Improving critical thinking growth for disadvantaged groups within elementary school science: A randomized controlled trial using the Science Writing Heuristic approach

In a cluster‐randomized study, we investigate the impact of an argument‐based approach to teaching science in elementary school on science learning and critical thinking skills. Forty‐eight schools participated in the study, with data on 9,963 students across the 2 years of the intervention. Annual standardized tests assessing science content knowledge were used to evaluate the effect of the intervention on science using a hierarchical linear...