Teaching Argumentation. Julia A. Simms
help students practice identifying errors of faulty logic, attack, weak reference, and misinformation, teachers can use exercises like those in figure I.6.
Figure I.6: Sample exercises for identifying errors in reasoning.
Teachers can ask students to identify items such as those in figure I.6 as errors of faulty logic, attack, weak reference, and misinformation. For a finer level of detail, students can identify the specific subtype of error (for example, contradiction, poisoning the well, appealing to authority, or confusing the facts).
Identifying Insufficient or Irrelevant Evidence
Identifying insufficient or irrelevant evidence involves analyzing evidence to decide whether it adequately supports a claim. Teachers can use three strategies to help students identify insufficient or irrelevant evidence:
1.Diagram backing.
2.Determine whether evidence is sufficient.
3.Determine whether evidence is relevant.
Here, we review each of these strategies.
Diagram Backing
Identifying which grounds each piece of evidence (backing) supports can help students identify whether the evidence is sufficient or relevant. For example, a speaker might state, “Schools should hire more teachers so that classes can be smaller. Smaller classes will allow teachers to know each student better and allow them to provide more individual instruction. Teachers would also have more energy and be able to design more engaging lessons, which would improve student achievement. Three studies have found that the achievement of students in smaller classes is higher than the achievement of students in larger classes. Also, a study found that teachers with fewer students were more confident, were more relaxed, and had better relationships with students. Finally, another study showed that the quality of teaching is higher in classrooms with fewer students.”
Students might diagram the speaker’s backing as shown in figure I.7.
Figure I.7: Diagramming backing.
Diagramming backing in this way allows students to deconstruct an argument into its component parts and develop a clearer understanding of the argument itself. Students can see how each element of the argument is connected to another element. This makes it easier for them to verify that all evidence is sufficient and relevant.
Determine Whether Evidence Is Sufficient
Evidence is sufficient when there is enough of it to provide ample support for a claim or grounds. If a person cannot reasonably agree with a claim given the evidence provided, then the evidence is probably insufficient. For instance, given the claim “Alaska is a more enjoyable place to live than Colorado,” a student might present the following grounds: “Because the state of Alaska is warmer on average than the state of Colorado.” To back up the grounds, the student says, “The average temperature of Juneau, Alaska, is 41.5 degrees, but the average temperature of Alamosa, Colorado, is only 40.8 degrees.” This backing is insufficient evidence for the grounds that Alaska is warmer than Colorado for a few reasons. For one, the student has only compared the average temperatures of two cities, one from each state, and one city may not be indicative of the climate of an entire state. Juneau is located in the southern part of Alaska and is one of the warmest places in the state. Compared to the average temperature of Barrow, Alaska, a northern city on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, Juneau’s average is a full thirty degrees warmer. In addition, Juneau’s average temperature of 41.5 degrees is only 1.5 degrees warmer than Alamosa’s average of 40.8.The difference seems too small to support a claim that one state is decidedly warmer than the other.
In the example diagrammed in figure I.7, a student might question whether the evidence provided is sufficient. In two cases, backing is represented by only one study. Also, citation information is not provided for any of the studies mentioned in the argument. This should lead students to investigate further into the validity of the evidence provided.
Determine Whether Evidence Is Relevant
Evidence is relevant when it directly relates to proving or disproving an element of the claim. When it does not, it can be considered irrelevant. Consider, for example, a criminal case in which someone is tried for murder. To convict a defendant of first-degree murder (as opposed to second-degree murder or manslaughter), a prosecutor must prove that the act was premeditated; in other words, she must prove that the defendant had planned the murder beforehand. In such a circumstance, pointing out that the defendant once stole a pack of gum from a drugstore is irrelevant evidence because it does not directly relate to proving that the murder was premeditated. On the other hand, eyewitness testimonies of the defendant making threats on the victim’s life would be considered relevant. These testimonies could contribute to proving that the murder was premeditated.
Perspective Taking
Students must learn to take multiple perspectives in order to argue effectively. In The Big Sort, journalist Bill Bishop (2008) explained that throughout the past half-century, Americans have gradually become more and more divided, increasingly socializing in communities filled with people who share their views:
The second half of the [twentieth] century brought social specialization, the displacement of mass culture by media, organizations, and associations that were both more segmented and more homogeneous. We now worship in churches among like-minded parishioners, or we change churches, maybe even denominations, to find such persons. We join volunteer groups with like-minded companions. We read and watch news that confirms our existing opinions. . . . Media, advertising, city economies—they’ve all segmented, specialized, and segregated. (pp. 37–38)
As a result of the “big sort,” diverse viewpoints rarely coalesce in one physical location. However, as Hess (2011) pointed out, this circumstance makes schools uniquely suited for controversial discussions. Classrooms in the United States “feature ideological, religious, and social class diversity among students” (Hess, 2011, p. 70) and therefore represent various perspectives on social issues. Walter Humes (2012) went one step further, asserting that schools have a duty “to extend, not simply confirm, experience, and this involves exposing youngsters to alternative ways of life and values different from those encountered at home” (p. 19).
In addition, the CCSS require that students be able to take multiple perspectives. The authors asserted that a college- and career-ready student will “actively seek to understand other perspectives and cultures through reading and listening” and is able to “communicate effectively with people of varied backgrounds” (NGA & CCSSO, 2010a, p. 7). Consequently, we have included perspective taking as a critical skill needed for effective argumentation.
Marzano and Heflebower (2012) stated that “in order to be able to see an issue from multiple perspectives, students must first be aware that different perspectives can and do exist” (p. 153). Thus, an important aspect of teaching students the skill of perspective taking is helping them understand that people can see the same thing in very different ways. We propose two ways to teach perspective taking:
1.Give examples of situations that demonstrate different perspectives.
2.Engage students in hands-on activities that highlight various perspectives of students in the class.
The following sections provide more information about each method.