Assessing argument

1. Assessing argument Susan Golab, literacy consultant Oakland Schools Waterford, Michigan

2. In the beginning…

3. When teachers’ instruction and formative assessment practices are undergirded by learning progressions, teachers can better use formative assessment to map where individual student’s learning currently stands and take steps to move him forward. Formative Assessment in Practice ~ Margaret Heritage, Pg. 37

4. Research-Based Instructional Approach • Visible Learning: A Synthesis of over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement • John Hattie: Routledge, 2009

5. And then came Eli… Professor Jeff Grabill, MSU WIDE Co-Director

6. Teachers as researchers ?

7. Research Questions: To what extent can students learn to become more effective reviewers? What do students learn about writing from reviewing? To what extent can student learn to become more effective revisers? What do students learn about writing from revision?

9. http://sites.matrix.msu.edu/swrp/

10. There May Be No Such Thing as “Argumentative Writing” Who writes, reads, and has a stake in argumentative writing? Informational writing? Nobody

11. There May Be No Such Thing as “Argumentative Writing” Writers argue, persuade, summarize, analyze … in a range of situations Writers make arguments for all sorts of reasons, with and for audiences, using the genres and evidence necessary

12. The New Rhetoric Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, in a treatise on argumentation, shift immediately to persuasion [1958/1969] Foreground audience Also deal explicitly with ambiguity and uncertainty (rhetoric is the domain of the uncertain; science the certain)

13. Ancient Rhetoric for Modern Students: Sources of Arguments Ethos (character of speaker); Pathos (emotions of the audience); Logos (arguments residing in the issue at hand): intrinsic to rhetoric Modern rhetoric reduces its focus to empirical evidence (“facts”) and expert testimony: extrinsic to rhetoric

14. Ancient Rhetoric for Modern Students: Sources of Arguments Belief isn’t a function of “logic” or reason alone Belief is also a function of emotion, values, identity, community …

15. Ancient Rhetoric for Modern Students: Sources of Arguments Where I am going with this … Rhetorical issues and situations are those about which there is disagreement and uncertainty Inventing ideas begins with that uncertainty, with audiences, their communities, and beliefs … and addresses them in order to change belief

16. And so … How does one begin to argue/persuade without audience? Audience is a resource for invention Argument/persuasion is inauthentic in situations of certainty—where all we ask students to do is “deploy facts” Argument/persuasion begins with belief and explores uncertainty to shape belief

17. What do you see? Table groups… Look across the provided rubrics 2. Highlight where you see any reference to audience 3. What do you notice?

21. Creating a Developmental Continuum

22. Moves studied

24. Artifact study • STEP 1 • Each participant shares artifact. • What was the task? • What reasoning do you see in the artifact? • What would be qualities of the reasoning you do find? • STEP 2 • As a table… • Sort the artifacts into a continuum of reasoning from basic to developed. • Have a table member record the continuum into the Google Community