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Venus Hung, Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen, ChinaAbstract
Teachers often evaluate students’ explanations in biology primarily on correctness, which may miss opportunities to recognise the underlying structure of causal reasoning. In a peer-reviewed study published in June 2025, the presenter analysed written responses from Year 10 biology students in Hong Kong. Mechanistic reasoning (MR) was modelled across different topics using link-based diagrams that represent connections between five components: entities, activities, properties, conditions, and organisation. This framework enabled systematic comparison across topics and revealed how students constructed causal links of varying accuracy and relevance. Building on that published work, this presentation shifts focus from empirical findings to pedagogical implications. Three strands are emphasised. First, the characterisation framework provides teachers with a tool to identify both strengths and weaknesses in students’ mechanistic reasoning, moving beyond correctness as the sole criterion. Second, reasoning diagrams can function as diagnostic tools, helping teachers visualise hidden aspects of student thinking while supporting students’ self-regulation in constructing causal explanations. Third, the variability of reasoning challenges across topics highlights the importance of topic-sensitive scaffolding in science instruction. These implications point towards new directions in classroom evaluation, where the coherence and structure of reasoning chains are recognised alongside factual accuracy. By reframing both evaluation and pedagogy in this way, the presentation connects research on student reasoning with teacher education and classroom practice, offering directions for professional development and instructional design in science education.
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