Secondary School Students’ Argumentation on Energy Production and Consumption

The study presented in this chapter was conducted with 58 eighth-grade students from a publicly funded private school in Málaga (Spain) during the 2022–2023 academic year, divided into two class groups. The students made use of the Electricity Maps application to undertake a comparative analysis of electricity production and consumption, as well as carbon dioxide emissions, between Spain and other European countries. The experience was conducted over seven 50-min sessions, comprising individual reflection, group work, and oral presentations and subsequent analysis of them included a comparison of the students’ arguments before and after using the application, as well as an evaluation of the use of specific terms and scientific evidence. Finally, the results demonstrated a notable increase in the inclusion of terms such as “carbon intensity,” “low-carbon energy,” and “renewable energy” in the final arguments, indicating an enhancement in the students’ critical thinking and argumentation abilities.