The Art of Argumentation

1. The Art of Argumentation Developing Arguments for the Science Classroom Kris Carroll CPDD Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

2. Agenda for SSI • What is an Argument? • Variations in Argument: Types of Claims, Evidence, and Warrants • Refining the Argument • Fallacies in Reasoning: The Pitfalls in Arguing • Our Intervention • Your Task Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

3. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

4. What is an Argument? • Argument- a stated position with support, for or against an idea or issue. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

5. What Comprises an Argument? • Stating a Claim • Providing Evidence • Giving Warrants Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

6. What is an Argument?:Stating a Claim • Claim- also called a proposition; declares some state of affairs, often stated as a thesis statement. • Often referred to as the “conclusion” within science • Answers the question, “what are you trying to prove?” Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

7. What is an Argument?:Providing Evidence • Evidence- material that provides grounds for belief in a claim. • Statistics • Testimony • Facts • Examples • Data • Graphs • Narratives Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

8. Example • Claim – You are guilt of a robbery. • Evidence – Your fingerprints are found at the crime scene. • Warrant – Is a rationale needed? Why? Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

9. What is an Argument?:Giving Warrants • Warrant- a statement that provides the logical connection between some evidence and a claim. • Step-by-step method: • Write down the claim. • List each possible piece of evidence you have in support of the claim. • Write down the corresponding warrants that link the evidence to the claim. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

10. What is an Argument?:The Depth of the Warrants • Warrant- a statement that provides the logical connection between some evidence and a claim. • The warrant is the rationale, reason or why that explains the connection between the claim and the evidence. • The warrant is controlled by content knowledge. • Therefore, the warrant is governed by the individual’s past experiences. • The depth of the warrant is mediated by the cognitive and metacognitive process. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

11. Variations in Argument: Types of Claims, Evidence, and Warrants • Types of Claims • Types of Evidence • Types of Warrants Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

12. Variations in Argument:Types of Claims • Claims of fact- focus on conditions that actually exist, existed, or will exist in the future. • Speculative claims- probable answers to questions for which no answers exist. • Claims of value- addressing issues of judgment. • Claims of policy- recommend a specific course of action to be taken. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

13. Variations in Argument:Types of Evidence • Audience Knowledge and Opinions • Speaker Knowledge and Opinions • External Evidence • Tests of Evidence • relevance • timeliness • source credibility Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

14. Variations in Argument:Types of Warrants • Motivational warrants- use the needs, desires, emotions, and values of audience. • Authoritative warrants- rely on an audience’s beliefs about the credibility or acceptability of a source of evidence. • Substantive warrants- operate on the basis of an audience’s beliefs about the reliability of factual evidence. • Warrants by cause- offer a cause and effect relationship as proof for a claim. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

15. Variations in Argument:Types of Warrants • Warrants by sign- infer that such a close relationship exists between two variables that the presence or action of one may be taken as the presence or action of the other. • Warrants by analogy- compare two similar cases and infer that what is true in one is true in the other. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

16. Refining the Argument • All attempts at persuasion are subject to counter-persuasion. • Inoculation effect- by anticipating counter-arguments and then addressing or rebutting them, you can “inoculate” your listeners against the “virus” of the viewpoints. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

17. Fallacies in Reasoning: The Pitfalls of Arguing • Fallacy- a false or erroneous statement, or an invalid or deceptive line of reasoning. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

18. Fallacies in Reasoning: The Pitfalls of Arguing • Begging the Question • Bandwagoning • Overgeneralization • Ad Hominem Argument Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

19. Fallacies in Reasoning:Begging the Question • Stating in an impressive sounding way a claim that really has no substance at all. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

20. Fallacies in Reasoning:Bandwagoning • Assigning a claim greater substance by making it appear more popular than it really is. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

21. Fallacies in Reasoning:Overgeneralization • Attempts to support a claim by asserting that a particular piece of evidence is true for all persons concerned. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

22. Fallacies in Reasoning:Ad Hominem Argument • Attacking an opponent instead of the opponent’s argument. • Attempting to incite an audience’s dislike for an opponent. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

23. Why do we write lab reports? Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

24. Purpose • The lab report is a model of a scientific argument. • Critical thinking is supported and fostered through content knowledge. • A rationale (warrant) can be developed and enhanced with the strength of content knowledge. • The reason or rationale that connects claims and evidence is often unrepresented within the classroom. (REFLECTION) Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

25. ParallelsLab Report vs Argument • Conclusion • Data & Analysis • Not represented • Claim • Evidence • Reason, Why & How Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

26. Our Intervention Evidence Claim Why, How, Reason and Rationale Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

27. Science • Professional Development is science, this is the model we are using to enhance content knowledge and develop meaning from the evidence to claim connection. • This mechanism was proven to enhance content knowledge. Crippen, 2009 • The use of argumentation was shown to have a positive correlation with content knowledge. Critical thinking and content knowledge are directly related. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

28. Examples: Develop an argument for… • Luck • Luck is being in the right place at the right time. • Winning MEGAbucks! • There is no possible explanation for winning megabucks other than chance and happenstance. • Non-Luck • Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. • Winning the WSOP • Winning the WSOP requires much skill, focused attention, patience, practice, and perseverance. Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

29. Group Practice Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

30. Your Student Task Each day, you need to record in your notebook… In: What claims can you make about how ________ contributes to your understanding of __________. Out: What warrant can you explicitly draw from your claim and evidence connection from this activity? OUT OCCURS AFTER ALL HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS ARE DONE! Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009

31. Your Teacher Task Each day, you need to record in your notebook… Through out this institute there will be many activities, assignments and labs. Within these activities, what is the evidence and claim connection? Why or what is the rationale for the connection? What knowledge base is described, standards addressed and connections to content are present? Is the knowledge base robust enough, or will you need to further develop connections? Curriculum & Professional Development Division, Science Health & Foreign Language June, 2009