Recovery and Reconstruction of Principles of Academic Debate as Dialectical Model: An Outline of a Procedural Model of Argumentative Rationality

Academic debate theory has developed over 125 years. According to debate theory, reasonable argumentation satisfies six obligations: (1) self-administration; (2) making prima facie/presumptively adequate moves; (3) clash; (4) meeting the burden of proof; (5) rejoinder/rebuttal; and (6) extension. These obligations define a kind of procedural rationality of argumentation distinct from the kinds of rationality elaborated by logical and rhetorical theories. Those obligations are grounded in the pragmatics of conversation and visible in debate practice

DAMed If You Do; DAMed If You Don’t: Cohen’s “Missed Opportunities”

In his paper, “Missed Opportunities in Argument Evaluation,” Daniel Cohen has in his sights a “curious” asymmetry in how we evaluate arguments: while we criticize arguments for failing to point out obvious objections to the proposed line of reasoning, we do not consider it critically culpable to fail to take into account arguments for the position. Cohen views this omission as a missed opportunity, for which he lays the blame largely at the metaphorical feet of the “Dominant Adversarial Model” of argumentation – the DAM account. We argue here that, while Cohen criticizes the DAM account for conceptualizing arguments as essentially agonistic, he accepts its basic framing and does not follow his critique where it leads. In so doing, he misses the opportunity to develop an alternative, non-adversarial account of argumentation which would avoid his criticism of how we evaluate arguments

COMO A PEDAGOGIA CRÍTICA DO ESPORTE CONTRIBUI PARA A EDUCAÇÃO FÍSICA NA ALEMANHA

The aim of this paper is to substantiate the educational potential of sport in PE programs at school and to explore how critical sport pedagogy can contribute to these programs. To this end, the main ideas behind critical-emancipatory movements in Germany over the past 40 years are investigated and outlined. Due to the absence of a holistic approach, the focus of the current concept of educative PE in Germany is twofold: to educate toward sport and to educate through sport. In line with this concept, sport in society needs to be addressed without simply being adopted as a model. Following these core assumptions, this paper puts forward the thesis that sport has the potential to empower children to deal with their increasingly complex and contingent lifeworlds, which is important when facing future challenges such as social issues and, thus, provides pedagogical legitimization of PE as a school subject. El objetivo de este artículo es evidenciar el potencial educacional del deporte en programas de Educación Física en la escuela y explorar como la pedagogía crítica del deporte puede contribuir a estos programas. Para este fin, las principales ideas presupuestas en los movimientos crítico-emancipatórios de Alemania en las últimas cuatro décadas son investigadas y delineadas. Debido a la ausencia de un abordaje holístico, el propósito del actual concepto de Educación Física educativa en Alemania es duplo: educar para el deporte y educar a través del deporte. Según este concepto, el deporte en la sociedad necesita ser problematizado sin ser solamente asumido como un modelo. De acuerdo con esas premisas centrales, este artículo trabaja con la tesis de que el deporte tiene el potencial de empoderar niños para tratar con sus mundos cada vez más complejos y contingentes, lo que es importante para enfrentar los futuros desafíos como una cuestión social y, por lo tanto, ofrecer legitimación pedagógica de la Educación Física como materia escolar.  O objetivo desse artigo é evidenciar o potencial educacional do esporte em programas de Educação Física na escola e explorar como a pedagogia crítica do esporte pode contribuir para esses programas. Para este fim, as principais ideias pressupostas nos movimentos crítico-emancipatórios de Alemanha, nas últimas quatro décadas, são investigadas e delineadas. Graças à ausência de uma abordagem holística, o propósito atual de Educação Física na Alemanha é duplo: educar para o esporte e educar através do esporte. Segundo esse conceito, o esporte na sociedade precisa ser problematizado sem ser apenas assumido como um modelo. Conforme essas premissas centrais, esse texto trabalha com a tese de que o esporte tem o potencial de empoderar crianças para lidar com seus mundos cada vez mais complexos e contingentes, o que é importante para enfrentar os futuros desafios como uma questão social e, portanto, oferecer a legitimação pedagógica da Educação Física como matéria escolar.

Two views of the Necessity to Manifest Rationality in Argumentation

This paper contrasts two views of the necessity to manifest the rational adequacy of argumentation. The view advanced by Ralph Johnson’s program for informal logic will be compared to one based on an account of obligations incurred in speech acts. Both views hold that arguers are commonly obliged to make it apparent that they are offering adequate support for their positions, but they differ in their accounts of the nature and scope of those obligations

Reasoning, argumentative interaction and idea life cycles during group product ideation in higher education

Abstract. This study presents the analysis of the use of argument in group ideation process in higher education settings. The need for such analysis is dictated by the fact that students in higher education are one step away from joining wider professional communities, where the ability to engage in joint brainstorming and evaluating new products is in high demand. The study data consists of transcripts of ideation discussions of two groups of master’s degree students. The task for both groups was to imagine and formulate a future AI-based teaching/learning assistant, prepare a short verbal presentation of the product, and present it to the whole class. The analysis is arranged in three steps. First, frequency and quality of grounded claims is evaluated using Toulmin’s Argumentation Pattern. Then, the type of talk is determined using the indicators of exploratory, cumulative and disputational talk (Mercer, 1996), the interplay between types of talk is examined. Finally, idea life cycles and reasoning behind idea demotion is investigated. The results indicate that 1) arguments are provided rarely, but when provided, most of them (2/3) are complete; 2) exploratory talk manifests mostly in elaborations on peers’ ideas, whereas reasoning (justifications) to own ideas and critical evaluation is less frequent; these factors characterise the discussions more as co-constructive interaction rather than exploratory talk; 3) dominance of elaborative comments on an idea leads to inclusion the idea in group solution; reasoning for idea demotion varies remarkably between the two groups (56% vs. 80%). These outcomes indicate that students might benefit from enhancing their reasoning to be ready for workplace ideation in groups. From task design view, clear product metrics should be set, and a line drawn between brainstorming and evaluation phase, to prevent unreasoned idea demoting in brainstorming and stimulate questioning and reasoning in evaluation

Presumptions, burdens of proof, and explanations

On the standard view, there are different types of presumptions but, nevertheless, they all asymmetrically allocate the burden of proof. In this paper, I distinguish two meanings of the “burden of proof” and argue that two types of presumptions, practical and cognitive ones, allocate the burden of proof in different senses. Consequently, the standard accounts of presumptions are either more fragmented than scholars usually admit, or they have lower explanatory potential

A Meta-Analytic Review of Cooperative Learning Practices in Higher Education: A Human Communication Perspective

The phrase cooperative learning refers to a pedagogical learning and teaching technique in use in schools from kindergarten through higher education. The technique involves the structuring of an active classroom environment with students working in groups to discover, solve, and at its basic, provide a framework for dialogue and conversation. Cooperative learning is grounded in the development of a theory of social interdependence (Morton Deutsch) which states that individuals, working in groups, can in most cases provide for greater productivity and ideas than individuals working alone. The development of cooperative learning was greatly expanded in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s with the invention of specific group learning techniques led by researchers David and Robert Johnson (Learning Together), Elliot Aronson (Jigsaw), and Robert Slavin (STAD). These researchers established guidelines (rules) and taxonomies that provided a basis for research in the area of cooperative learning. At the center of all of these techniques is an element of human communication, most often through the oral/aural communication channel, where group learning and discovery takes place. Cooperative learning and collaborative learning techniques differ in the amount and implementation of teaching guidelines required in the methodology. This study (a metaanalysis) weaves through more than 14-hundred published pieces of literature in a variety of disciplines, narrowing it down to 19 published articles which investigate (through experiments) the effectiveness through learning outcomes of cooperative learning in higher education (college and university level). With studies including more than 2-thousand student-participants in the research, data indicates no significant difference between those classrooms utilizing a cooperative learning format, and those using a traditional lecture/discussion format (d =0.05, 95%, C1:-05 to .14, p\u3e.05, k = 21, N = 2,052). Though there is no statistical difference between the two teaching techniques, researchers do offer a list of positive classroom observations/variables, which provides a launching point for future research into the use of cooperative learning techniques in higher education

What Do We Know About the World? Rhetorical and Argumentative Perspectives

his book consists of selected papers delivered at “First International Conference on Rhetoric in Croatia: the Days of Ivo Škarić” in May, 2012, and subsequently revised for publication. Through a variety of different routes, the papers explore the role of rhetoric and argumentation in various types of public discourse and present interdisciplinary work connecting linguists, phoneticians, philosophers, law experts and communication scientists in the common ground of rhetoric and argumentation

Enhancing collaborative argumentation in an online environment

Studies indicate that collaborative argumentation can aid students\u27 understanding and improve their problem-solving skills. This study used the online environment WebCT to explore the improvement of argumentation through goal instruction. In previous studies of collaborative argumentation using WebCT, small groups of students discussed controversial questions. Some groups were given a general goal to persuade, but others were given an elaborated goal to generate reasons and evidence. The effect that the elaborated goal had compared to the general goal was analyzed. This study replicated those previous studies, with some alterations. The goal was to evaluate two interventions designed to increase argument balance and development; Elaborating the question did enhance balance and argument development, especially for low-knowledge students. The reason condition had some effectiveness with some knowledge interactions. Also, asking students to complete a survey and declare their position before engaging in discussion tended to reduce balance

Getting Down in the MUDs: A Ludological Perspective on Arguers

Dan Cohen (2018) and Michael Gilbert (1997) have variously emphasized the need for argumentation theorists to pay attention to ‘arguers’ and not just ‘arguments.’ Following Yong-Set (2016), this paper will suggest that ‘games’ can be leveraged to enrich an understanding of the ‘person’ aspect of argumentation. Ludology is the academic and critical study of games qua games, especially in terms of system design, player experience and the socio-cultural dynamics of gaming. By drawing upon and extending the lessons learned from ludologist Bartle’s (1996, 2012) analysis of the relation between player-types and games that successfully implement Multi-User-Dungeons (MUDs), I argue that a healthy ‘ecosystem for argument’ requires different ‘player types.’ The preferred activities that differentiate the player types each require the success of other player types to prosper. If a goal is to understand how real argumentation functions so that it can be bettered, one cannot define the scope of argumentation narrowly or reductively. This highlights the importance of adopting a conceptual framework – such as Gilbert’s “4 Modes of Argument” – that is rich and versatile enough to deal with the diversity necessarily found in the range of activities that involve arguers and the arguments in which they produce and share evidence