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What are the objectives of the activity/strategy?
The objectives are to have the students practice their argumentative skills, their ability to persuade logically, their knowledge of how to do research through the internet and the library databases, their understanding of citing information using MLA format, including creating a simple works cited page, and their ability to collaborate with one another on a team project.
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Describe how achievement of the objectives will be determined/measured.
The final product, the debate, rebuttal, and works cited, will determine the basic grade for the activity. Individual assessments of group members sent confidentially to the instructor will also be used to determine each person’s grade for the project. Finally, the instructor will be able to monitor collaboration through the private discussion blogs set up for students in each group.
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Which software applications and/or online course tools will be utilized to develop and deliver the activity/strategy?
Discussion threads, discussion blogs, a Power Point presentation, the internet, the library’s databases, email, and word attachments will be required for the project. Students will also have the option to use chat rooms if they want to, and if they decide to plan some of the project to be completed synchronously.
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How does the activity/strategy help students meet one or more course objective?
The following are the course objectives for English 1301. The debate project meets each objective. The students must go through the writing process together and edit and revise their work as they collaborate in order to produce an effective argument; they must develop a strong thesis in order to structure a logical debate and support it well; and they must use forceful and credible language in order for their argument to be credible.
¨ Students will exhibit an understanding of writing as an interactive process involving pre-writing and invention; creating a rough draft; revising, polishing, and editing this draft; and proofreading.
¨ Students will exhibit an understanding and apply basic principles of critical thinking to develop a thesis statement that is meaningful, focused, argumentative, and exact; to support this thesis with evidence that is authoritative, sufficient, and representative; and to present a coherent line of reasoning, organizing, and interpreting this evidence, using various modes of discourse appropriate to the argument.
¨ Students will demonstrate a collegiate command of language, including a reasonable mastery of vocabulary and diction, a fairly sophisticated and varied sentence structure, and competency in both grammar and spelling.
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Please describe the activity/strategy in detail. Explain what instructions students are given, how the instructor will monitor student progress, and if graded, what criteria will be used for assigning grades.
The activity is a group debate. Two debate topics will be determined by the instructor, then the instructor will divide students up into four groups, a pro-side and a con-side for each debate topic. Students will be given instructions for the debate, including readings to complete in the textbook, websites to visit for information on the topics, the number of sources required for students to find to support their argument in addition to the need to determine who will do the research, who will type the rough draft, who will post the actual debate, and who will post the rebuttal. Students are told up front that they will be individually evaluated in a private email to the instructor by each other as well as by the instructor based on the final product.
Conditionally released discussion blogs will be set up for each group, which the instructor will monitor although not participate in unless there arises a need for intervention.
Students will be evaluated based on the final product in terms of the strength of the argument, the type of argument used (logic versus emotional), the type of sources used as support, the correctness of the MLA citations and works cited, and on feedback provided by group members. Grammar, spelling, and organization will be weighed in determining the grade as this is an out of class, typed activity.
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