Using History and Philosophy of Science to Promote Students’ ArgumentationA Teaching–Learning Sequence Based on the Discovery of Oxygen

This article describes the effect of a teaching–learning sequence (TLS) based on the discovery of oxygen in promoting students’ argumentation. It examines the written and oral arguments produced by 63 high school students (24 females and 39 males, 16–17 years old) in France during a complete TLS supervised by the same teacher. The data used in this analysis was derived from students’ written responses, audio and video recordings, and written field notes. The first goal of this investigation was to provide evidence that an approach combining history and philosophy of science and argumentation could increase students’ awareness of the relevance of experimentation and communication to scientific progress. The second goal was to assess the effectiveness of the TLS to engage students in argumentative classroom interactions (such as debates) relating to the discovery of oxygen at the end of the 18th century. The findings show that this historical case can be useful for promoting students’ argumentation and is also appropriate for high school students. Future research should include students of other ages, other historical episodes and experiences in other parts of the world.