The implementation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) at school is one of the challenges of education in the twenty-first century, especially concerning the development of critical thinking during argumentative interactions. In this paper, I refer to an interdisciplinary approach with the aim to analyze the implicit inferential reasoning emerging in argumentative discussions among children during scientific activities. The study involved 25 preschool children at a kindergarten engaged in three problem solving tasks. The first activity was to build a tunnel, the second to build a bridge—both with the use of Lego©—and the third to build an hourglass with recycled materials. The tasks were video-recorded and the discussions transcribed. The analysis implied different steps: first, I identified the argumentative structure of each exchange according to the pragma-dialectical approach; then, I found the implicit premises using the Argumentum Model of Topics; afterward, I analyzed the argumentative discussions according to a sociocultural approach. The findings show a predominance of arguments based on causal relationships and indicate how children reason regarding complex aspects of a problem, such as the negative consequences of an action, the adequacy of the available tools, and the (possible) future conditions connected to the scientific activity they are involved in. The study opens a possibility to shift from how to implement STEM activities to what children already do when engaged in scientific tasks. It also encourages the adoption of an interdisciplinary approach to investigating the complex process of argumentation in preschool children.

中文翻译：

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研究学龄前儿童在科学活动中的内隐推理的跨学科方法

在学校实施科学、技术、工程和数学 (STEM) 是 21 世纪教育的挑战之一，尤其是在辩论互动中批判性思维的发展。在这篇论文中，我指的是一种跨学科的方法，目的是分析在科学活动中儿童辩论讨论中出现的内隐推理。该研究涉及一所幼儿园的 25 名学龄前儿童，他们参与了三项解决问题的任务。第一项活动是建造隧道，第二项活动是使用乐高© 建造一座桥梁，第三项活动是使用回收材料建造沙漏。任务被录像，讨论被转录。分析暗示了不同的步骤：首先，我根据语用辩证法确定了每次交流的论证结构；然后，我使用主题的论证模型找到了隐含前提；之后，我根据社会文化的方法分析了争论性讨论。研究结果显示，基于因果关系的论点占主导地位，并表明儿童如何对问题的复杂方面进行推理，例如行动的负面后果、可用工具的充分性以及与科学相关的（可能的）未来条件他们参与的活动。该研究为从如何实施 STEM 活动转变为儿童在从事科学任务时已经做的事情提供了可能性。