The science writing heuristic approach and the role of domain general reasoning in explaining the growth of inductive and deductive inferences in mathematics and science

An ongoing debate in education has centered on the concept of domain-general reasoning practices and whether such a position can explain how student learning in one discipline can influence their practices in another. For example, student learning in science impacts their learning in mathematics. Based on a model highlighting a significant relationship between reasoning practices used across science and mathematics, this study explored the lasting impact of learning science through the Science Writing Heuristics (SWH) approach on inductive and deductive reasoning in mathematics as well as deductive reasoning in science. Utilizing fourth-grade student data and follow-up data collected over three subsequent years, we applied the generalized DINA (deterministic inputs, noisy “and” gate) and linear regression models for analysis. The findings provide evidence of the immeote utilization of inductive reasoning in mathematics and a delayed advantage of deductive reasoning in both mathematics and science. These results support the implementation of argument-based approaches, like the SWH approach, on student development and utilization of domain-general reasoning. The findings of this study highlight the need for further research on the development of such reasoning resources when students are immersed in epistemically rich learning environments as proposed by national curricula. Additionally, further investigation is needed to determine whether these reasoning skills are applied across different disciplines, regardless of context.