Inferential Reasoning and the Influence of Cognitive Conflict

This study follows two earlier studies of school students' abilities to draw inferences when comparing two datasets presented in graphical form (Watson and Moritz, 1999; Watson, 2001). Using the same interview protocol with a new sample of 60 students, 20 from each of grades 3,6 and 9, cognitive conflict was introduced in the form of video clips of reasoning expressed by students in the earlier studies. This methodology was intended to mimic the type of argumentation that might take place in the classroom but in a controlled setting where identical arguments could be presented to different students. Interviews were videotaped and analysed in a similar fashion to the earlier studies in order to document change associated with the presentation of cognitive conflict. Change was documented with respect to the levels of observed response for two parts of the protocol and for the use of displayed variation in the graphs. Implications of the methodology for future research and teaching are discussed.