What they learned, what I learned: pre and post-assessment

They learned some logic, I learned some things about teaching and learning logic.  That makes us a pretty happy bunch.  One of the best moments in class this semester was the penultimate day, just before the final exam, when I handed out the same pre-assessment we had done on the first day of class.

On that first day, students approached the logic questions on the worksheet with wrinkled brows, worried frowns, and a little confusion.  While many students were able to reason through the logic of the questions and get some right answers, there wasn't much confidence.  When I handed them the same questions THIS week, I saw expressions of relief, comfort, and confidence.  They were smiling.  Students were able to quickly get the right answers, and were confident not only in their answers, but in why they were correct and what efficient logical rules and structures got them there.

Most importantly, students were also able see just how much they've learned in Logic this semester, and have a sense of accomplishment in what they've done.  I'm confident that this boosted their logical self-esteem going into the final, and also likely reinforced everything they've learned as they leave the class (hopefully to apply their logical tools throughout the rest of their lives).  Of course, it also gives me a sense of what this class has learned, as I continue to change and build the course from year to year.

So, that's one thing I've learned:  the value of a pre and post-assessment assignment.  Seeing the calm and confident way in which students used logic by the end of the semester in comparison with the start was a bright moment for me.

Logic for the public good

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One of my favorite activities in Logic class is a service learning assignment (really!).  I call it the "Logic consultation project," and it requires that students offer their logical analysis skills to another person (preferably outside of class, and not necessarily another college student).  Students read an academic paper, letter to the editor, blog post, business plan, presentation, etc., analyze (or even symbolize) the logical structure, and then make recommendations based on the strength or validity of the argument.  This has to be a service to someone students know, and they're required to actually give the person their analysis.

Of course there are multiple goals of an assignment like this.  Students are required to apply their skills so that I (and they) know that they're able to take what they've learned during the semester and really put it to use in their lives.  I'm also serious about the service component--I do believe that the skills learned in a Logic class should be useful and used for some public good.  We can all benefit from a little logical analysis of our writing, right?  Finally, I hope that this assignment spreads the goodness of Logic around a little--so that other students see the benefits of what we're doing and think about learning some tools on their own or during a future class.

The analyses are really interesting.  Some students went an inductive route and pointed out informal fallacies and problems with the strength of the relationship between premises and conclusions.  Others used their deductive reasoning skills to simplify and symbolize whole papers into categorical syllogisms or truth-functional derivations.  Students who had trouble finding the main argument of a paper or presentation gently let their "clients" know that their arguments needed some clarification and structure.  The end goal is that everyone has a better understanding of the need for clear and careful communication.

See--liberal arts education IS a public good!