Inserting fiction excerpts into chemistry instruction shifted classroom discourse toward more student questions, peer challenge, and evidence-based argumentation¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2017 · checked against its sources 2026-11-01 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In the intervention classroom, students' questions were more frequent, interest was piqued more quickly, and students challenged peers' inaccurate beliefs during instruction. → Randy K Yerrick 2017 q2 i? Discourse shifted from singular teacher/textbook authority toward available evidence as authority, with students deciding what counted as evidence. → Randy K Yerrick 2017 (2)

Evidence¶

Randy K Yerrick 2017¶

Randy K Yerrick, Tiffany Simons. (2017). The Affordances of Fiction for Teaching Chemistry. Science Education International, Volume 28, Issue 3. https://www.stemedu.org/science-education-international/

q2 · i? · causal · r1

Observational results from the intervention classroom over the 4-week chemical change unit, based on field notes and classroom recordings. The authors report discourse shifts such as students challenging the plausibility of a hydrogen explosion scene in Chain Reaction and debating conservation of mass in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

"Most notably, students’ questions were more frequent, interest was more quickly piqued in the topic, students were quicker to offer responses to the teacher’s questions, and students showed a willingness to challenge other students’ inaccurate beliefs during instruction."

Randy K Yerrick 2017 (2)¶

Randy K Yerrick, Tiffany Simons. (2017). The Affordances of Fiction for Teaching Chemistry. Science Education International, Volume 28, Issue 3. https://www.stemedu.org/science-education-international/

q2 · i? · causal · r1

Interpretation of the same intervention classroom discussions: students practiced scientific argumentation aligned with NGSS reform, deciding what counted as evidence (lab experience over movie) and who decided the veracity of claims.

"shifts in content authority were observed which were characterized best by deviation from a singular form of content authority (e.g., teacher, textbook) to a focus upon available evidence as authority."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Communication Skills — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Fiction excerpts increased engagement and interest particularly among students who typically underachieved in science — related
• Supplementing chemistry instruction with fiction excerpts produced no statistically significant difference in post-assessment achievement compared with traditional instruction — related
• Some classroom discussion approaches improve text comprehension, but gains are not uniform across approaches and more student talk alone does not produce them — a broader claim this one bears on
• Intervention students reported fiction videos made instruction more interesting and helped them understand difficult concepts, but rated hands-on labs as most helpful — related