Great argumentation activity

Today I came up with what I think is an engaging, fun, thought-provoking activity for an argumentation class. I did this activity in class today as a bridge between evaluating & creating syllogisms & enthymemes, and identifying arguments in a passage. I call it "Argument Boggle".

Supplies needed:

1. Monty Python's Holy Grail (you'll want the "witch" clip, available on youtube or here).
2. Permanent markers (4-6)
3. 1 self-stick easel pad (the Office Depot ones are cheaper than those made by Post-it)

Instructions:

1. Get the "witch" clip from Monty Python's Holy Grail and have the students watch it once (to get the giggles out).
2. Divide the class into teams of three, and give each team a poster and marker.
3. Have the class watch the clip again, but this time have them watch for arguments that take place during the passage. Instruct the teams to write down the arguments as they see them occur. Encourage each team to write down as many arguments as possible.
4. Once the clip has ended, give the groups a couple of minutes to complete the arguments they have written down.
5. Have each group share the arguments they saw, and encourage the class to make a fuss if the group lists isolated claims or things instead of arguments. The goal here is to get the students to separate actual arguments from assertions.
6. As each group shares the arguments they saw, have the other groups identify whether they wrote down the same argument (similar to Boggle, where you cross out words that the other players also wrote down). If any other group has the same argument, everyone crosses it off of their list.
7. The group with the most remaining "unique" arguments is the winner. You can choose to give them a "prize" or not (my class is somewhat extrinsically motivated, so this works for them, whereas it would not work with other classes I teach).

Questions for consideration:

- What kinds of syllogisms did you notice in the clip?
- If you were to reconstruct a syllogism from one of your arguments, where would you start? Would it be valid? Sound?
**This presents a great transition point to discuss the importance of soundness to an argument, since many of the arguments made in the clip could be logically valid but are completely nonsensical.
- What was the quality of the arguments that you saw? Good? Bad? Why?
- How could you make one of these arguments stronger?

That student...

Everyone has known "that student" at one point in time. You know, the student who doesn't follow through, winds up with a bad grade, and consequently blames the instructor. I admit, I've had a crack or two at being that student and I'm willing to bet that everyone has once or twice. So when my students have one of "those days" I try my best to cut them a little grace and do my best to help them accept responsibility for their actions.

But every once in a while I get to meet a student who has made their academic career by being "that student." These types of people are horribly frustrating to deal with because no matter what you do, the student refuses to admit that he or she is in any way responsible for his or her actions. Grrr!

I had to deal with one of these students today. We'll call him Pete. Pete screwed up big time on a recent assignment and when he received his grade, he insisted that it was my fault. I had a hard time being sympathetic because he performed his assignment last and so had numerous opportunities to observe the other students performing their assignment. He also got to see an in-depth demonstration and had everything in writing. So really, there was no reason for the heinous error he made in his assignment.

No matter how many times I explained things to him, though, he refused to believe that it was his own fault and not mine. What makes matters worse is that he has a learning disability, but has not taken advantage of ANY of the resources available to him.

So I'm at an impasse. He wants a higher grade, but I feel like he should deal with the consequences of his lack of attention to the assignment parameters. However, I also feel a bit sorry for him because he is dealing with a learning disability.
What do I do? Should I bow to the desires of my guilt complex and allow him to make up some of the points? Or should I encourage him to "man up" and do better next time?

A little help, please!

Melting Point

Last night, I hit my melting point. You know that point you get to when suddenly you're just on overload and all you can do is shut down or cry? Yeah. That's where I was last night during my instructional communication class right after I gave my presentation. I'm not even sure what lead to my major meltdown during class, but I'm thinking it could be a product of 1. not enough sleep + 2. too much work.

To start, I spent NINE HOURS on Monday grading midterms. For anyone who has never had a day like that, it is not fun. After three hours of grading midterms your brain feels like jelly. After nine hours, it's devolved into something entirely inhuman. But I pushed through, got the grading done, and then spent ANOTHER two hours working on a lesson plan. It was a lot of work, but it felt great to get so much accomplished.

I woke up Tuesday morning feeling completely drained, but very aware of the fact that I still had to finish my discussion/presentation for my instructional communication class. So I woke up, pushed through, and got that done as well. By the time I got to school, I was only running on half power, but somehow still found the energy to put out two GREAT, energetic lectures with lots of interaction built in. Unfortunately, my students were so worried about writing down all the information on the transparencies that instead of lively chatter and interaction, all I heard was the "scratch, scratch, scratch" of everyone furiously copying down notes. Major bummer. At that point, I pretty much felt like a teaching failure :(

After I finished teaching my two classes in a row, I decided to work on my presentation some more. But I couldn't focus, so I went and talked to my instructional communication teacher to get some ideas for fixing the furious note-taking and creating more interaction. That was good. But I still needed to work on my presentation. So, I did it. Worked it through. Made it great. But I felt like I had NO steam left to put into actually giving the presentation.

When six p.m. rolled around and it was time for class, I was DREADING giving my presentation. But somehow I dragged up some energy and did what I thought was a pretty good job. And then my classmates gave me comments. Oh boy, did they give me comments. I felt as though one of my classmates was being overly harsh with me, and all of the sudden I hit the melting point. Tears started to well up in my eyes unbidden. I was thinking to myself the entire time,
"Why the heck am I crying? I'm not upset. I don't want to cry. This sucks! Why can't I stop crying?"

It was all quite humiliating, because there I was in front of my peers, an instructor, and a VIDEO CAMERA, crying. I wished I could sink into the ground. But unfortunately, there's no sinking allowed in real life.
So now that I've hit my melting point once this semester, I hope it doesn't happen again. Or if it does, I really hope it happens when I'm by myself where there is no one to watch or record me as I physically, emotionally, and mentally fall to pieces.

Please. Lord Jesus, please.

Midterm Time

I am grading midterms. 35 down, 25 to go. After this, I have to grade around 62 three-page papers. *sigh* This is definitely my LEAST favorite part of teaching :(
Someone come rescue me...I think the stacks of paper are going to suffocate me to death!

What a difference a year makes

I was sorting through my blog posts and found this unfinished draft:

"Procrastination central

As a grad student, I've found that there are lots of ways to deal with the stress of writing term papers, developing presentations, and the stress of grad school in general. Some people drink (yay for bars), some people engage in risky relationships of all sorts, and some people experiment with various illegal substances. I, however, have developed my own world of stress reduction. I procrastinate.
Now you may be thinking to yourself that procrastination doesn't seem like a very good tool for dealing with impending deadlines. However, I'd have to say that based on extensive experience, procrastination is indeed a fine method of dealing with the deluge of work that grad school brings."

I've said before how much teaching has changed me. This old post is a classic example. I cannot even fathom procrastinating to the degree that I used to; teaching just doesn't allow it. But that's one of the amazing things about teaching: it's not just about you anymore.
For example, if I am unprepared for class, I'm not the only one that suffers. Certainly, I run the risk of looking like a complete buffoon in front of my class. More importantly, though, my students suffer because I am not prepared to communicate material to them appropriately. Knowing what I know now about the teaching and learning process, I can hardly believe the way I used to slide through school without truly preparing myself for class.
I can only hope that I have the dedication to continue along the path of academic righteousness.

Teaching

Today I held a review day for all my students because we have a big scary MIDTERM coming up next Tuesday. Today things just seemed to click. I felt so confident about the material I was covering for them, my transparencies were 100% visible, and I was really having FUN explaining all of the beginning concepts of argumentation to them. It was so neat pulling together all of the things I've been helping them learn over the past five weeks and showing them how it all fit together. *sigh* Sometimes, it's so awesome being an educator.

When I began teaching, I knew that it would change me. Not only would I have to be more organized and really master the material, but I knew that there was something about ME that would have to change. I would have to present myself differently. I would have to get over my insecurities and be a bit more confident. All of that is starting to happen, and although it still makes me feel like I'm not being a good teacher when I see people texting in class (you better believe I publicly shame the texters!), I'm getting a lot better at not taking my students' nonverbal cues so personally.

One of the things I was completely unprepared for was just how much teaching would affect my attitudes and behaviors as a student. I can say with 100% confidence that teaching has made me a much better student. When I have to present to my class, I have a little more confidence and flair. When I read materials I am better able to pick out the big ideas and see how everything fits together. And I have so much more respect for the process my instructors go through in creating assignments and putting together class materials. I can empathize with them when others in the class start getting out of control. Most importantly, I can recognize the things that are particularly irritating as an instructor and make darned sure that I'm not doing those things myself.

Yes, I knew that teaching would change things. But I didn't know it would change me as much as it has, in less than two months! I'm thankful for the increased responsibility and organization that teaching has forced me into. I feel so blessed and privileged to be in this position, to be able to master material in such a manner that I can convey it to others. But most of all, I am thankful for the dual perspective that teaching while pursuing my master's degree has given me.

So I'm just giving a shout-out to all the teachers out there, whether you are instructing classes, running training seminars, or teaching your little one how to read or speak. You are amazing. I love you. And I'm thankful to be a part of what you do, if only by association.

Overwhelmed

I'm sitting here at my computer and it's nearly midnight. I'm thinking of all the things I still need to do, like write a midterm, complete a presentation, finish some readings, write my thesis pre-proposal, get my oil changed, make a deposit, put away my clean clothes, etc, etc, etc.
I keep wondering when life is going slow down. Like Green Acres. Right now I'm so ready to pack in the city and transplant myself to a world where all I really have to worry about is whether or not my home-grown zucchinis will win first prize at the county fair. Yes, I know, it probably sounds terribly dull, but right now I am LOVING the idea of a domestic life.

Perhaps I'm romanticizing life as a homemaker. I know that there's always tons to do: clean the house, shuttle the kids to wherever they have to go, make sure those little minds are getting filled with good things, keep track of the family finances, do about 100 loads of laundry, etc, etc, etc. Maybe one of the reasons I think so often about being domestic and having a husband and kids is because I'm afraid not so deep down inside that I'll never get to have that kind of life. I know that I'm really good at the school thing, and I could see myself being a career teacher. But there is something that sounds so wonderful about nurturing a family, knowing all its little quirks, and helping little minds grow up into wonderful people.

Or it could be that the family life is so the opposite of how my life is right now that it's a wonderful mental escape. No papers to write, no students to be frustrated with, no putting up with crazy faculty members who can't decide if they should be your mentor or your friend. Yep, being a wife and mom is sounding pretty darned good right now. But I know that in the end I'll wind up dissatisfied all over again. And I know that this dissatisfaction is because I'm not meant for the world. What's that thing Paul says? That we're to be IN the world and not OF it. So I guess it's o.k. that I feel overwhelmed and out of place right now. After all, this oddness and discomfort is only a temporary symptom of belonging to something and someone much greater than myself.

Deep breath. Exhale. Moving on.....

What a difference a year makes

I was sorting through my blog posts and found this unfinished draft:

"Procrastination central

As a grad student, I've found that there are lots of ways to deal with the stress of writing term papers, developing presentations, and the stress of grad school in general. Some people drink (yay for bars), some people engage in risky relationships of all sorts, and some people experiment with various illegal substances. I, however, have developed my own world of stress reduction. I procrastinate.
Now you may be thinking to yourself that procrastination doesn't seem like a very good tool for dealing with impending deadlines. However, I'd have to say that based on extensive experience, procrastination is indeed a fine method of dealing with the deluge of work that grad school brings."

I've said before how much teaching has changed me. This old post is a classic example. I cannot even fathom procrastinating to the degree that I used to; teaching just doesn't allow it. But that's one of the amazing things about teaching: it's not just about you anymore.
For example, if I am unprepared for class, I'm not the only one that suffers. Certainly, I run the risk of looking like a complete buffoon in front of my class. More importantly, though, my students suffer because I am not prepared to communicate material to them appropriately. Knowing what I know now about the teaching and learning process, I can hardly believe the way I used to slide through school without truly preparing myself for class. I can only hope that I continue on the path of academic righteousness. It won't be an easy one.