#ArgumentMapping

Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2025-04-21

#ArgumentMapping is supposed to improve #argumentation, but argument map classes are often flipped (vs. lecture).

So is it #logic explanation or Socratic discussion that helps?

One experiment found that it's probably the latter.

doi.org/10.30191/ETS.202504_28

#edu #CriticalThinking

Defining 'rhetorical' and 'dialectical' (Socratic) approaches to argumentation.MethodsThe 'rhetorical' and 'dialectical' prompts used in the two key treatments.Results
Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2025-03-20

Can #AI improve team-based #argumentation beyond the benefits of group work and #argumentMapping?

In a 6-week quasi-experiment with 67 Indonesian students, the AI-assisted group developed more well-rounded arguments and showed more "group efficacy".

doi.org/10.6706/TIESPJ.202412_ #edu

The Collaborative Argument Map-Based ChatGPT Learning phases (Pages 104 and 105).The methods, including a chatGPT group, the Kialo collaborative argument mapping system (pages 107 and 108).The better results in the AI-assisted group (pages 112 and 113)
Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2024-10-15

Another paper fails to report that #argumentMapping causes improved #criticalThinking.

The paper reports the pre- vs. post improvement only within the treatment group (without comparing that improvement to the control group's improvement). And, of course, that is not the analysis we would need to determine if argument mapping causes benefits.

doi.org/10.1109/ISET61814.2024

#edu #research #science #logic #teaching #assessment #replication

Pages 326 and 327 showing the methods and results — without ever comparing the treatment group's improvements to the control group's.
Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2024-08-26

Can #AI help improve #argumentation courses?

Students learning English as a foreign language (#EFL) were randomly assigned to one of two #argumentMapping courses.

Both courses had the same instructor and used the same online collaborative argument mapping tool (#Kialo), but only one course trained students to prompt #OpenAI’s #chatGPT for assistance.

The class that used the #chatbot achieved more?

doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-129

(I'm not sure I follow all of the analysis. Feel free to clarify if you understand better than I do.)

#edu #higherEd #logic #CriticalThinking #teaching #tech

Some methodsMore methods (including measures)Some results (about critical thinking awareness and tendencies towards collaboration)More results (about argument quality). I didn't follow all of this. You are invited to clarify.
Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2024-05-16

Today I present fresh results from two semesters of waitlist control trials at our 2nd annual #Teaching and #Learning Symposium. Did #argumentMapping improve individual students' critical thinking and persuasive writing (on average)?

The prior between-group research didn't control for instructor(s), teaching style (active vs. lecture), interaction (individual vs. group learning), course topic, classroom, day, etc. So I did.

The results are surprising me!

#higherEd #Edu #Science #Logic #Ethics

Nick Byrd teaching about how to map an argument about individual duties to mitigate climate change.
Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2024-05-13

Does data visualization help people overcome mathematical biases like base rate neglect?

Not necessarily. In fact, one experiment on master’s students found that “when base rate information [was] presented visually, participants answered significantly more biased than when information [was] presented textually.“

doi.org/10.23947/2334-8496-202

#probability #stats #edu #dataViz #bias #debiasing #argumentMapping

Page 125Page 127
Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2024-02-05

If mapping arguments improves critical thinking, then argument mapping skills should correlate with critical thinking skills, right?

Alas, they didn't correlate among 115 Advanced Placement students across 4 high schools who mapped arguments for universal basic income (from a Douglas Murray article). 

proquest.com/docview/2915819770/abstract/336A7C32595F4464PQ/1

#Logic #CriticalThinking #ArgumentMapping #Teaching #HighSchool #edu #Psychology #Philosophy #Politics #Economics #Debate

Pages 16 and 17 introducing the participants and methods.Pages 18 and 19 explaining the critical thinking test and assigned reading by Douglas Murray.An example of a student's scored argument map (Figure 5a).Pages 46 and 47 showing correlations between critical thinking test scores and each argument mapping score.
Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2024-01-08

Does learning how to map the logic of arguments improve reasoning skills? 😬

In a paper about a different pedagogical technique, Javier Hidalgo reports that his Argument Mapping course didn’t result in significantly better post-test reasoning test performance (compared to pre-test)!

Free accepted manuscript: philpapers.org/rec/HIDTCT-2

All instructors should be doing this kind #teaching #assessment!

#logic #CriticalThinking #ArgumentMapping #edu #higherEd 

Page 17 of the penultimate manuscript describing the null result of argument mapping on pre-course vs. post-course LSAT performance.
Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2024-01-05

How should #education and #science adapt in the #AI boom? My latest thoughts 👇

medium.com/authority-magazine/

It started as a grumpy list of #academic misconceptions about #LLMs. That list largely survived, but — thanks to questions from #AuthorityMagazine — I considered broader and more productive points as well, like the academic job market.

More topics:
#Logic
#Psychology
#QuantMethods
#higherEd
#teaching
#writing
#argumentMapping
#jobMarket
#ethics
#risk
#quotes
[more]

A picture of Dr. Nick Byrd teaching a class of students how to map an argument about our individual duties to mitigate climate change.
Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2023-10-31

Thanks to @DailyNous for posting and especially to Alex for contextualizing the initial claim about argument mapping (from the pull quote):

dailynous.com/2023/07/28/an-ac

TLDR; there are least 4 problems with the claim that "Argument mapping is about twice as effective at improving student critical thinking as other methods".

#CriticalThinking #argumentMapping #Logic #UX #software #webDev #edu #higherEd #teaching #PhilSci #Epistemology #Philosophy

Problems 1 and 2.Problems 3 and (the first part of) 4.The rest of problem 4 and caveats.
Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2023-09-04
Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2023-08-09

Should instructors enable students to use #generativeAI on assignments?

Today I’m facilitating a collaborative workshop on #AI in #edu at
Stevens Institute of Technology.

After I introduce argument mapping and browser-based chatbots, we'll map supporting arguments, objections, and counter-objections—with help from #LLMs, perhaps.

Example map: kialo.com/63741

#logic #criticalThinking #argumentMapping #edu #higherEd #writing #teamWork #collaboration

A screenshot of a public, collaborative argument map (see link in post to go to the latest version).
2023-06-30

Given all of the above, if anyone is aware of or can find #ArgumentMapping based #OpenSource #forum software with a nice interface that generates outlines rather than trees, it would be nice if you could share a link.

(boosts welcome)

2023-06-29

I'm really reluctant to suggest exploration of still *more* platforms for #discourse, but given the typical size of social.coop Loomio threads, I wonder if it would be worth looking at some form of #ArgumentMapping software as a better framework for trying to hash things out.

Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2022-11-25

What kinds of interactions distinguish high- from low-performing groups (when it comes to #criticalThinking)?

56 #students were split into groups of 4 to do some #argumentMapping.

Video content analysis found the top 27% of groups
- interrupted less
- had more positive, fewer negative interactions
- joked, laughed, and smiled more (sometimes to diffuse potential conflict)
than the bottom 27% of groups.

(N = 56, 14 groups of 4)

doi.org/10.1007/s40299-022-006

#IOpsych #DecisionScience #teaching

Nick Byrd, Ph.D.ByrdNick@nerdculture.de
2022-11-12

This #flowchart-inspired poster was probably the best design I saw at the #APA2022 last night.

"Should you be a sex eliminitavist?"

We use argument visualizations in teaching and research; it can improve persuasive ability (cogtoolslab.github.io/pdf/cull) and even depolarize people's views of arguments about polarizing policies about immigration, etc. (Cullen, Byrd, Oppenheimer, et. al., in prep.)

(Shared with permission.)

#argumentMapping #Logic #visualization #graphicDesign

A flowchart-like poster outlining decisions that seem to support sex eliminativism.

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