Inquiring and Arguing About Yoghurt Making. A Study with Secondary School Students

The integration of inquiry and argumentation is essential in science education. This chapter examines the development of argumentation skills among Spanish secondary school students in grades 8, 9, and 10 through an inquiry into a real-life problem: making homemade yoghurt. The inquiry included different tasks in which students had to identify the ingredients and conditions necessary for making yoghurt, design a recipe, make the yoghurt, evaluate the properties of the product obtained, and argue whether or not this product was yoghurt. The findings show that the students can conclude by providing sound evidence but need help elaborating warrants. In addition, a progression in the quality of the different elements of the argument was observed with increasing grades.