Considering Argumentation: Analyzing and Evaluating Information with Intel’s Showing Evidence Tool

Costa, V. and Shand, K. (January 2010) Analyzing and Evaluating Information with Intel’s Showing Evidence Tool.  Presentation for the Teaching with Technology Faculty Showcase, California State University Fullerton.

AgendaTime Topic

2:45-3:10 Introduction to the Showing Evidence ToolMedia MessagesTurning Points in History

3:10-3:30 Practice on the Tool: Mysterious Malady Demo

3:30-4:00 Instructional StrategiesHow to Create Your Own AccountAdditional Resources on Argumentation

The Link: http://www.intel.com/education/showingevidence http://educate.intel.com/en/ThinkingTools/ShowingEvidence

You are not!

I’m here for an

argument.

Why Teach Students to Argue?

Importance of Including Argumentation in the Classroom

Prepares students for real-world problems is a significant part of higher-order thinking and reasoning (Kuhn, 1992) Is used across different content areas (Reznitskaya and Anderson, 2002) Are constructed in all different disciplines and professions Are an important part of everyday life and prevalent in students’ lives

Helps students develop higher-order thinking skills Helps students take a more critical stance when confronted with an argument Helps them know hot to evaluate the quality of what they read or hear

(Reznitskaya and Anderson, 2002) Helps them learn how to support claims with appropriate evidence and

reasoning (McNeill, Lizotte, Krajcik, and Marx, 2004)

Increases students’ content knowledge Requires students to think deeply about the content and to construct their own

understanding of the content as they construct their arguments (Driver, Newton, and Osborne, 2000)

Encourages thoughtful student discussions Creates an environment where students question each other’s claims and

identify appropriate evidence, warrants, and backing (Jimenez-Alexandre, Rodriquez and Duschl, 2000)

Research on Argumentation

Negative Findings about Argumentation: Students have difficulty constructing arguments.

When asked to construct arguments without specific instruction in this area, students, grades 5-12 generally generate weak arguments (Means and Voss, 1996).

Even with instruction, students have difficulty providing certain components of arguments, such as describing reasoning for why evidence supports their claim (McNeill et al, 2004).

Students need instructional support as they construct arguments.

Format of an Argument

Toulmin’s Model of Argument

Necessary PartsClaimSupportWarrants

Optional PartsQualifiersRebuttalBacking

There are three major and necessary parts of an argument, and also three additional, optional parts.

3 Necessary Parts to an Argument

ClaimMain point, thesis, controlling ideaClaim may be directly stated

First of a text, but sometimes at end for effect

OR claim may be appliedFound by asking “what is the author trying to

prove?”EX: Universities should reinstate affirmative

action admission policies

3 Necessary Parts to an Argument

Support Reasons given in support of the claim Also known as evidence, proof, data, arguments, or

grounds Support can be facts and figures, expert opinion,

examples, explanations, and logical reasoning. Found by asking “what does the author say to

persuade the reader of the claim? Example: Affirmative action provides equal access to

education for all ethnic groups.

3 Necessary Parts to an Argument Warrants

Assumptions or presuppositions underlying the argument

Generally accepted beliefs and values, common ways our culture or society views things

Usually unstated and implied because they are so commonplace

Author and audience may share warrants; or warrants of each may be in conflict

Provide the underlying reasons linking the claim and the support

Found by asking “what’s causing the author to say the things she does?” or “where is the author coming from?”

EX: Equality of access is a basic American value.

3 Additional Parts to an Argument Qualifiers

Because argument is about probability and possibility, not about certainty, don’t use superlatives like:

all, every, absolutely, never, none, no one Qualify (tone down) your claim with expressions like:

many, many times, some, rarely, few, possibly

Backing Sometimes warrant needs evidence

to support it, to make it more believable, to further “back-up” the argument

Rebuttal Take into consideration other conflicting viewpoints and deal with them

fairly. Answer questions and objections raised in the minds of the audience.

Otherwise, your own argument will be weakened and subjet to attach and counter-argument

Sometimes rebuttal will be directed to opposing claims Other times rebuttal will be directed at alternative interpretations or evidence

of new evidence

example Qualifier: If a university does not have a diverse student

body Claim: . . . It should use affirmative action admissions

policies Support: Affirmative action policies provide equal

access to education for all ethnic groups Warrant: Equality of access is a basic American value Backing: Equality before the law is a fundamental right

of all Americans. Rebuttal: Affirmative action policies do not result in

“reverse discrimination” because they are only part of a process that attempts to ensure fairness in college admissions.

Elements of an Argument

Elements of an ArgumentComponent Definition Example

Claim The conclusion or assertion that a student is attempting to prove.

Genetically modified foods should not be banned.

Evidence Facts or data that are used to support the claim.

Crops can be genetically engineered to produce a pesticide.

Quality of Evidence

Confidence in the evidence: Do they trust the source? Do multiple sources agree?

Many sources discuss this. Numerous crops such as potatoes, cotton, and corn have been modified with a Bt gene that controls production of a toxic protein.

Linking Claim and Evidence

A connection between the claim and evidence.

If a crop produces a pesticide that is harmful only to pests, it is a very strong reason to allow genetically engineered food.

Reasoning The general principle or data that allows them to make the connection between the claim and evidence.

A pesticide is a chemical substance used used to kill pests, like insects. By genetically engineering crops to produce insecticides, fewer cops will be lost to insects, which will result in more food.

Rebuttal (Evidence Against Claim)

Consideration of evidence and reasoning that goes against the claim.

Genetically engineering crops that include pesticides can kill other “non-target” insects such as monarch butterflies.

Understanding Parts of an Argument Simplest argument consists of a claim and evidence:

Claim – the conclusion or assertion that a person is attempting to prove

Evidence – the facts or data that are used to either support or oppose the claim

This is also known as proof, data, arguments, observations, or grounds. Support of a claim can come in the form of facts and statistics, expert

opinion, examples, explanations, logical reasoning, etc.

Claim – What you are trying to prove or persuade

Supporting Evidence Counter Evidence

Understanding Parts of an Argument

More complicated arguments, particularly when multiple claims could be supported, require evaluation and justification of the claim Quality of the evidence

Is the source reliable and credible? How accurate is the evidence?

Strength of the evidence to support or oppose the claim Were all the important counter-arguments explored and included? Is the evidence central to the argument?

Reasoning for why the evidence supports or opposed the claim

What general principle or idea allows that connection? How does this particular evidence support or oppose the claim?

Five Types of Claims(and an example of each!)

Five Categories of Claims

Claims of fact: Is it real? Is it a fact? Did it really happen? Is it true? Does it exist? Global warming is occurring. Women are just as effective as men in combat. Affirmative action undermines individual achievement. Immigrants are taking away jobs from Americans who need work.

Claims of definition: What it is? What is it like? How should it be classified? How can it be defined? How do we interpret it? Does its meaning shift in particular contexts? Alcoholism is a disease, not a vice. We need to define the term family before we can talk abut family values. Date rape is a violent crime. The death penalty constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Five Categories of Claims Claims of cause: How did this happen? What caused it? What

led up to this? What are the effects? What will this produce? The introduction of the computer into university writing classes has

enhanced student writing ability. The popularity of the Internet has led to a rise in plagiarism amongst

students. The economic boom of the 1990s was due in large part to the skillful

leadership of the executive branch.

Claims of value: Is it good or bad? Beneficial or harmful? Moral or immoral? Who says so? What do these people value? What value system will b used to judge? Doctor-assisted suicide is immoral. Violent computer games are detrimental to children’s social

development. The Simpsons is not a bad show for young people to watch. Dancing is good, clean fun.

Five Categories of Claims

Claims of policy: What should I do? How are we to act? What policy should we take? What course of action should we take to solve this problem? We should spend less on the prison systems and

more on early intervention programs. Welfare programs should not be dismantled. The State of Oklahoma should issue vouchers for

parents to fund their children’s education. Every person in the United States should have access

to federally-funded health insurance.

Topic of Gun Control

Claim of fact: There are serious restrictions on our Constitutional right to bear arms. This essay will give facts, examples, and statistics relating to

laws and polices that restrict the sale and use of firearms.

Claim of definition: Laws governing the sale of firearms such as assault weapon and handguns do not constitute an infringement on our right to bear arms. This essay will focus on the Bill of Rights and its clause about

the right to bear arms. It will argue for a particular definition that includes the writing of laws that relate to ownership of firearms.

Topic of Gun Control

Claim of cause: Tougher laws governing th sale of handguns would mean a decrease in the number of homicides each year. This essay would seek to establish a link between difficulty in

obtaining a handgun and a drop in the homicide rate. It will use statistics, facts, and analogies from other places where similar things have been done.

Claim of value: The right to bear arms is still an important civil right in the United States. This essay will appeal to people’s sense of the value of gun

ownership. It will probably appeal to authorities, such as the Constitution, to history, and to long-held customs.

Topic of Gun Control

Claim of policy: The sale of assault weapons in the United States should be banned. This essay will use a variety of motivational appeals

and value proofs, analogies, facts and statistics cause and effect arguments, and appeals to authorities to provide that this is a favorable course of action.

Now You Try It!

BE PREPARED TO SHARE EACH OF THE FOLLOWING:

With a partner – I’ll assign you a claim type. Compose a claim for each that relates to NCLB. Be

sure to identify the evidence you’d expect to need to support this claim.

On your own: Compose a claim for your own research. Identify the

type of claim as well as the evidence you’d need to support this claim.

The Showing Evidence Tool

Showing Evidence Tool Version Toulmin’s Format (1958):

Claim Data Warrant Backing Qualifier Rebuttal

Showing Evidence Format: Make a claim Generate evidence Evaluate the quality of

evidence Make explicit links between

the claim and evidence Provide reasoning for why

evidence supports claim Consider counter argument Make a conclusion

Differences:• Terms have been changed to make them student-accessible• Order is different

Showing Evidence Tool

Requires students to specifically link their claim and evidence Helps students consider relevance and importance of evidence

collected

Requires students to provide their reasoning as to why their evidence supports their claim Should include general ideas or principles that allow students to make

that connection

Requires different thinking skills depending on whether students start by making a claim and then gather evidence, or gather evidence first, and then determine their claim Both approaches are valid and require students to evaluate the

evidence when making conclusions about claims

Determining Acceptable Evidence Different subject areas and audiences

Literature course may require quotations from text as evidence Science course may accept experimental results/research from scientific

journals History course may accept primary sources, certain academic Websites,

and a list of approved books Project dealing with social issue may permit survey results, interviews,

approved Websites, and certain books Audience is important to consider when determining the “best” evidence

to use What is important to a teen may be different from that of a politician or doctor.

Other Questions to Consider What is the lowest acceptable source for evidence? Where will you set

the bar? Should students consider all evidence – even poor evidence – or will

their be a minimum threshold for quality? What is the highest or most desirable source for evidence? Do you expect direct quotes or summaries of the evidence? How do you want the source cited? Is there a minimum number of supporting and/or opposing pieces of

evidence?

Quality of Evidence

Strength of Evidence

Evaluating the Claim Consider both the support and quality ratings of the evidence. Consider the following rubric as a starting point:

Quality of Claim

Unfounded Considering all of the evidence and the quality of that evidence, this claim has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be untrue.

“Reasonable Doubt” Circumstantial or minor evidence does seem to support this claim, but not enough to make a decision. "Reasonable doubt" exists.

“Hung Jury”The evidence provided does support the claim, but there are still uncertainties as to whether that support really proves the claim is true. This rating is the result of a "hung jury."

Likely TrueThere is room for interpretation or other possibility, but considering all of the evidence and the quality of that evidence, the claim is strongly supported and is most likely true and/or valid.

True and ValidConsidering all the evidence and the quality of that evidence, it is quite obvious that this claim is true and valid.

References

Wood, N., Perspectives on Argument, 2nd ed., pp. 161-72.Swadley, Charles. “Argumentation.” Retrieved from

http://students.ou.edu/S/Charles.R.Swadley-1/argumentation.htm.

Batey, A., Pllard, J., Shott, S., and Yost, J., (2005). Intel ® Teach to the Future Workshop on Teaching Thinking with Technology. Intel Corporation.

Thinking Tools with Technology. http://www.intel.com/education