Art of Argument - pacing & question about output

[abrightmom]

Semester or full year? How many days per week? Approximate time commitment? Is it okay to use orally rather than write in that student workbook? 

 

Thanks.  :thumbup1:

[freesia]

We do it over a year. There is a variety of plans available on the CAP website. You absolutely could do it orally together. Time commitment depends on pacing.

[mschickie]

We did it over a full year as part of our co-op.  It only took a couple hours a week max.  I guess you could do it orally but  I think it helps the kids process it to write it down.  We used the dvd's in class and if I was doing it at home I would definitely want them.  It is good to hear discussion on the different fallacies.  One thing I did for my class was to challenge them each week to find examples of the previous weeks fallacies in the real world.  By the end of the year they were able to pick out fallacies everywhere.

[abrightmom]

There is a variety of plans available on the CAP website.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I will go have a look :). 

[Momto6inIN]

We did it over a semester or so using one 2.5 hour block period per week. DS did it on his own, going over and answering review questions in his head and finding examples but not writing anything down. The only writing he did were the tests after each chapter. He was so into the course that discussion just happened organically as he pointed out to us all. day. long. whenever we committed a fallacy or he read one LOL In fact, he took the course 2 years ago and he still does it!

[MinivanMom]

We did it over a semester. We did two 1-1.5 hr sessions per week. 

 

I think doing the book orally is fine. In fact, I think it's the kind of course that lends itself strongly to discussion. I wouldn't want to just send a kid off to read and do the written work alone. They will get so much more out of the book if you are discussing the fallacies together and looking for examples in real life. 

[FriedClams]

My dd did it last year as part of an online logic class. They did it in a semester and it was a light class, so I don't think it would be tedious to do it that way.

[RootAnn]

I teach it in a semester in a 1 1/2 hours once per week meeting time with a handful of kids. Homework doesn't take long. We play games, read some aloud, and discuss examples everyone brings in.

 

They don't do a ton of writing, and I don't think it is as necessary as discussion for understanding and enjoying the class.

[Dinsfamily]

We plan on doing it next semester and finish by the end of the year. Ds is flying through Fallacy Detective and Thinking Toolbox this semester. Does anyone else think the DVDs are that important? They are expensive but I'm willing to splurge if they will really add that much to the course.

[Haiku]

We used it over a full year. We spent about 30-45 minutes on it 2-3 days a week. You can certainly do it orally. The next book, The Argument Builder (which is not nearly as much fun as Art of Argument), has a lot of written work, though, and to get the full benefit would need to be written work.

 

 

[mschickie]

I liked the DVDs especially if you are just doing them at home and not in a group.  The videos are a group of kids with the teacher discussing the lessons.  They bring out some good examples and it is sometimes nice to get their views.  You have to watch the extra videos though when you are done, they are hysterical.

[RootAnn]

I didn't get the DVDs. I watched the samples and was completely bored, so I didn't buy them.

[Garga]

My son did it once a week for a school year.  I tried to keep it to an hour, but that really wasn't quite long enough.  We used the videos and the book.

 

I'd have him watch the video first, then we'd read the book together, highlighting things that were important.  Then he'd answer the questions.  Some were written, some were oral.  He didn't like answering them at all and his answers were skimpy little things.  It was better to talk it out than to have him write them because I could draw him out more when we talked.  That works for below the high school level.  At high school levels, the student needs to write answers.  (Not sure of the age of your kids.)

 

I would have him type up the new fallacy on a flashcard and print it out.  We'd review the flashcards every class.

 

It was too much to squeeze in an hour. 

 

Instead of only once a week, we should have set aside an hour (or maybe 45 minutes) twice a week. 

 

Also: there were some review exercises and tests.  Those took a lot longer than I thought they would. 

 

If I did it again, I'd set it up this way:

 

Session 1 for the week:

Review cards

Watch the video.

Ask him what it was about.  (get a skimpy answer)

 

Session 2 for the week:

Review cards

Read the book together

Answer the questions

Type up the fallacy on a flashcard

 

Whenever there's a review worksheet or test:

Review cards

Do the worksheet or test  (no video, no reading.)

 

Edited August 26, 2016 by Garga