Physics, Talmud and Argumentation Skills Meet in Whole-Class Dialogic Discussions

Discussions and arguments are a central component of science and its development. Therefore, it is very important to integrate them into science teaching. Various studies show that the use of arguments and discussions in science classes significantly improves students’ conceptual understanding compared to other learning methods. Jewish literature has for many centuries been a tradition of learning through the approach of discussions and arguments. This approach is the central guiding principle in learning the Talmud and designs the authentic structure of Talmudic texts. In the present study, we bring the Talmud to physics class. Since, students frequently misconceptualize the nature of heat we chose to respond the challenge and developed a unique Physics Talmud Page (PTP) about the concept of heat. We examined how learning physics by Whole-Class Dialogic Discussions (WCDD) based on the PTP was expressed in students’ argumentation skills. The participants in this study included 101 first-degree engineering students who studied a course in mechanics and heat in two respective groups: the experimental group (N = 51) and the control group (N = 50). In this work we conclude that students in the experimental group demonstrated remarkable improvement in their overall argumentation abilities, showing enhanced capacity to construct compelling arguments, develop thoughtful counter-arguments, and effectively utilize textual evidence to support their reasoning—clear evidence that the Talmudic learning approach significantly strengthens critical scientific discourse skills.