Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Toulmin Time

I found myself thinking Toulmin was actually easier to follow than Aristotle's syllogisms. I liked the slow complication of the data-to-claim model; in this way students could gradually see just how complex their claims can be. Also I enjoyed the Stygall exercise, though that would require some work on the instructor's part to compare. One of my goals for teaching 1000 would be critical thinking, and many freshmen arrive with a considerable amount of unquestioned assumptions. Getting them to see just how many invisible warrants or non-existent backing exist in their own thinking would be a victory in itself (not to use the argument as war metaphor).

I was also encouraged by Stygall's example of the conservative student who was unwilling to use any social analysis until informal logic showed him how useful it could be. This is exactly the sort of Aha! moment, the movement towards "toleration" that would be my goal in teaching any course.

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