The goal of this article is to provide an integrative review of research that has been conducted on
the development of children’s scientiWc reasoning. Broadly deWned, scientiWc thinking includes the
skills involved in inquiry, experimentation, evidence evaluation, and inference that are done in the
service of conceptual change or scientiWc understanding. Therefore, the focus is on the thinking and
reasoning skills that support the formation and modiWcation of concepts and theories about the natural
and social world. Recent trends include a focus on deWnitional, methodological and conceptual
issues regarding what is normative and authentic in the context of the science lab and the science
classroom, an increased focus on metacognitive and metastrategic skills, and explorations of diVerent
types of instructional and practice opportunities that are required for the development, consolidation
and subsequent transfer of such skills.