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The Nature of Argumentation in School Mathematics and Physics Texts: The Case of Periodicity

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Abstract

The present study explores reasoning and argumentation in Greek mathematics and physics texts in specific topics related to the notion of periodicity. In our study, argumentation is taken as the sequence of the modes of reasoning (MsoR) that an author develops in a text when organizing and presenting new knowledge. Inductive content analysis was applied on 71 thematic units taken from 4 mathematics and 4 physics textbooks, and a coding system of categories and subcategories of MsoR was produced. Our analysis discerned 4 main categories of MsoR: empirical, logical-empirical, nomological, and mathematical; we argue that each mode of reasoning (MoR) plays a different role in conceptualizing aspects of periodicity. Analysis of the sequence of MsoR in two thematic units raised pragmatic considerations on the text understanding in relation to the scientific argumentation discourse and highlights ontological differences in the two subjects when ascending from observations to generalizations. Educational implications of the findings are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The current research is part of a research project (SH4_3510 EDARCPADSS) that is being carried out in ASPETE and implemented within the framework of the Action “Supporting Postdoctoral Researchers” of the Operational Program “Education and Lifelong Learning” (Action’s Beneficiary: General Secretariat for Research and Technology); it is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Greek State. The authors wish to thank Dr. Larry Yore and Mrs. Sharyl Yore for their mentoring assistance with this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE)—Branch of Patras, 20 Achaikis Sympoliteias, 26441, Patras, Greece

    Chrissavgi Triantafillou & Vasiliki Spiliotopoulou

  2. Department of Mathematics, University of Athens, 15701, Zographou, Athens, Greece

    Despina Potari

Authors
  1. Chrissavgi Triantafillou
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  2. Vasiliki Spiliotopoulou
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  3. Despina Potari
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Correspondence to Chrissavgi Triantafillou.

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Triantafillou, C., Spiliotopoulou, V. & Potari, D. The Nature of Argumentation in School Mathematics and Physics Texts: The Case of Periodicity. Int J of Sci and Math Educ 14, 681–699 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-014-9609-y

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