emen s in ol ed some kind o epis emic op-
e a ion (Table2). As seen in Figu e1a, s uden s om all o he
g oups we e able o obse e, desc ibe, explain, and e alua e.
Ope a ions in ol ing he use o e idence (le el 2: in e p e , ex-
plain, e alua e) we e mo e equen han hose in which only
e idence was iden i ied (le el 1: obse e, desc ibe, compa e) in
G oups B and D (Table2).
The pe o mance o di e en ope a ions engaged s uden s in he
p ac ice o a gumen a ion, as a high pe cen age o o al child en's
s a emen s (68% o 87% acco ding o g oups) was conside ed a
componen o a gumen a ion (Table 2). As seen in Figu e1b,
he mos equen componen s o a gumen a ion co esponded
o e idence s a emen s (25.3% a e aged ac oss g oups ±4.1 S.E.),
claims (24.4% ± 4.9 S.E.) and easoning (20.1% ± 4.2 S.E), al-
hough s uden s also coun e ed o suppo ed he ideas o o he s,
backed hei s a emen s wi h p io knowledge, and used modal
quali ie s.
Nex , we conside sequences o s a emen s o illus a e he
epis emic and a gumen a ion ope a ions pe o med by he
child en. We i s co e hose elemen s ela ed o e idence
iden i ica ion (Le el 1, Table3) and second, hose in ol ing
he use o e idence o he cons uc ion and e alua ion o
ideas (Le el 2, Table4).
As seen in he examples in Table3 (“desc ibe” and “compa e”
ope a ion), all g oups o s uden s elabo a ed desc ip ions and
compa isons (in he p esence s. absence o wa e o ligh ) on
ge mina ion o plan g ow h.
The child en's desc ip ions we e mos ly based on obse a ions
made in he expe imen (“obse e” on Table3), bu hey also
desc ibed ac s de i ed om hei p io knowledge o pe sonal
expe iences (sou ce o da a in Table2), as in hese examples:
A.40- Ane: I hea d on TV ha he e's a ideo on
YouTube (…) he ees and so (…) i hey b eak a bi o
some hing like ha , hey s a o die.
A.51- My g andpa has a ga den… i s he oma oes a e
g een, hen o ange- yellow and hen hey a e ed.
Th ough hese Le el 1 epis emic ope a ions child en elici e i-
dences. Fo ins ance, bo h g oups o 2nd g ade s es ablished ha
plan s bo n ea lie , g ow alle bu a e less heal hy (“ wis ed and
yellow colo ”) in he absence o ligh , as in C1 episode (Table3).
In Table4, we p o ide examples o exce p s illus a ing he use
o Le el 2 epis emic ope a ions (in e p e , explain, e alua e) and
TABLE 2 | Quan i a i e da a o ele an indica o s o he s uden s' alk.
Teache Ai o Teache No a
G oup A G oup B G oup C G oup D
Tu ns in ol ing epis emic ope a ion 71.4% 70.6% 82.8% 84.5%
Le el 1 68.4% 31.8% 53.8% 43.5%
Le el 2 28.9% 63.5% 42.9% 56.5%
Sou ce o da a
Class oom obse a ion 13 814 8
P e ious knowledge 2 3 4 1
Explana ions appeal o:
Fea u es 54.5% 58.8% 023.8%
Analogy ( o human) 13.6% 15.7% 0 0
Causali y 27.3% 17.6% 61.5% 52.4%
In e n consis ency 05.9% 23.1% 9.5%
New ac o (hypo hesis) 0 0 7.7% 9.5%
Al e na i e concep ions 4.5% 2% 04.8%
Tu ns in ol ing a gumen a ion componen s 67.9% 87.1% 84.4% 84.5%
Coun e a gumen s 0 8 1 2
P o- a gumen s 1 4 1 0
Type o e alua ion
Uses a claim 1 3 2 1
Uses an e idence o e alua e an e idence 8 0 5 1
Uses a wa an (can include e idence) 2 11 6 3
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9 o 20
a gumen a ion. We i s add ess he p ocess o a gumen cons uc-
ion by iden i ying wha ypes o easoning ( he epis emic c i e ia)
s uden s used o suppo hei claims, ha is, wha s uden s appeal
o in hei explana ions (obse a ions, al e na i e concep ions,
analogies…). We hen exempli y how s uden s e alua ed each o h-
e 's explana ions and hei use o coun e - and p o- a gumen s.
TABLE 3 | Examples o exce p s illus a ing he in e ac ion among he ypes o ques ions, epis emic ope a ions, and a gumen a ion componen s
du ing he e idence iden i ica ion p ocess (Le el 1). Collabo a i e in e ac ions a e in bold.
Tu n
P oduc i e ques ion
Epis emic ope a ion A gumen a ion
A1 episode
A.6- T. Ai o : We sowed he beans and…wha else? Con ex ques ion
A.7- Xabi: g ow he le uces.
A.8- T. Ai o : Tha 's igh ; we sowed he beans and g ew he le uce Re oicing
A.9- Ane: wo le uces wi h ( oo much) wa e a e ge ing sick … Obse ./Desc ./In e p. E idence
A.10- Ike : Tha le uce is poo ly … Obse e/Desc ibe E idence
A.11- Unai: And he ones on he o he side (no wa e ed) a e dead … Obs./Compa e/Desc . E idence
A.28- T. Ai o : The ones a he back we e di e en , we en' hey? Wha
we e hey like? We e hey like hese?
Compa ison ques ion
A.29- Ane: Some o hem ha e g own, he ones wi h wa e , and o he s
ha e no g own
Obs./ Compa e/Desc . E idence
B1 episode
B.11- T. Ai o : … And wha did you see he e? Wha hings ha e
happened?
Focus ques ion
B.12- Ike : i 's go bigge Obse e/Desc ibe E idence
B.13- Asie : one o he le uces has g own Obse e/Desc ibe E idence
B.14- Uxue: one o hem is dead Obse e/Desc ibe E idence
B.15- Ione: and he ones wi hou wa e ha e died Obs./Compa e/Desc . E idence
…
B.21- Julen: one o he beans has allen Desc ibe E idence
B.22- T. Ai o : So whe e did i all? Cla i ica ion eques
B.23- Julen:…down o he bo om Desc ibe E idence
B.24- T. Ai o : And whe e was i be o e hen? Cla i ica ion eques
B.25- Julen: On he plan Desc ibe E idence
B.26- T. Ai o : and om he plan , wha has allen? Cla i ica ion eques
B.27- Julen: he bean seed Desc ibe E idence
C1 episode
C.1- T. No a: Does anyone wan o s a elling us wha we ha e lea ned
om his expe imen ?
Focusing ques ion
C.2- Mai e: ha some o hem ha e been bo n be o e some o he
ones.
Obs./Desc ./Compa e E idence
C.3- Ande : he ones ha we e in he da k ha e been bo n be o e E al./Obs./Desc./Comp. E idence
…
C.8- Jokin: he one ha was in he da k is wis ed. Obse e/Desc ibe E idence
C.9- Ande : and i 's go yellow lea es. E alua e/Obse e/
Desc ibe
E idence
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16 o 20 Jou nal o Resea ch in Science Teaching, 2025
appealing o da a and acqui ed knowledge, child en cons uc ed
pieces o e idence and easoning o suppo hei claims, ha
is, o answe he inqui y ques ions. In e es ingly, in ou s udy
some s uden s we e also able o e ine hei conclusion (“plan s
need wa e ”) by using modal quali ie s ha allowed hem o be
cau ious in hei conclusions (“only he plan s used in he expe -
imen ”) be o e ex ending he case s udied o o he s no consid-
e ed in he expe imen (e.g., cac i).
We obse ed, along wi h o he au ho s (Kim and Ro h 2018;
Mon ei a and Jiménez- Aleixand e 2016), ha a hese ea ly
s ages child en cons uc ed e idence and a gumen s h ough
mul iple u ns, so mos single s a emen s co esponded ei he o
claims o e idence s a emen s ( ha some imes migh be in ended
as easoning o wha had p e iously been said). Howe e , i is
pa icula ly in e es ing ha 1s g ade s we e able o o mula e
up o six comple e a gumen s (sensu McNeill2011), ha is, o
link he conclusion and he easoning in he same s a emen .
Acco ding o Be na d e  al. (2012), child en do indeed ha e
an epis emic knowledge o he connec o “because” as ea ly
as 4 yea s o age, and hus possess ce ain ea ly skills o a gu-
men a ion. The sho u e ances egis e ed in his s udy may
no be a consequence o limi ed e idence- based easoning
skills bu a he he esul o a lack o o al communica ion de-
elopmen o gene a e well- s uc u ed a gumen s in a s anda d
way a hese ea ly ages, as also indica ed by Con e ini and
A cidiacono(2021).
In addi ion o elabo a ing easoning and cons uc ing a gu-
men s, child en in ou s udy we e also able o e alua e he
a gumen s o o he s, es ablishing small s uden –s uden a gu-
men a i e nodes, ha is, hey we e able o cons uc p o- and
coun e a gumen s based on e idence. F ejd(2019) and Va elas
and Pappas(2013) also epo ed ha child en as young as 6 yea s
old challenged and ques ioned each o he by p o iding addi-
ional in o ma ion as a esponsi e ac , o exp ess ei he ag ee-
men o disag eemen . In his sense, one o he mos ele an
indings o ou esea ch is ha child en eso ed o e idence in
mos o hei e alua ions o hei pee s' s a emen s.
As also seen in o he s udies (Maloney and Simon2006; Manz
and Allen 2017; Ru man e  al. 1993; Sando al e  al. 2014;
Sodian e  al. 1991), he ac ha young child en can e bally
coun e - a gue a alse causal claim by p o iding e idence clea ly
indica es an ini ial unde s anding ha e idence is a means o
assessing he e aci y o claims. Since he use o coun e a gu-
men s o ebu als in a gumen a ion is, acco ding o E du an
e al.(2004), indica i e o a highe le el o a gumen a ion, ou
esul s sugges ha young child en po en ially ha e he capaci y
o each such a le el.
S udies conduc ed wi h child en o ages abo e se en ha e ound
ha ebu als a e in equen in discou ses o s uden s engaged
in inqui y when he eache does no guide hem (Ca agne o
e al.2010), o when he o she does so in a e y di ec i e way,
while ebu als inc ease when he eache adop s a mo e open-
ended dialogic s a egy (Manz and Allen 2017; Soysal 2023).
Taken oge he , hese conside a ions sugges ha he eache 's
in e en ion de e mines he pe o mance o child en's a gu-
men a i e p ac ice.
In ac , ou s udy has documen ed, along wi h p e ious ones
(F ejd2019; Kim and Ro h2018; Manz and Allen2017; Me ce
e al.2004; Si y e al.2012; S udhal e e al.2021; Va elas and
Pappas2013), ha young child en a e able o pe o m e idence-
based easoning o some complexi y as long as hey a e pa -
icipa ing in empi ical ac i i ies, such as guided inqui y and
pu pose ul obse a ion. Hence, ou esul s suppo he idea
ha young child en's epis emic easoning is o some ex en sen-
si i e o ins uc ional inpu s o e de elopmen al cons ain s
(Me z2011; Mon ei a and Jiménez- Aleixand e2016).
5.2 | Teache 's Dialogical S a egies o Fos e
Child en's Pe o mance o Epis emic Ope a ions
and A gumen a ion
In ou s udy, mos o he epis emic ope a ions pe o med by
s uden s we e s imula ed by he eache 's ques ions, which in
u n led o an a gumen a i e and collabo a i e class oom dis-
cou se p omp ing he collec i e cons uc ion and e alua ion
o scien i ic ideas. Howe e , in some cases, he le els o cog-
ni i e demand o he ques ion and he answe did no ma ch.
Se e al pa e ns iden i ied in his s udy migh shed some ligh
on wha o he ac o s could con ibu e o elici ing s uden s' epis-
emic alk.
On he one hand, in line wi h p e ious esea ch, open- ended
ques ions allowed o a mo e linguis ically and cogni i ely
challenging discou se han closed- ended ques ions (Lee and
Kinzie2012; McNeill and Pimen el2010). On he o he hand, we
ound ha he wo ding and he sequence o eache s' ques ions
ma e . Fo ins ance, eache No a's “why” ques ions (“Does i
need wa e and da kness o g ow?…Why?”) could ha e led he
child en o unde s and ha hey we e being asked o a mech-
anis ic answe ega ding he unc ion o wa e and ligh in he
plan , a he han an e idence- based jus i ica ion. This use o
he easoning ques ion may cause some cogni i e o e load ha
equi es some ollow- up assis ance om he eache . An inap-
p op ia e use o sca olding u e ances o s imula e ad anced
easoning may no ob ain he expec ed esul and may e en
ha e nega i e e ec s, especially wi h young child en (Manz and
Allen2017; S udhal e e al.2021).
By ha ing wo discussion si ua ions led by di e en eache s, we
we e able o de ec ha he o de in which ques ions we e asked
may induce di e en sense- making sequences. Teache Ai o
ollowed a mo e linea sca olding pa e n han Teache No a,
inc easing he cogni i e demand h ough lowe - le el ques ions
om obse able phenomena (wha happens), be o e mo ing
h ough he easoning ques ions (why i happens). The p og es-
sion o ques ioning in inqui y eaching has been also desc ibed
by o he s udies (Benedic - Chambe s e al.2017; Kawalka and
Vijapu ka  2013), and sequencing ques ions helps s uden s o
mo e up a “cogni i e ladde ” h ough le els o inc easingly com-
plex easoning Chin(2006, 2007).
Unlike Teache Ai o , Teache No a induced child en o s a e
hei claims om he beginning by ph asing he ocusing ques-
ion as “Wha ha e we lea ned?”. She encou aged small cycles
o ocusing + easoning o easoning + ocusing ques ions o
iden i y each a iable and o wo k on hem sepa a ely in o de
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17 o 20
o co ec ly s uc u e hei sca olding. In ea ly elemen a y
scien i ic discussion, eache s may apply di e en pa e ns o
sequencing s a egies, as long as hey a e awa e o he accompa-
nying cogni i e demands o he ques ions posed.
Al hough eache s may depa om a p e iously o ches a ed
ques ioning sequence, in he cou se o he discussion hey a e
o en challenged o in oduce a numbe o alk mo es o capi al-
ize on he lea ning oppo uni ies ha a ise. Recen s udies show
ha , in o de o os e s uden s' sense- making, eache s ha e o
decide which ideas o pa hs o easoning o emphasize and ix,
and which ones o open o s uden s o igu e ou by poin ing
ou plausible ways o wa d (K is and Shim2024; Wa kins and
Manz2022). In his s udy, we iden i ied a se ies o ques ions o
alk mo es in he o m o e bal sca olds in esponse o s u-
den s' p eceding answe s ha se ed h ee unc ions: o s im-
ula e child en o ques ion o e ise hei own o o he s' claims
o a gumen s, o manage inco ec and co ec answe s, and o
enhance pee collabo a ion.
Bo h eache s used e bal sca olds in he o m o a cons uc-
i e challenge o espond o inco ec o en a i e answe s by
challenging hem o e iew inconsis en ideas, as also epo ed
in o he s udies (Chin 2006; Kawalka and Vijapu ka  2013;
Soysal2019; S udhal e e al.2021; Yip2004). Fo ins ance, in-
s ead o explici ly co ec ing misconcep ions (e.g., i i does no
mo e i is no ali e), Teache Ai o , challenged he s uden s o
econside hei answe s by con on ing hem wi h possible con-
adic ions (e.g., “…bu he ees a e also s ill…”), and Teache
No a p omp ed child en o econside s a emen s ha we e
inconsis en wi h he e idence (e.g., “(A e you su e he seeds
need)… ligh ?”). This s a egy esembles a neu al e alua ion
ha a oids a iadic dialogue ( eache 's judgmen on whe he
i is co ec o no ) and a o s a collabo a i e cons uc ion o
knowledge (Chin2007; Lemke1990; Soysal2023).
We ha e also documen ed some app op ia e echniques o e-
in o cing o ex ending child en's “co ec ” esponses. Young
child en o en needed eache media ion o comple e s uc u e
and e balize hei ideas by means o ce ain echniques, such
as cla i ica ion eques and he e oicing echnique (O'Conno
and Michaels1993).
A e ecapi ula ing s uden s' ideas and gi ing posi i e eed-
back o co ec s a emen s bo h eache s o en ossed back o he
g oup o o pa icula s uden s (e en men ioning hei name) a
ela ed ques ion ha buil on he p e ious ones o ex end he
line o concep ual hough . By doing his, he eache s no only
alida e he s uden s' ideas and es ablish hem as a baseline on
which o build, bu hey shi he esponsibili y o knowledge
cons uc ion back o he s uden and p omo e s uden –s uden
collabo a ion (Chin2007; Pimen el and McNeill2013; an Zee
and Mins ell1997; Va elas and Pappas2013). The e o e, hese
kinds o “ esponsi e ques ioning” echniques bo h help s uden s
p og essi ely make sense o he concep ual ideas (Chin2006)
and also equi e hem o engage in mo e highe - o de hinking
(Chin2007).
To achie e a p oduc i e dialogue, he eache mus also be able
o open up he discussion and ac i ely engage s uden s in collab-
o a i e class oom discussion. We ound ha he mos cogni i ely
demanding epis emic ope a ions (i.e., explaining and e alua -
ing) we e ca ied ou h ough collabo a ion among he s uden s,
a he han in di ec esponse o he eache . In ou s udy, i was
p ecisely when small a gumen a i e nodes wi hou he eache 's
pa icipa ion ook place, ha ideas we e collec i ely cons uc ed
and e ined. Likewise, Soysal(2023) ecen ly ound ha each-
e 's excessi e ollow- up e alua ions limi s uden s' a emp s o
cons uc al e na i e explana ions and educe he dialogical
space o s uden s.
Adop ing a non- di ec i e ole s imula es he use o e idence
o explain he scien i ic phenomena and o ques ion o eques
e idence and wa an s om each o he , he eby sca olding
s uden s h ough inc easing cogni i e le els in a collabo a i e
way (Be land and Hamme  2012; Hogan e  al. 1999; Jin and
Kim2020; McNeill and Pimen el2010; Soysal2023).
5.3 | A gumen a ion and Sense- Making
o Concep ual Co e Ideas
In he coun e - and p o- a gumen a ion episodes in ou s udy,
child en cons uc ed au hen ic knowledge by alida ing and
e alua ing concep ual ideas issued in he con ex o plan s ap-
plied o o he se ings (human beings o non- li ing hings in
Teache Ai o 's class, o o he plan kinds, i.e., cac i, in Teache
No a's class). By doing so, co e ideas on li ing beings' li e unc-
ions and s uc u es we e add essed and es ablished as scien i ic
c i e ia o answe he inqui y ques ion conce ning he equi e-
men s o being a li ing being and he needs o plan s o ge mi-
na ion and g ow h.
Al hough p e ious s udies ha e shown ha collabo a ion
among s uden s enables he co- cons uc ion o knowledge in
elemen a y school child en (F ejd2019; Manz and Allen2017;
Naylo e al.2007), ou esea ch also indica es ha cogni i ely
high- o de ac s o doing science, such as induc i e easoning
and e alua ion h ough hese collabo a i e pee in e ac ions,
con e ge wi h highe - le el a gumen a ion o enable sense-
making o co e scien i ic ideas. In his ega d, we ha e de el-
oped an a gumen a ion- concep ualiza ion map o help isualize
how agmen s o ideas a e cons uc ed h ough he di e en
a gumen a i e ope a ions, by ep esen ing simul aneously he
s uc u e and con en o he discou se. Since ideas a e ypically
e iewed i e a i ely du ing he discussion, a diag am such as he
one we use in his s udy may help summa ize all he compo-
nen s o a gumen a ion (e idence, easoning and coun e - and
p o- a gumen s) and concep ual knowledge buil in esponse o
he inqui y ques ion h oughou he en i e discussion. In his
way, he p ocess o cons uc ing ideas h ough a gumen a ion
and i s complexi y can o some ex en be e lec ed isually.
This ype o diag am, by in eg a ing he scien i ic concep s
add essed in a Toulmin's layou o a gumen a ion, allows he
eache o an icipa e he co e ideas ha he o she wan s o sca -
old and o o esee he co esponding e idences and claims ha
could be wo ked on in class. C ea ing esea ch- based didac ic
ools and amewo ks o eaching science h ough a gumen-
a ion can help eache s ocus hei a en ion on os e ing he
cons uc ion o e idence- based explana ions in hei classes
(Zembal- Saul2009).
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18 o 20 Jou nal o Resea ch in Science Teaching, 2025
6 | Implica ions and Limi a ions
One o he con ibu ions o his wo k consis s o he me hod-
ology i sel o simul aneous ca ego iza ion o bo h he eache 's
ques ions and he child en's answe s h ough he analysis o
ou dimensions o class oom scien i ic discussion. Conduc ing
such a mul idimensional analysis has p o en use ul in cap u -
ing he complexi y o class oom scien i ic dialogue, and he eby,
in ex ac ing ele an knowledge abou (i) young child en's po-
en ial o engage in cogni i ely demanding and collabo a i e
scien i ic p ac ices and (ii) he eache 's dialogic s a egies ha
enable hem o de elop ha po en ial.
Howe e , ou s udy does ha e some me hodological limi a ions,
especially ega ding he coding o sho , delayed, o non- linea
esponses and u e ances o child en a his ea ly age. Mo eo e ,
ou analysis does no allow us o elucida e comple ely why a sig-
ni ican numbe o ques ions, especially hose o high cogni i e
demand, did no elici esponses a he co esponding le el. We a e
also awa e ha class oom discussion is in luenced by o he ac o s
no add essed in his s udy ha dese e o be conside ed in u he
s udies, such as he indi idual cha ac e is ics o he pa icipan s.
Ano he limi a ion is ha we canno gene alize ou indings, as
his s udy is based on case s udies. Howe e , he insigh s gained
om his wo k can in o m a numbe o dialogic eaching p ac ices
o ea ly ages, a g oup unde ep esen ed in he scien i ic li e a u e
on class oom alk.
As e idenced in ou s udy, he design by eache s o app op i-
a e ques ioning s a egies can aise child en's le el o eason-
ing based upon child en's cogni i e demand. In his sense, ou
esul s ha e p o ided se e al keys ha could con ibu e o he
imp o emen o eaching p ac ice in he ea ly yea s o p ima y
science educa ion.
Fi s , we ha e de ined a se ies o p oduc i e ques ions and alk
mo es o p omp young child en's' e idence- based scien i ic ea-
soning, s essing ha hei ph asing and sequence can de e mine
hei success. Second, we ha e shown ha pe o ming a non-
di ec i e eaching p ac ice p omo es he eme gence o nodes o
a gumen a ion among he child en, and hus, he highes le el
o a gumen a ion. Finally, building he lesson om a p e iously
a icula ed a gumen a ion–concep ualiza ion map, as he one p o-
posed in his s udy, can help o s uc u e he eache 's dialogic in-
e en ion, o e ocus he ac i i y and he discussion, and o collec
un o eseen ideas ha a ise in he con e sa ion.
Based on ep esen a i e case s udies ea u ing scien i ic discus-
sions on he ideas o li ing beings in p ima y school classes, in
his pape we ha e ied o o e a se ies o guidelines ha can
be use ul o eache s o help child en build scien i ic knowledge
om he Vygo skyan socio- cul u al pe spec i e o adul –child
collabo a ion.
Acknowledgmen s
This wo k was suppo ed by he Minis y o Science and Inno a ion
o Spain (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, UE, G an
PID2022- 137010OB- I00) and by he Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y
(g an GIU21/031) o he KOMATZI esea ch g oup. We hank A. Peña,
I. Zaldua, and A. A iola o hei collabo a ion in he de elopmen o
he ac i i ies and da a collec ion, and anonymous e iewe s o hei
eedback on ea ly e sions o his manusc ip .
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