Authors and citizens: sociological imagination and the writing of evidence‐based argument

Abstract

Educational standards documents worldwide include reading and writing of evidence‐based argument as a major focus. In order to help students craft arguments that will be considered seriously by those with the power to make changes that affect them, educators need to cultivate within students their sociological imagination ‐ that is, an understanding of the ways in which they are influenced by, but can also influence social structures. This article describes a study in which fourth‐grade students (ages 9–10 years) considered issues that were of concern to them and to which audiences they might best address these concerns. They also learned the rhetorical structures required to effectively communicate their recommendations. Data collected include planning documents, rough and final drafts and interview transcripts. Students demonstrated success in a range of areas: grasping the concept of sociological imagination, mastering genre format and assuming roles as citizens of a democracy.

Scientific Literacy in Human Sciences: Towards a Dialogue

“…This suggests the problematization of the classic opposition between subjectivism and objectivism in educational action, in the sense of creating learning situations centered on planning practices and building a dense culture of human sciences, guided by the connections between the world in which the learners live and scientific knowledge. Regarding the notion of practice used in this article, we start from the understanding that it involves problematizing activities mediated by scientific approaches and the specific knowledge necessary to foster reflections on the teaching and learning process, critical thinking and values linked to citizenship (Duschl, 2008;Jaeger, 2016). Ford (2015Ford ( , pp.…”

Alfabetização Científica Nas Ciências Humanas: O Início De Um Diálogo

“…Tais objetivos nos sugerem a problematização da oposição clássica entre subjetivismo e objetivismo na ação educacional, no sentido da criação de situações de aprendizagem centradas no planejamento de práticas e na construção de uma densa cultura das humanidades, orientada pelas conexões entre o mundo vivido por quem aprende e os conhecimentos científicos. Sobre a noção de prática utilizada neste artigo, partimos do entendimento de que se trata de atividades problematizadoras mediadas pelas abordagens científicas e por conhecimentos específicos necessários para fomentar as reflexões sobre o processo de ensino e de aprendizagem e o pensamento crítico e os valores ligados à cidadania (Duschl, 2008;Jaeger, 2016). Ford (2015Ford ( , pp.…”