Friendly Controversy: Synergistic Scaffolding for Practices of Providing Peer Critique

Peer critique is essential for collaborative learning of science but presents challenges for students.Drawing on distributed and synergistic scaffolding, we designed multiple supports within a CSCL modeling environment, including integrated evidence and peer-feedback mechanisms, to help 6 th -grade students develop peer critique practices.Through analysis of students' comments and engagement patterns during critique activities, we found that students demonstrated progressive uptake of peer critique practices that the scaffolds were designed to promote, evident in more balanced, specific critiques over time.These findings inform the design of distributed scaffolds for supporting peer critique in science classrooms.