DIE BEDEUTUNG DER KOMMUNIKATIVEN EINBETTUNG FÜR DAS BEWERTEN UND SCHRIFTLICHE ARGUMENTIEREN IM BIOLOGIEUNTERRICHT.

In German didactics of Biology, argumentation is part of the competence "Decision-making" defined in the National Standards for Biological Education. In the two studies presented, students at the beginning of upper secondary level, aged 16.7 years on the average, worked on a dilemma on organ donation by writing an argumentation. In Study 1 (n = 147), the students were asked to reason for their decision. In Study 2 (n = 56), the reasoning task was situated. Students were asked to write a letter in order to give advice to two persons who disagree on the issue. Students showed a better performance regarding the sub-competences of "Decision-making" in Study 2. The coding scheme for diagnosing the students' performance was based on theoretical stratifications of the sub-competences. Overall, the students achieved low levels of "Decision-making" competence. Possible reasons are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]