Teachers’ benefits of Using social Network analysis to promote scientific argumentation

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether and how teachers could benefit from using social network analysis (SNA) in their science classrooms to promote scientific argumentation. Twenty-seven teachers (13female, 14 male) participated in this study. The teachers developed SNA animation based on their scientific argumentation lessons. The main data sources, the teachers’ interpretations of SNA, peer feedback, and interviews with the teachers, were analyzed and triangulated. The findings suggested that the teachers were not only able to visualize and characterize changes in classroom interactions over time using SNA interpretation, but they were also able to reflect on and shift their instructional methods to foster argumentation. SNA can help teachers identify, reflect upon, and develop instructional means to foster argumentation by enhancing their understanding of classroom interactions and facilitating open discussions about their teaching practices.