School Science Review, June 2006, 87(321) 45 Erduran Promoting ideas, evidence and argument Promoting ideas, evidence and argument in initial science teacher training Sibel Erduran The article describes a project supported by the Key Stage 3 Strategy and the Gatsby Foundation that produced resources for supporting the teaching of ideas, evidence and argument in initial teacher training ABSTRACT The importance of argument is now recognised as an educational goal through the ‘ideas and evidence’ strand of the science National Curriculum for England. The philosophy under- lying this aspect of the curriculum is that young people should leave school with a deeper sense of the nature of scientific knowledge – how ideas are produced, evaluated and revised in science. This article describes a project undertaken at King’s College London, supported by the Key Stage 3 National Strategy and the Gatsby Foundation, that aimed to produce resources to support the teaching of ideas, evidence and argument in initial teacher training. Exemplar activity resources and some of the feedback from trainee teachers and mentors are described. How do we know that matter is made of atoms? How do we justify our knowledge that the Earth revolves around the Sun? What is the evidence for the claim that photosynthesis involves the use of carbon dioxide? These questions all target important issues about the nature of scientific knowledge and in particular the need in science to justify our claims with evidence. The importance of argument, the justification of claims with evidence, is now recognised as an educational goal through the ‘ideas and evidence’ strand of the science National Curriculum for England. The philosophy underlying this aspect of the curriculum is that young people should leave school with a deeper sense of the nature of scientific knowledge – how ideas are produced, evaluated and revised in science. At upper secondary school level (key stage 4, ages 14–16), the science National Curriculum for England states that pupils should be taught: how scientific ideas are presented, evaluated and disseminated and how scientific controversies can arise from different ways of interpreting empirical evidence. (DfEE, 1999: 46) Undoubtedly many science teachers already teach aspects of ideas and evidence in their classrooms, but there are many others for whom this strategy is not familiar. The initial training of science teachers does not conventionally place an explicit emphasis on how teachers can be supported in teaching this aspect of the curriculum. In order to address the deficiencies in the resources available to teachers, a project on ideas and evidence in initial teacher training, undertaken at King’s College London, has recently been supported jointly by the Key Stage 3 National Strategy and the Gatsby Foundation. In this article, I describe this project including the resources produced, which received very positive evaluation from the mentor and trainee teachers. Background to the project The project, which took place in 2004, aimed to produce resources for teachers and pupils to facilitate the teaching and learning of ideas and evidence in science at key stage 3 (pupils aged 11–14). The project team consisted of five university-based tutors who produced the resources, nine school-based mentors who were guiding the trainee teachers in their schools and eleven trainee teachers (Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) students). This project is one of five related projects based at universities (Cambridge, Keele, Institute of Education, King’s College London and