The Argumentation Toolkit was created by the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley as well as the Learning Design Group. Partners include Boston College, the National Science Foundation, and Group 5 Media. It is a website designed to give middle school science teachers the skills and tools to integrate argumentation into their classrooms. However, it can be modified to work for any grade level. Educators can watch video examples of middle schoolers engaging in different argumentation activities; download documents that explicitly state what argumentation is, its elements, and activities surrounding it; and participate in a Teacher Learning Module to better understand this scientific practice and how to incorporate it into lessons.
Strengths - Videos
This resource provides educators with many videos to watch and analyze to see how colleagues engage students in scientific argumentation. Teachers can view videos under four different headings under the Argument Elements menu: Evidence, Reasoning, Student Interaction, and Competing Claims. Teachers can also watch extended videos under the Resources heading. These clips provide educators with ideas of how to help students communicate and interact with each other in productive, respectful ways, as with SEL, as well as clear and explicit activities to use in the classroom. Thus, it addresses the academic and social needs of students. For instance, the video Strategy: Creating a Culture of Argumentation provides teachers with specific tactics to use to create a "safe environment" for the students in which to develop these skills. There are also videos that provide specific activities to support hands-on, child-centered, meaningful problem-solving (Dewey)and learning through social interactions (Vygotsky). The clip Strategy: Discussing Quality of Evidence, Using the Gradient Tool is one such videos in which teachers can watch how students engage in a hands-on activity and make meaning from it with a partner. Another video is Activity: Science Seminar in which students discuss competing claims and provide evidence and reasoning to either support or refute different ideas. The many activities as well as the focus on student-centered, collaborative learning is why I chose this resource.
Weaknesses - Lack of Identity Development (Erikson and Marcia)
Although the Argumentation Toolkit is a valuable resource for helping students to develop academically and socially, it does not provide topics or tools for teachers to help their students explore pertinent present-day situations to help them navigate their values and beliefs. All of the videos concern geological processes that have already made an impact on Earth or the genetics of hypothetical situations. For instance, one such video under Resources, Science Seminar, shows students discussing the pedigree of fluorescent cats. Although an exciting topic, it does not give students a chance to explore what values and beliefs they may possess about the world. To make this resource better, I would provide example discussions or potential topics of significant present-day phenomena, such as global warming and its impact on different species, locations of potential earthquakes and volcanoes and how to protect humans from them, and demographics of disease and what to do to treat and prevent further outbreaks to name a few. This would give students the opportunity to not only demonstrate their knowledge of the content, but to also explore what is important to them.