This activity aims to assist students with persuasive tactics for argumentative speeches. The activity involves students creating an argumentative speech to defend a hot-take assertion chosen from a list provided by the instructor. In small groups, students will craft an argument supporting their hot-take assertion and present it to the class.…

Readers confronted with unfamiliar and controversial scientific debates tend to rely on simple heuristics such as the perceived plausibility to focus their cognitive resources on specific information during comprehension. In the present experiment, we tested the assumption that plausibility judgments as an integral part of comprehension are used…

The purpose of the study was to identify how debates effected the analytical thinking abilities of tertiary students and how the debates as an instructional approach were perceived by the students. The study used quantitative data collection methods such as tests and observation checklists and qualitative data collection methods such as a focus…

This study is framed in the social perspective of Epistemology of Science, and it aims to examine the epistemic operations performed by high school students while engaged in a role-play about food safety that requires them to engage in both argumentation and decision-making practices. The epistemic operations are examined on two different levels:…

We live in a climate ripe for noise: Media outlets and 24-hour news cycles mean that everyone with access to a computer has access to a megaphone to broadcast their views. Never before in human history has an opinion had the opportunity to reach so many so quickly regardless of its accuracy or appropriateness. Of course, it's difficult to hear…

Examines the characteristics of incrementalism as it defines the present system in competitive debate. Outlines the strengths and weaknesses of this slow and deliberate pursuit of diverse goals and contends that it holds much argumentative promise. (JMF)

It is possible for any forensics organization or other body to center its activity upon public debates. Academic institutions have done so and will continue to do so on the basis that audience debates constitute an appropriate training for citizenship in a democracy and for participation in the economic world. The public debate before real…

Although texts on debate and argumentation deal with accepted forms of evidence, reasoning, and logical methods of proof, they do not cover adequately the "undefined" forms of proof. Criteria of evidence found in forensic literature are not always followed strictly by judges, in courtroom or classroom. Many debate judges allow imprecise, vague, or…

Use of the calculator in school classrooms has become a hotly-debated subject. Critics and advocates propose many different arguments. The author takes a look at what both sides are saying about "good educational practice" as it relates to calculator vs. paper-and-pencil computation. (Editor)

Examines the premise that increased research provides important contributions to decision making. The study counterplan assumes that information can be developed in a way manageable to the policymaker, that study can assist in choosing from a variety of competing values, and that thoroughly researched decisions will be procedurally superior. (JMF)

This volume of the Michigan Speech Association secondary curriculum guide--an expanded version of the 1968 edition (ED 026 393)--is devoted solely to the development of debating skills. The guide is intended to assist teachers in planning a course of instruction in debate and to provide techniques for coaching students who participate in an…

Debate paradigms, which at one time established standards to help judges evaluate arguments and rules to guide debaters' argument choice and strategy selection, no longer offer consistent guidance for either judges or debaters. An increased emphasis on creativity and flexibility has led to a general unwillingness to use a rigid debate format. The…

This analysis of argumentation considers three separate, yet interrelated, aspects of the persuasive argument: evidence, warrant, and claim. A study of each of these components is presented in separate chapters with an examination of the role and standards each must carry out in formulating sound, logical proof. A classification of types of…

Evaluators of argument are frequently confronted by conflicting claims. While these claims are usually based on probabilities, they are often resolved with the accepted claim treated as though it were "true," while the rejected claim is treated as though it were "false." Scenario testing is the label applied to a set of…

This module, which may be used as the basis for a workshop or as a special topic unit in adult basic education or English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) courses, focuses on how to evaluate the facts, opinions, and positions on social issues held by family and friends, neighbors, authority figures, and the media. Topics covered include the following:…