Argument-Driven Inquiry in Physical Science: Lab Investigations for Grades 6-8

Are you interested in using argument-driven inquiry for middle school lab instruction but just aren’ t sure how to do it? Argument-Driven Inquiry in Physical Science will provide you with both the information and instructional materials you need to start using this method right away. The book is a one-stop source of expertise, advice, and investigations to help physical science students work the way scientists do.
The book is divided into two basic parts:
1. An introduction to the stages of argument-driven inquiry— from question identification, data analysis, and argument development and evaluation to double-blind peer review and report revision.
2. A well-organized series of 22 field-tested labs designed to be much more authentic for instruction than traditional laboratory activities. The labs cover four core ideas in physical science: matter, motion and forces, energy, and waves. Students dig into important content and learn scientific practices as they figure out everything from how thermal energy works to what could make an action figure jump higher.
The authors are veteran teachers who know your time constraints, so they designed the book with easy-to-use reproducible student pages, teacher notes, and checkout questions. The labs also support today’ s standards and will help your students learn the core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and scientific practices found in the Next Generation Science Standards. In addition, the authors offer ways for students to develop the disciplinary skills outlined in the Common Core State Standards.
Many of today’ s middle school teachers— like you— want to find new ways to engage students in scientific practices and help students learn more from lab activities. Argument-Driven Inquiry in Physical Science does all of this while also giving students the chance to practice reading, writing, speaking, and using math in the context of science.

Dr. Victor Sampson is an Associate Professor of STEM Education at the University of Texas in Austin. He is also the co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Argument-Driven Inquiry. Dr. Sampson received his Ph.D. from Arizona State University in 2007 and is an expert in STEM education, education theory and practice, educational research, and the development and research of new instructional models and materials. He also has expertise in the design and development of educational technology products. Victor Sampson has published 52 research articles and has written 11 books in the field of STEM education (citations: 5964, h-index: 33, i10-index: 52). While at Florida State University (2007-2014) and the University of Texas (2014-2021) he served as the PI or a Co-PI on 6 large research and development projects that were funded by either the NSF (4 projects, $5,030,826 in funding) or the IES (2 projects, $2,218,722 in funding). He has received several awards for his scholarship, including the 2008 National Association for Research in Science Teaching Outstanding Dissertation award and the 2012 National Association for Research in Science Teaching Early Career award.