tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post3893121751473949758..comments2024-03-14T04:16:20.472-07:00Comments on In Socrates' Wake: The rational, non-expert student readerMichael Cholbihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02012523929044363216noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-18005542589870630462012-06-14T07:13:25.635-07:002012-06-14T07:13:25.635-07:00Hello, both! Great post.
I've started to assi...Hello, both! Great post.<br /><br />I've started to assign a series of worksheets in courses attended by philosophical newcomers. I assign one per day, starting on the first day. They are meant to build both reading and writing skills simultaneously.<br /><br />Before I assign the first worksheet, I begin with an exercise: I hand everyone a slip of paper containing a paragraph of middling difficulty from a philosophical work. I tell the students that they have three minutes to determine how many words in the paragraph contain an A, how many contain a B, and how many contain a C. They are to write the answers elsewhere and then turn their slips face down. When the time is up, I ask them for the counts. Then I ask: What was the main point of the paragraph? Of course, more or less nobody has any idea.<br /><br />The point, which I then underscore, is that it's possible to read something carefully and take correct notes without getting anything at all from it. To succeed in philosophical reading, it is not enough to do these things. You need to read in the right way, and look for the right things. And, I explain, reading the right way will often involve stopping and thinking. But, stopping and thinking about what? Cue my lecture on what arguments are and why they are essential to figuring things out and resolving certain kinds of disputes. I really stress the fact that, if they do a reading but don't finish a reading with a clear picture of the argumentative outline and how everything fits into it, they have missed everything they needed to get out of it. <br /><br />That day, they get the first worksheet in the following sequence. I spend about ten minutes at the start of each class going over the answers.<br /><br />First worksheet: "Here is a paragraph from a recent newspaper editorial. What, in your own words, is the author's main point?" (I make this one fairly easy)<br /><br />Second worksheet: "Here are two opposing letters from the letters page of our local newspaper. What, in your own words, is the main point of each letter? What exactly is the issue on which the writers disagree? Be as precise as possible."<br /><br />Third worksheet: "What is the main point of the reading for next class? What is the author's main argument for her conclusion? Please sketch out the main argument in standard premise/conclusion form."<br /><br />Fourth worksheet: "a) What is the main point of the reading for next class? b) What is the main point of the second paragraph of page 34? c) What significance does that paragraph have for the reading overall?"<br /><br />Fifth worksheet: "The readings for next class are an article by Smith and an opposing article by Jones. What is the main issue in dispute between Smith and Jones? The first new paragraph on the third page of the Jones reading is intended as an objection against a certain argument in the Smith reading. What, in standard premise/conclusion form, is that argument from Smith, and how does the indicated paragraph in Jones constitute an objection against it?"<br /><br />Sixth worksheet: "Brown presents three different arguments against View Y. Which of these do you think is the weakest? Please write it out in premise/conclusion form, and explain how you think a defender of View Y could best object to the argument."<br /><br />If they can do the sixth worksheet, they are ready to understand the instructions for writing a good philosophy paper.Justin Kalefnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-70288121120131136102012-05-18T12:30:51.310-07:002012-05-18T12:30:51.310-07:00This is very helpful Michael. Your workshops at L...This is very helpful Michael. Your workshops at LC were a big hit! It is great to see institutions begin to take pedagogical development seriously.<br /><br />I think the most important thing you point out here is this: that our students are making a rational choice when they choose not to read. They aren't getting anything out of it. You give some very helpful tips about how to making reading a rational choice. I'm curious to hear ideas from others.Beckohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16074821953202236848noreply@blogger.com