Argumentation and development of reflective thinking

The main goal of this article is to offer a perspective from which the relations between argumentation and reflection can be investigated. The main argument proposed is that the same semiotic-dialogic mechanism that constitutes argumentation (supporting a view with reasons, considering objections and responding to opposition) has a built-in capacity to place the arguer's thinking in a metacognitive framework. Together, they are effective in orienting the thinking a person does towards examining the bases and limits of his/her own thoughts. They do so by introducing into the person's psychological field a new object for reflection - the arguer's own thoughts. At the second section of the article, the analysis of some fragments of children's argumentation produced in classroom illustrates how the framework proposed cart be used in investigating the development of self-regulated reflection.