The evidence-based reasoning framework: Assessing scientific reasoning

Abstract

Recent science education reforms have emphasized the importance of students engaging with and reasoning from evidence to develop scientific explanations. A number of studies have created frameworks based on Toulmin's (1958/2003) argument pattern, whereas others have developed systems for assessing the quality of students' reasoning to support their scientific explanations. This article presents the centrepiece of this special issue, the Evidence-Based Reasoning Framework, which combines these two approaches to create an analytic tool intended as a foundation for assessing students' ability to reason from evidence in writing and classroom discussions. The article reviews previous frameworks d..