The Devil’s Advocate

Abstract

While dissent is recognized as a necessary component of scientific knowledge production, in school settings, it is a double-edged sword that can disrupt and undermine social cohesion just as it can promote thinking and creativity. This pilot study explores patterns of dissent in a science education context. It uses a mixed-methods approach to analyze the discourse of five post-secondary student groups at a US university engaged in a collaborative, problem-based science activity. The authors track the ways in which dissent contributed to the development of group ideas, as well as the roles played by individuals. In particular, this study shows that a single student appeared to account for a disproportionate amount of each group’s dissenting statements. The authors contend that dissent, while potentially detrimental to group cohesion, is vital for a group’s intellectual advancement, and they investigate in detail how the manifestations of dissent are related to the idea progression of the different groups. Finally, implications for science pedagogy and student group work are discussed.