Abstract
The purpose of this study is to search for a relationship between scientific reasoning among lower secondary students and information representation in forms of tables and graphs. Kuhn (2002) assumed “the coordination of theory and evidence” to be the central role of scientific reasoning. Based on Kuhn’s framework, we divided scientific reasoning into the following three categories: “reasoning from theory to evidence,” “reasoning from evidence to theory,” and “reflective reasoning of thinking process”. In addition, we focused on the effects of two styles, i.e., tables and graphs, in the research booklet on the process and result of adjustment on theory and evidence. The result of this investigation on junior high school students shows differences between “reasoning from theory to evidence” and “reasoning from evidence to theory”. Therefore, the representation style appears to affect scientific reasoning between “reasoning from theory to evidence” and “reasoning from evidence to theory”. However, there appears to be no difference of reasoning in the “reflective reasoning of thinking process”.
