Читать книгу The Handbook for the New Art and Science of Teaching - Robert J Marzano - Страница 13

CHAPTER 4

Conducting Practicing and Deepening Lessons

Once teachers introduce content through direct instruction, they must further develop student knowledge. Practicing and deepening lessons encourage students to investigate a topic more rigorously. During these lessons, students begin developing the ability to employ skills, strategies, and processes fluently and accurately. Teachers can utilize these lessons to assist students in connecting their understanding of the topic with previously learned content and to facilitate the practice of essential skills.

The goal of this design area is for students to deepen their understanding and develop fluency in skills and processes after teachers present new content. Teachers are able to meet that goal by answering the question, After presenting content, how will I design and deliver lessons that help students deepen their understanding and develop fluency in skills and processes? The three elements and associated strategies in this chapter help the teacher do just that.

Element 9: Using Structured Practice Sessions

When the content involves a skill, strategy, or process, an effective teacher engages students in practice activities that help them develop fluency. Research has shown that practicing skills, strategies, or processes increases student achievement (Bloom, 1976; Feltz & Landers, 1983; Kumar, 1991; Ross, 1988). Effective practice is more than repetition; it involves students gradually learning and then shaping the steps of a process. Teachers should thoughtfully design and guide this process (Anderson, 1982, 1995; Fitts & Posner, 1967).

There are eight strategies within this element.

1. Modeling

2. Guided practice

3. Close monitoring

4. Frequent structured practice

5. Varied practice

6. Fluency practice

7. Worked examples

8. Practice sessions prior to testing

The following sections will explore each strategy to provide you with guidelines to effectively implement this element. Read through each before creating a plan for your classroom. Teachers may use the strategies individually or in combination. Remember, these are not merely activities to be checked off; they are methods of creating a practice that combines your art with the science of using structured practice sessions. Reflect on your use of each strategy by filling out the “Strategy Reflection Log” on page 331.

Modeling

When teachers present any skill, strategy, or process to students, they should first model it for them. This involves the teacher walking through the steps involved in the skill, strategy, or process. The modeling process can include a number of steps and can incorporate different media to make content engaging and easy to comprehend. Teachers can use the following techniques to model a skill, strategy, or process for students.

• Demonstrating a skill, strategy, or process step by step

• Verbally explaining each step of a skill, strategy, or process

• Showing a video that demonstrates a procedure or process

• Showing a completed example with significant parts labeled for students

• Demonstrating several different ways a student can effectively perform a skill, strategy, or process

• Providing multiple completed examples

• Pointing out common errors in completed examples

• Performing an error while demonstrating a skill, strategy, or process and then explaining why it was incorrect

In addition to these modeling techniques, teachers can use think-alouds to explain why and how to use a skill, strategy, or process. Each time they enact a step in a procedure, they should explain why they are performing this step, how they are going to perform this step, and how students can recognize when they need to use the procedure. Think-alouds should also help students relate the procedure to what they already know. Students can use think-alouds to explain their own decisions if they demonstrate a procedure for the class or the teacher.

Guided Practice

Guided practice involves well-structured opportunities for students to engage in new skills, strategies, or processes. During these opportunities, activities move from very simple to more complex versions of the skill, strategy, or process. Figure 4.1 can help guide your use of this strategy.

Source: Marzano Research, 2016.

Figure 4.1: Guided practice planning guide.

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/instruction for a free reproducible version of this figure.

Close Monitoring

When students are learning a new skill, the teacher provides a highly structured environment and monitors student actions very closely to correct early errors or misunderstandings. As students become more adept with a skill, strategy, or process, the teacher encourages them to monitor their own progress and evaluate their own performances.

Use the following techniques to implement close monitoring in the classroom in a way that scaffolds the attainment of a skill, strategy, or process for students.

• Break procedures or processes into steps or chunks so that students can easily practice each piece.

• Model each step of the procedure or process.

• Ask students to work independently only when you have completed modeling the step so that you are available to observe their actions.

• Observe students as they practice each step. Only move on to the next step in a procedure or process after every student has completed the first step correctly.

• Gradually move students from simple examples to more difficult examples. One way to do this is to have students simply imitate or replicate your actions at first and then gradually have them execute the skill, strategy, or process on their own.

• When students are first learning processes or skills, ask them to repeat information in chorus. As students grow familiar with the information, call on individual students for answers or explanations to a question.

• Stop the whole class when you notice a pattern of errors in the students’ performance of a skill, strategy, or process. Explain the errors to the class and have them practice that specific element of the procedure several times.

• Once students are able to complete the skill, strategy, or process independently, place students in small groups and have them complete several problems within the group. Ask each group member to contribute to the completion of the task and speak up if the group has made an error.

Frequent Structured Practice

When students are learning a new skill or process, the teacher first provides a clear demonstration of it. After this demonstration, students should have frequent opportunities to practice discrete elements of the skill or process and the process as a whole in situations where they have a high probability of success. Students should experience success multiple times before moving away from this type of practice. Figure 4.2 (page 68) can help guide your use of this strategy.

Varied Practice

Once students have engaged in frequent structured practice, they begin practicing a skill or process in more challenging situations. Students should still experience success, but they might need to work a bit harder than was necessary during frequent structured practice. During this type of practice, the teacher should encourage students to monitor their progress with the skill or process and to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

Students are ready to begin practicing a skill, strategy, or process in more challenging and varied situations when they can:

• Summarize how to perform the skill, strategy, or process

• Explain when to use the skill, strategy, or process

• Write out a step-by-step procedure for performing the skill, strategy, or process

• Describe the general use of the skill, strategy, or process

• Execute the skill, strategy, or process independently

Source: Marzano Research, 2016.

Figure 4.2: Frequent structured practice planning chart.

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/instruction for a free reproducible version of this figure.

Once a teacher is certain that students are ready to vary their use of the skill, strategy, or process, he or she can design more difficult practice problems.

Fluency Practice

Once students are comfortable with a skill or process and have experienced success with it in a wide range of situations, they engage in independent practice in which they focus on performing the skill or process skillfully, accurately, quickly, and automatically. The teacher can assign this type of practice with a skill or process as homework. Students can track their progress over time by keeping self-monitoring charts, such as the one in figure 4.3.

Worked Examples

While students are practicing skills and processes, the teacher provides them with problems or examples that have already been worked out so they receive a clear image of the correct procedure. To implement this strategy, create a written script to accompany each worked example to help students understand what is being demonstrated. After students have reviewed the script, have them answer several questions that ask them to explain what the worked example shows and to demonstrate their understanding of the example. These questions help students reflect on and review the steps outlined in the worked example.

For example, in the following worked example (figure 4.4) of adding fractions with different denominators, the teacher has provided a script outlining each step in the process.

Following the worked example, the teacher might ask these questions.

• “Is it possible to add two fractions with different denominators? Explain your answer.”

• “What is one way we can find a common denominator?”

• “What do we have to do to the numerator when we find the common denominator?”

Source: Marzano Research, 2016.

Figure 4.3: Student fluency progress chart.

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/instruction for a free reproducible version of this figure.

Figure 4.4: One method for adding fractions with different denominators.

Practice Sessions Prior to Testing

The teacher sets up a practice schedule to ensure that students have a chance to review and practice skills and processes before they are tested or retested on them. Relate the practice to a learning goal or scale using the following tips.

• Tell students which content will be tested on the assessment.

• If students have been charting their progress throughout the unit, have them estimate their current position on the proficiency scale and decide what score they would like to earn on the assessment. Ask students to propose ways they can practice skills and achieve their individual learning goals. Students can also provide explanations for why their activities are good ways to practice a skill, strategy, or process.

• Identify independent or group practice activities students can complete to strengthen their mastery of the learning goal. Have students complete the activities in class or ask them to perform them at home and monitor their ability to complete the tasks. Ask students to rate how fluently they were able to complete a task by providing them with a scale to measure their success.

• Create group practice sessions that review an important skill or process specifically addressed by the learning target or scale. Sessions may be required, or they can be offered as an optional practice activity.

• Create a calendar of practice dates and sessions that will prepare the class for the assessment. Post this calendar in the classroom or on a class website to help students plan for the practice sessions.

Monitoring Element 9

Specific student responses and behaviors allow the teacher to determine whether this element is being implemented effectively and producing the desired effects.

• Students actively engage in practice activities.

• Students ask questions about the procedure.

• Students increase their competence with the procedure.

• Students increase their confidence in their ability to execute the procedure.

• Students increase their fluency in executing the procedure.

Use this list to monitor student responses to element 9.

To monitor your own use of this element, use the scale in figure 4.5 in combination with the reproducible “Tracking Teacher Actions: Using Structured Practice Sessions” (page 89). As with other proficiency scales, level 3 or higher is the goal.

Figure 4.5: Self-rating scale for element 9—Using structured practice sessions.

The following examples describe what each level of the scale might look like in the classroom.

• Not Using (0): A teacher often assigns homework that asks his students to perform new skills, strategies, or processes after he introduces them. The teacher does not model procedures before students perform them and does not set aside additional time in class to practice processes and skills.

• Beginning (1): A teacher engages her students in fluency practice of summarizing short texts. Before asking the students to summarize, the teacher demonstrates the skill but does not engage the students in trying the skill. During the fluency practice, the teacher creates strict time limits for the students to generate and write down their summaries, and some of the students are not able to complete the fluency activities in the allotted time.

• Developing (2): The teacher models the long division procedure for his students. He describes each step of the procedure as he performs it on the whiteboard and explains when students will need to use this procedure. Afterward, he asks students to solve the same problem using the methods he has described. The teacher then presents additional examples and asks students to solve them with increasing levels of independence. Over the next few days, he provides similar practice sessions. However, he does not have a way of monitoring whether this strategy has helped students understand the procedure better or develop their fluency with the procedure.

• Applying (3): A teacher schedules practice sessions before assessments to help students succeed. She creates a scale and asks students to rate their level of comfort and certainty for various processes from recent lessons. She then conducts special practice sessions to go over the procedures that students are unsure about. After the practice sessions, she asks students to rate their comfort levels again. The teacher is careful to stagger the practice sessions so that there is enough time for students to become fluent in the processes before test day.

• Innovating (4): A teacher uses varied practice to challenge his students. He creates a series of word problems and asks students to work in groups of two to complete the set of problems. The teacher monitors how quickly each group seems to be moving forward and reminds groups who appear to be struggling of an important step or procedure they could use to solve the problem. There are two sets of students who finish their word problems quickly, so he asks them to write out a step-by-step guide of what they did and why to share with the class later.

Element 10: Examining Similarities and Differences

When content is informational, an effective teacher helps students deepen their knowledge by examining similarities and differences. Research has shown that identifying similarities and differences is associated with a gain in student achievement (Alexander, White, Haensly, & Crimmins-Jeanes, 1987; Baker & Lawson, 1995; Gick & Holyoak, 1980, 1983; Halpern, Hansen, & Reifer, 1990; Lee, n.d.; McDaniel & Donnelly, 1996; Raphael & Kirschner, 1985; Ross, 1988; Stone, 1983). Comparing, classifying, finding patterns, and identifying relationships are basic activities that require students to examine similarities and differences (Marzano, 2007).

There are fourteen strategies within this element.

1. Sentence-stem comparisons

2. Summaries

3. Constructed-response comparisons

4. Venn diagrams

5. T-charts

6. Double-bubble diagrams

7. Comparison matrices

8. Classification charts

9. Dichotomous keys

10. Sorting, matching, and categorizing

11. Similes

12. Metaphors

13. Sentence-stem analogies

14. Visual analogies

The following sections will explore each strategy to provide you with guidelines to effectively implement this element. Read through each before creating a plan for your classroom. Teachers may use the strategies individually or in combination. Remember, these are not merely activities to be checked off; they are methods of creating a practice that combines your art with the science of examining similarities and differences. Reflect on your use of each strategy by filling out the “Strategy Reflection Log” on page 331.

Sentence-Stem Comparisons

Students complete sentence stems that ask them to compare and contrast various people, places, events, concepts, or processes. These comparisons can be general or specific, as shown in the following examples.

• General: House cats are similar to lions because ______. House cats are different from lions because ______.

• Specific: Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple are both characters who enjoy solving mysteries, but they are different because ______.

Consider using the following stem formats in your use of this strategy.

• ______ and ______ are similar because they both ______.

• ______ and ______ are different because ______ is ______, but is ______.

• ______ and ______ are both ______, but different because ______.

• ______ is similar to ______ because ______. They are different from each other because ______.

• ______ is similar to ______ but different from ______ because ______.

Summaries

A summarizer is a simple graphic organizer that students can use to examine the similarities and differences between two items. It generally has three columns: the left column explicates features that are only found in the first item; the far-right column lists features that are only found in the second item; the middle column should list characteristics that are similar between the two items and include a sentence that summarizes the items’ similarities. Teachers can use this graphic organizer to help students clearly articulate similarities and differences and practice summarizing. Figure 4.6 provides an example.

Figure 4.6: Example of a completed summarizer.

Constructed-Response Comparisons

A constructed-response comparison is a student-generated written response that describes the similarities and differences between two items or ideas. This strategy begins with a simple request by the teacher: “How is ______ similar to and different from ______?” Students must decide which similarities and differences to include in their responses and how to best frame their analysis. More advanced constructed responses can ask students to draw conclusions and indicate why it is important to understand the similarities and differences between the two items.

Figure 4.7 can help guide students’ use of this strategy.

Source: Marzano Research, 2016.

Figure 4.7: Comparison words and phrases.

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/instruction for a free reproducible version of this figure.

Venn Diagrams

Students use these visual tools to compare and contrast two or three people, places, events, concepts, or processes. Students can use Venn diagrams for specific, general, abstract, or concrete comparisons. Students write similarities where circles intersect, and they write characteristics unique to the comparison items where the circles do not intersect.

T-Charts

Students can use T-charts to compare two objects, ideas, events, or people. Students fill in a T-shaped graphic organizer by writing two topics across the top and details that describe each on either side of a dividing line. Then, once students have gathered several characteristics for each item, they look for similarities and differences between the two items. In several short sentences, students should explain the similarities and differences they see in their T-chart. Additionally, after completing their explanation, students can draw conclusions about the essential similarities and differences between the two things. The conclusion should not list all of the similarities and differences but simply sum up what the student recognizes as the fundamental similarities and differences between the two items. It can be helpful if students write parallel characteristics on each side of the T-chart. For example, when comparing Australia and the United States, students might write the continent each country is found on as the first characteristic. By writing the characteristics in parallel, students will easily be able to identify the similarities and differences between the two items after filling in the T-chart.

Double-Bubble Diagrams

Students use this type of diagram to compare the attributes of two people, places, events, concepts, or processes. They write the two things being compared in large circles on the left and right sides of a page. They list common attributes in smaller circles in the center of the page that connect to both large circles. They write unique attributes in smaller circles at the left and right edges of the page that connect only to the larger circle to which they apply.

See figure 4.8 for a template you can use in your classroom.

Source: Marzano Research, 2016.

Figure 4.8: Double-bubble diagram template.

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/instruction for a free reproducible version of this figure.

Comparison Matrices

A comparison matrix is an analysis tool that allows students to compare several items by arranging the items’ characteristics side by side. Both elementary and secondary students identify elements they wish to compare and write them at the top of each column in a grid. Next, using a matrix like the one in figure 4.9, students identify attributes they wish to compare and write them in the rows. Then, in each cell, students record information related to each attribute for each element. Finally, students summarize what they learned by comparing the elements.

Source: Marzano Research, 2016.

Figure 4.9: Comparison matrix template.

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/instruction for a free reproducible version of this figure.

Classification Charts

Students can use classification charts (like the one in figure 4.10) to group like items together based on their characteristics. The teacher creates a chart with several categories listed across the top and asks students to fill in examples that fit in each category. Students can pair up or form groups to share their charts with their peers, discuss and explain why they classified items as they did, and modify their charts after hearing others’ perspectives. Students should then describe in a short paragraph the characteristics that unite each column of elements.

Source: Marzano Research, 2016.

Figure 4.10: Classification chart template.

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/instruction for a free reproducible version of this figure.

Dichotomous Keys

A dichotomous key is a graphic organizer that refines students’ understanding of two or more concepts or objects by delineating different characteristics of each. Generally, the dichotomous key moves from broad characteristics that apply to multiple objects to more detailed characteristics as a way to clearly define the item being examined. Students can create dichotomous keys as either simple tables (figure 4.11) or flow charts (figure 4.12). This strategy is particularly useful when comparing multiple items that fit within the same category and might appear very similar on the surface. Students commonly use this strategy to distinguish between similar organisms in science, but teachers can adapt it for any subject that requires students to distinguish among items in the same category. Students can practice using this strategy with familiar items before moving on to more complex concepts and topics.

Figure 4.11: Example of a dichotomous key simple table.

Figure 4.12: Example of a dichotomous key flow chart.

Sorting, Matching, and Categorizing

Teachers can ask students to participate in activities that require them to sort, match, and categorize content. When sorting, students should place items into specific, predetermined categories. When matching, students should match two things that are equivalent to one another. For example, they might match a picture or symbol with a word, a definition with a term, two mathematical equations with the same solution, or a synonym with a word. When categorizing, students should group elements into two or more categories and explain the reasoning behind their categorization. Teachers can ask students to complete these kinds of activities individually, in groups, or as a class. Teachers can also structure sorting, matching, and categorizing activities through the use of graphic organizers, worksheets, or other visual representations.

Following are examples of sorting, matching, and categorizing activities.

• Defining vocabulary or terms: This strategy works well when instructing students on important vocabulary or terms for a unit. When students are beginning to learn the definition of the term, teachers can have them match the word to its written definition, to an illustration of the term, or to a synonym. As students’ understanding deepens, they should be able to sort the terms into categories. For example, in an English language arts class the teacher might ask students to sort words under the appropriate part of speech, and in a science class a teacher could have students sort terms under the type of animal or process they describe.

• Understanding symbols: A number of subject areas use symbols to represent ideas or processes. Students can use this strategy to familiarize themselves with the use, purpose, and definition of important symbols. For example, in a music class, students could match different musical symbols to their use, or they could categorize different instruments by which clef (the musical symbol used to indicate the pitch of written music notes) the music for the instrument uses.

• Classifying objects that could belong to the same category: Sorting and categorizing objects into more specific categories helps students understand which features define a particular set of objects. For example, for a unit on the solar system, a teacher could ask students to sort planets as gas giants, dwarf planets, or ice giants and have them explain which features of each planet cause them to belong to that category. Through this kind of activity, students learn that even objects within the same category, such as planets, can have a diverse range of features.

Similes

In this strategy, students state comparisons using like or as. Students can generate similes to help them understand how new knowledge relates to previous knowledge. They might include an explanation of why one object is like the other and can revise their similes after discussing them with their peers. Teachers can introduce similes by comparing new knowledge to something students are already familiar with. For example, when teaching a lesson on adding fractions, a teacher might state, “Adding fractions with different denominators is like trying to add apples and oranges,” in order to show students that the denominators must be the same when adding fractions. Visit go.SolutionTree.com/instruction for the reproducible “Similes” to introduce students to this strategy.

Metaphors

With this strategy, students state comparisons using metaphors. In a metaphor, comparisons are stated as direct relationships—one thing is another—for example, life is a journey. Metaphors are sometimes abstract and can be extended to include more than one comparison. Students should explain why their metaphors are appropriate. When deepening students’ knowledge of a subject, the teacher can instruct students to create metaphors that relate the new content to something they understand well. For example, when discussing the Silk Road and the Mongol Empire, students could state, “The Silk Road was a bridge between Eastern and Western cultures.” Visit go.SolutionTree.com/instruction for the reproducible “Metaphors” to introduce students to this strategy.

Sentence-Stem Analogies

Students can use sentence stems to create comparisons that describe specific relationships between two items or concepts. Analogies always take this form: “Item 1 is to item 2 as item 3 is to item 4.” The teacher might also present students with the first two terms of an analogy and ask them to fill in the second two terms, for example: “A coach is to an athlete as ______ is to ______.” Visit go.SolutionTree.com/instruction for the reproducible “Sentence-Stem Analogies” to introduce students to this strategy.

Visual Analogies

The teacher asks students to use visual organizers to help them make analogies. The students create an analogy and specify the type of relationship the analogy is expressing. Many students are visual learners and working with content in a visual can help reinforce the meaning. Visit go.SolutionTree.com/instruction for the reproducible “Visual Analogies” to introduce students to this strategy.

Monitoring Element 10

Specific student responses and behaviors allow the teacher to determine whether this element is being implemented effectively and producing the desired effects.

• Students understand the similarities and differences between the elements being compared.

• Students ask questions about the similarities and differences between the elements being compared.

• Students can explain how the activities deepened their knowledge.

Use this list to monitor student responses to element 10.

To monitor your own use of this element, use the scale in figure 4.13 in combination with the reproducible “Tracking Teacher Actions: Examining Similarities and Differences” (page 90). As with other proficiency scales, level 3 or higher is the goal.

Figure 4.13: Self-rating scale for element 10—Examining similarities and differences.

The following examples describe what each level of the scale might look like in the classroom.

• Not Using (0): A teacher does not ask her students to classify or describe similarities and differences to deepen their understanding of concepts taught in class. The teacher does ask students to describe concepts in order to refine their understanding of topics but does not provide opportunities for students to compare these descriptions to descriptions of other concepts.

• Beginning (1): A teacher asks his students to use a Venn diagram to compare two events they have been discussing in class. However, the teacher fails to describe how to use a Venn diagram and assumes that his students will be able to complete the activity on their own and understand what it means.

• Developing (2): A teacher instructs her students to use a comparison matrix to compare three characters from a novel they have been reading. After the students have completed their matrices, they discuss what they have found. However, the teacher does not take note if their discussions indicate that their knowledge has developed.

• Applying (3): A teacher puts his students into groups of three to complete a classification chart. Once all of the students have completed their charts, he asks them to present their chart to the class and explain their reasoning. As the students present, he encourages the rest of the class to ask clarifying questions and listens to make sure the students’ understanding is more complete as a result of the activity.

• Innovating (4): A teacher asks the class to create a visual analogy illustrating a relationship between organisms. When some students appear to be struggling with the activity, she puts them into a small group and asks them to describe the relationships first and then choose a relationship together that they can illustrate. After they choose a relationship, the teacher asks the students if they can think of something they have observed in their lives that behaves similarly. Once the students have completed the assignment, the teacher asks all of the students to hang their visual analogies on the wall and then the class goes through and identifies which relationship is being depicted in each analogy.

Element 11: Examining Errors in Reasoning

This element helps deepen students’ understanding of content by having them examine their own reasoning or the overall logic of information presented to them. Research has shown that errors are sometimes present in students’ understanding of content (Brown & Burton, 1978). The best way to correct those errors is for students to re-examine the content for accuracy (Clement, Lockhead, & Mink, 1979; Tennyson & Cocchiarella, 1986). Philosophers have identified the following four types of errors in thinking: (1) faulty logic, (2) attack, (3) weak reference, and (4) misinformation (Johnson-Laird, 1983; Johnson-Laird & Byrne, 1991; Toulmin, Rieke, & Janik, 1981).

There are twelve strategies within this element.

1. Identifying errors of faulty logic

2. Identifying errors of attack

3. Identifying errors of weak reference

4. Identifying errors of misinformation

5. Practicing identifying errors in logic

6. Finding errors in the media

7. Examining support for claims

8. Judging reasoning and evidence in an author’s work

9. Identifying statistical limitations

10. Using student-friendly prompts

11. Anticipating student errors

12. Avoiding unproductive habits of mind

The following sections will explore each strategy to provide you with guidelines to effectively implement this element. Read through each before creating a plan for your classroom. Teachers may use the strategies individually or in combination. Remember, these are not merely activities to be checked off; they are methods of creating a practice that combines your art with the science of examining errors in reasoning. Reflect on your use of each strategy by filling out the “Strategy Reflection Log” on page 331.

Identifying Errors of Faulty Logic

In this strategy, students find and analyze errors of faulty logic. Errors of faulty logic refer to situations in which a conclusion is not supported by sound reasons. Specific types of errors in this category include the following.

• Contradiction: Presenting conflicting information—for example, saying that downloading music illegally should be punished more harshly while also arguing that internet providers and the government shouldn’t be allowed to collect information about internet users

• Accident: Failing to recognize that an argument is based on an exception to a rule—for example, if a person argued that Scotland has a warm and sunny climate based on the weather during her one-week vacation there

• False cause: Confusing a temporal (time) order of events with causality or oversimplifying the reasons behind some event or occurrence—for example, superstitious beliefs such as wearing a certain shirt so that your favorite team will win

• Begging the question: Making a claim and then arguing for the claim by using statements that are simply the equivalent of the original claim—for example, saying that Namibia is the most beautiful country because it has the prettiest landscape

• Evading the issue: Changing the topic to avoid addressing the issue—for example, if a student defends himself against accusations of cheating on a test by saying that he always does his homework and never breaks curfew

• Arguing from ignorance: Arguing that a claim is justified simply because its opposite has not been proven true—for example, claiming that a certain subatomic particle must not exist because we haven’t discovered it yet

• Composition: Asserting something about a whole that is true of only its parts—for example, creating a stereotype about a whole group of people based on the actions or traits of a few people from that group

• Division: Making a claim about individual parts based on the fact that it is generally true of the whole—for example, saying that because you dislike sandwiches, you must dislike tomatoes

Identifying Errors of Attack

Students find and analyze errors of attack. Errors of attack happen when a person focuses on the context of an argument, rather than the argument itself, in trying to refute the other side. That is, instead of using evidence and sound reasons to argue a point, a person ignores counterevidence and attacks the person who is arguing for the other side. Types of errors in this category include the following.

• Poisoning the well: Being so completely committed to a position that you explain away absolutely everything that is offered in opposition to your position—for example, refusing to accept that studies on the potential negative effects of drinking coffee are scientifically valid

• Arguing against the person: Rejecting a claim using derogatory statements (real or alleged) about the person who is making the claim—for example, stating that an opponent was fired from her job during an unrelated debate

• Appealing to force: Using threats to establish the validity of a claim—for example, threatening to expose unflattering information about an opponent to make the opponent surrender the argument

Identifying Errors of Weak Reference

Students find and analyze errors of weak reference. An error of weak reference occurs when a person uses information from untrustworthy or irrelevant sources to support an argument. Specific types of these errors include the following.

• Sources that reflect biases: Consistently accepting information that supports what we already believe to be true or consistently rejecting information that goes against what we believe to be true—for example, only reading articles from newspapers and websites that align with one’s own political leanings

• Sources that lack credibility: Using a source that is not reputable for a given topic—for example, citing something that a movie star said in a debate about the causes of a disease

• Appealing to authority: Invoking authority as the last word on an issue—for example, treating a police officer’s opinion as absolute truth in a discussion of gun laws

• Appealing to the people: Attempting to justify a claim based on its popularity—for example, justifications that begin “everyone knows” or “everyone agrees”

• Appealing to emotion: Using a “sob story” as proof for a claim—for example, justifying making a mistake by talking about the sad and stressful things that have happened lately

Identifying Errors of Misinformation

Students find and analyze errors of misinformation. Errors of misinformation occur when a person uses incorrect information in support of an argument. Following are types of misinformation errors.

• Confusing the facts: Using information that seems to be factual but that has been changed in such a way that it is no longer accurate—for example, citing demographic information that is ten or twenty years old

• Misapplying a concept or generalization: Misunderstanding or wrongly applying a concept or generalization to support a claim—for example, applying the generalization that Democrats are fiscally liberal to an individual Democrat’s personal spending habits

Practicing Identifying Errors in Logic

Teachers can use practice exercises to help students identify errors in logic. These exercises can serve as a stepping stone for students as they progress from the basic step of understanding various errors in reasoning to the goal of recognizing them in everyday life. Typically, these exercises will describe a scenario in a few sentences and ask students to identify the reasoning error present in the scenario. Students might select the answer in a multiple-choice or matching format, or teachers can ask them to recall the answer from memory.

Provide students with the exercises in figure 4.14 (page 82) to practice identifying errors in reasoning.

Finding Errors in the Media

The teacher provides students with footage of political debates, televised interviews, commercials, advertisements, newspaper articles, blogs, and other sources and asks them to find and analyze errors in reasoning that underlie the messages therein. Following are resources for such media.