Investigated the particular beliefs that differentiate types of argumentative individuals. Found that high argumentative students tend to perceive arguing primarily as an enjoyable learning experience demonstrating rhetorical skills, while low argumentatives view arguing as a hostile communication encounter that increases conflict between people.…

Describes a writing assignment to help students develop the capacity to anticipate and deal with the counter arguments of a skeptical reading audience, in which classmates offer rebuttals to student position papers. A sample peer review form is included. (HTH)

The process of teaching a class of adult students of diverse language background the linguistic and conceptual skills necessary for debate in French is described. Students studied the construction of persuasive discourse through the use of articulating terms and phrases and analyzed their use in producing coherent argument in texts. (MSE)

Answers in the affirmative the question of whether school integration is still a good and desirable goal. (Author/RK)

The terms "cooperative" and "collaborative" are sometimes used interchangeably in reference to group learning activities in classrooms and in online settings. However, they can be viewed as differing in terms of characteristics such as pre-structure, task structure, and content structure (Strijbos & Martens, 2001; Panitz,…

This innovative textbook, for first-year English and more advanced composition and critical thinking courses, addresses the need for college students to develop critical reading, writing, and thinking skills for self-defense in the contentious arena of American civic rhetoric. In a groundbreaking reconception of composition theory, it presents a…

In designing computer environments to support the creation of arguments, a central issue concerns evaluating the quality of these arguments. This study uses one such computer environment, Convince ME, that uniquely uses a connectionist model, ECHO, to generate Model Fit values as a kind of measure of an argument's coherence. This study sought to…

To better understand the issues behind the colonization of the New World and to see why some colonies and empires failed while others flourished, students analyze the motivations and resources of the colonial powers. Noting that the results of the colonial era are counter-intuitive (the Spanish, who colonized areas rich in gold, silver, and…

This paper addresses the hybrid communication course and its tradition of teaching students a variety of important communication skills. The three-fold mission of the hybrid course in teaching interpersonal, group, and public speaking skills places the hybrid communication course in an important position at the dawn of the 21st century. Even…

A composition course for preservice teachers that emphasized writing as a means of inquiry elicited mixed results on student evaluations. The reading and writing assignments were designed to foster what the instructor calls "arguing to inquire." The purpose of this kind of writing is not to take a position and convince others of its…

The corporate takeover of the Internet has moved literacy into uncharted territory. Couched in capitalist metaphors of liberation, choice, utility, and desirability, an expanded communications network that provides quick and easy access to vast amounts of information appeals to the national psyche. The commodification of literacy as a result of…

As teaching argumentative and persuasive writing returns to the classroom, so does the question of how to do so effectively. Process writing reforms over the past 30 years have sought to change the ways writing is taught from drill and practice in grammar exercises to a focus more on continuous writing and revision. Arguing from an ecological…

This study involved a teaching experiment in which academic argumentation was practiced during a ten-week email course in a Finnish university. During the course, two working methods were used: free debate and role play. The aim of the study was to clarify how these two working methods activated students in mutual argumentative dialogue and…

To help students become more honest rhetoricians," teachers must recognize the issues involved in teaching controversial subjects." (Author/SW)