Page 156 - Šolsko polje, XXX, 2019, št. 5-6: Civic, citizenship and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world, eds. Janja Žmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski
P. 156
šolsko polje, letnik xxx, številka 5–6
But the activity seemed too demanding: “Pupils in work groups ana-
lyse examples from textbooks they use in other subjects (and also in maga-
zines they read, TV shows they watch, etc.), and explain whether and why
the arguments used are true, acceptable, relevant and sufficient.
In order to construct good/acceptable arguments themselves, one
has to learn about existing/available arguments first as well as about the
criteria for their assessment (by reading them, analysing them, forming an
opinion/conclusion; there is no other way). Instead, they started to con-
struct their own arguments from scratch, compiling as many arguments
as possible for one conclusion.
Let us move to the 6th objective (ibid., p. 7): “By learning the compo-
nent parts of rhetorical technique (canons of rhetoric), pupils understand
how they can form a convincing speech”, which worked a bit better. With
some shortcut and modifications, of course.
Invention (ibid.)
Goal: “Pupils understand how they can find arguments on any top-
ic/subject by asking the right questions (who, what, where, with whose
help, how, why, when).”
Activities: “By using the net of seven questions (who, what, etc.) pu-
pils practise looking for arguments on a given subject (e.g. the Olympic
slalom winner, the heaviest man on Earth, the President of the Republic
or pollution of the environment).”
The net of 7 questions proved useful when looking for arguments in
order to construct a speech, but not in exercising/applying them on differ-
ent materials, set in advance.
Disposition (ibid.)
Goals
a) “Pupils understand that only with proper disposition of speech
components (introduction, narration, argumentation and epilogue) it is
possible to achieve persuasive effects.”
b) “Pupils learn speech components and understand their functions.”
Activities
a) “Pupils in work groups analyze individual texts (e.g. from fiction,
journalism ...) and find out whether they are composed/written in accord-
ance with the rules of disposition; they argue their findings and explain
them in the classroom (also in discussion with a fellow pupil representing
the opposing point- of-view).”
154
But the activity seemed too demanding: “Pupils in work groups ana-
lyse examples from textbooks they use in other subjects (and also in maga-
zines they read, TV shows they watch, etc.), and explain whether and why
the arguments used are true, acceptable, relevant and sufficient.
In order to construct good/acceptable arguments themselves, one
has to learn about existing/available arguments first as well as about the
criteria for their assessment (by reading them, analysing them, forming an
opinion/conclusion; there is no other way). Instead, they started to con-
struct their own arguments from scratch, compiling as many arguments
as possible for one conclusion.
Let us move to the 6th objective (ibid., p. 7): “By learning the compo-
nent parts of rhetorical technique (canons of rhetoric), pupils understand
how they can form a convincing speech”, which worked a bit better. With
some shortcut and modifications, of course.
Invention (ibid.)
Goal: “Pupils understand how they can find arguments on any top-
ic/subject by asking the right questions (who, what, where, with whose
help, how, why, when).”
Activities: “By using the net of seven questions (who, what, etc.) pu-
pils practise looking for arguments on a given subject (e.g. the Olympic
slalom winner, the heaviest man on Earth, the President of the Republic
or pollution of the environment).”
The net of 7 questions proved useful when looking for arguments in
order to construct a speech, but not in exercising/applying them on differ-
ent materials, set in advance.
Disposition (ibid.)
Goals
a) “Pupils understand that only with proper disposition of speech
components (introduction, narration, argumentation and epilogue) it is
possible to achieve persuasive effects.”
b) “Pupils learn speech components and understand their functions.”
Activities
a) “Pupils in work groups analyze individual texts (e.g. from fiction,
journalism ...) and find out whether they are composed/written in accord-
ance with the rules of disposition; they argue their findings and explain
them in the classroom (also in discussion with a fellow pupil representing
the opposing point- of-view).”
154
