Composing an Oral Argument The written text of an oral argument is organized just as any other argument is: it has an introduction that gives the background of the issue and states the thesis, it has a body that presents evidence that supports the thesis, it identifies and refutes arguments against the thesis, and it ends with a concluding statement.
In general, an oral argument can be structured in the following way:
INTRODUCTION Presents the background of the issue
States the thesis
BODY Presents evidence: Point 1 in support of the thesis
Presents evidence: Point 2 in support of the thesis
Presents evidence: Point 3 in support of the thesis
Refutes opposing arguments
CONCLUSION Brings the argument to a close
Concluding statement restates thesis
Speaker asks for questions
EXERCISE 6.6 The following oral argument was presented by a student in a speech course in response to the assignment, “Argue for or against the advantages of a ‘gap year’ between high school and college.” (Her PowerPoint slides appear at the end of the speech.) After you read this argument, answer the questions on page 221 , consulting the outline on the previous page if necessary.
CHANTEE STEELE AN ARGUMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE “GAP YEAR” College: even the word sounded wonderful when I was in high school. Everyone told me it would be the best time of my life. They told me that I would take courses in exciting new subjects and that I’d make lifelong friends. [Show slide 1.] What they didn’t tell me was that I would be anxious, confused, and uncertain about my major and about my future. Although this is only my second year in college, I’ve already changed my major once, and to be honest, I’m still not sure I’ve made the right decision. But during the process of changing majors, my adviser gave me some reading material that included information about a “gap year.” A gap year is a year off between high school and college when students focus on work or community service and learn about themselves—something that would have benefited me. Although gaining popularity in the United States, the gap year still suggests images of spoiled rich kids who want to play for a year before going to college. According to educator Christina Wood, however, in the United Kingdom a gap year is common; it is seen as a time for personal growth that helps students mature (36). [Show slide 2.] In fact, 230,000 British students take a gap year before going to college. As the rest of my speech will show, a well-planned gap year gives students time to mature, to explore potential careers, and to volunteer or travel.1
[Show slide 3.] Apparently I’m not alone in my uncertainty about my major or about my future. As Holly Bull, a professional gap-year counselor, explains, “The National Research Center for College and University Admissions estimates that over 50 percent of students switch majors at 2
The gap year gives students many options to explore before going to college. [Show slide 4.] This slide shows just some of the resources students can use as they prepare for their gap year. As you can see, they can explore opportunities for employment, education, and volunteer work. There are even resources for students who are undecided. As David Lesesne, the dean of admissions at Sewanee, says, “Some students do very interesting and enriching things: hike the Appalachian Trail, herd sheep in Crete, play in a rock band, [or even] attend school in Guatemala” (qtd. in Wood 37). Many other students, especially in these economic hard times, use the gap year to earn money to offset the high cost of their education (Wood 35).3
Taking a gap year can also help students to get into better colleges. According to an article by the dean of admissions at Harvard, “Occasionally students are admitted to Harvard or other colleges in part because they accomplished something unusual during a year off” (Fitzsimmons, McGrath, and Ducey). Depending on the scope of their service or work, a gap year could enable students to earn scholarships that they were not eligible for before. In fact, some colleges actually recommend that students take time off after high school. Harvard is one of several U.S. colleges that “encourages admitted students to defer enrollment for one year to travel, pursue a special project or activity, work, or spend time in another meaningful way” (Fitzsimmons, McGrath, and Ducey). Furthermore, evidence shows that a gap year can help students to be more successful after they begin in college. One Middlebury College admissions officer has calculated that “a single gap semester was the strongest predictor of academic success at his school” 4
In spite of these benefits, parental concerns about “slackerdom” and money are common. Supporters of the gap year acknowledge that students have to be motivated to make the most of their experiences. Clearly, the gap year is not for everyone. For example, students who are not self-motivated may not benefit from a gap year. In addition, parents worry about how much money the gap year will cost them. This is a real concern when you add the year off to the expense of four years of college (Wood 37). However, if finances are a serious concern, students can spend their gap year working in their own communities or taking advantage of a paid experience like AmeriCorps—which, as the AmeriCorps website shows, covers students’ room and board and offers an educational stipend after students complete the program. [Show slide 5.] Additionally, parents and students should consider the time and money that is wasted when a student who is not ready for college starts school and then drops out.5
After considering the benefits of a gap year, I have concluded that more students should postpone college for a year. Many students (like me) are uncertain about their goals. We welcome new opportunities and are eager to learn from new experiences and may find a year of service both emotionally and intellectually rewarding. Given another year to mature, many of us would return to school with a greater sense of purpose, focus, and clarity. In some cases, the gap year could actually help us get into better schools and possibly get more financial aid. If we intend to take the college experience seriously, spending a gap year learning about our interests and abilities would help us to become better, more confident, and ultimately more focused students. [Show slide 6.] 6
Are there any questions?
Works Cited
Bull, Holly. “Navigating a Gap Year.” TeenLife , Feb. 2011, pp. 6–9.
Fitzsimmons, William, et al. “Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation.” Harvard College Office of Admissions , 2011, college.harvard.edu/admissions/preparing-college/should-i-take-time .
Wood, Christina. “Should You Take a ‘Gap Year’?” Careers and Colleges, Fall 2007, pp. 36–37.
Slide 1
© Ana Blazic/istockphoto.com
Slide 2
Slide 3
Slide 4
Slide 5
Courtesy of Corporation for National and Community Service. Reproduced by permission.
Slide 6
© Roger Cracknell 01/classic/Alamy;
© Ben Blankenburg/iStock/Getty Images;
© Steve Stock/Alamy;
David Cordner/Getty Images
Identifying the Elements of an Oral Argument
Where does this oral argument include verbal signals to help guide readers?
Does this oral argument use simple, direct language? What sections of the speech, if any, could be made simpler?
Where does this oral argument repeat key information for emphasis? Is there any other information that you think should have been repeated?
What opposing arguments does the speaker identify? Does she refute them convincingly?
How effective are the visuals that accompany the text of this oral argument? Are there enough visuals? Are they placed correctly? What other information do you think could have been displayed in a visual?
What questions would you ask this speaker at the end of her speech?
READING AND WRITING ABOUT THE ISSUE
Go back to page 191 , and reread the At Issue box, which gives background about whether online education is better than classroom instruction. As the following sources illustrate, this question has a number of possible answers.
After you review the sources listed below, you will be asked to answer some questions and to complete some simple activities. This work will help you to understand both the content and the structure of the sources. When you are finished, you will be ready to develop an argument—using one of the three alternative approaches to argument discussed in this chapter—that takes a position on whether online education is better than classroom learning.
SOURCES
The Evolution of Online Schooling ” (infographic), p. 222
www.collegedegreesearch.net
The Risks and Rewards of Online Learning ,” p. 224
Reliance on Online Materials Hinders Learning Potential for Students ,” p. 228
Online Education Needs Connection ,” p. 231
Short Distance Learning ,” p. 233
A Plea for Close Learning ,” p. 236
Old Flames and New Beacons ,” p. 241
Trading Classroom Authority for Online Community ,” p. 246
www.collegedegreesearch.net
AT ISSUE: SOURCES FOR STRUCTURING AN ARGUMENT
What is the purpose of this infographic? How successful is it in achieving this purpose?
What kind of audience does this infographic seem to be addressing? How can you tell?
What is this infographic’s main idea or message? Write a one-sentence summary of this main idea.
Where does the infographic appeal to ethos ? Is this appeal necessary? Why or why not?
How clear is this infographic? What other arrangement (or arrangements) of words, numbers, color, and spacing could have been used?
If you were going to write an argumentative essay in favor of online education, which information in this infographic would you find most useful? Which information would you find least useful? Explain.
CHRIS BUSTAMANTE THE RISKS AND REWARDS OF ONLINE LEARNING In 2008, investors wanted to buy Rio Salado College, the nation’s largest online public community college headquartered in Tempe, Ariz. The offer was more than $400 million with plans to convert it into a national, for-profit, online school.1
Rio Salado wasn’t for sale, but the offer proved how much demand exists for serving students who find traditional education systems inconvenient and need the flexibility of online formats.2
Online learning may not be the first thing that comes to mind when community colleges consider providing support for student success. But that mindset is changing. It has to. The 2011 Sloan Survey of Online Learning reported that more than six million college students in the fall of 2010 took at least one online course, comprising nearly one-third of all college and university students. The growth rate in online course enrollment far exceeds the growth rate of the overall higher education student population.3
Still, there is healthy skepticism about the proliferation of online learning and views still differ about its value. According to surveys by the Pew Research Center and the Chronicle of Higher Education , less than 30 percent of the public believes that online and classroom courses provide the same educational value. Half of college presidents share that belief.4
Any way you look at it, online learning is an increasingly vital part of producing the number of qualified graduates needed to meet future workforce demands—when it is done correctly.5
A Calculated Risk
In 1996, Rio Salado, one of 10 Maricopa Community Colleges, took a calculated risk and began offering courses online—16 to start—just when the Internet was taking off. Critics at the time challenged the quality of online education and claimed that students wouldn’t adjust well to such a radical change in their learning environment. But Maricopa and Rio Salado pushed ahead, determined to create an innovative, nontraditional, and nimble approach that is responsive to and supportive of changing student needs.6
The risks have proven to be worth it. While no one could have predicted the economic environment that students and higher education face today, making the decision to move online proved to be provident for the college and students. Rio Salado extended educational access to students who found traditional college to be out of reach in Arizona, nationwide, and around the world. 7
Keeping Costs Down
To keep costs down, Rio Salado supports more than 60 certificate and degree programs with just 22 residential faculty and more than 1,400 adjunct faculty. Our “one-course, many sections” model uses a master course approved by the resident faculty and taught by adjunct faculty in more than 6,000 course sections. The college’s cost to educate students is as much as 48 percent less than peer institutions nationwide.8
Without the expense of a traditional campus, Rio Salado has been able to focus on building and improving its RioLearn platform, a customized learning management system that provides access to course-related resources, instructors, fellow students, and other support services.9
Focused on Student Support
Meeting students’ needs means providing access to robust, comprehensive support services that are customized for their complex lifestyles, whether they are a working adult, an active military student accessing their coursework online, or someone taking in-person classes in adult basic education, incarcerated reentry, early college, or workforce training programs. Today’s students need the resources of round-the-clock instructional and technology helpdesks, tutoring, and virtual library services. Additionally, we never cancel an online class and offer the flexibility of 48 start dates a year.10
Students also need real-time support to keep them on track. Predictive analytic technology allows the college to monitor online student engagement and predict by the eighth day of class the level of success students will have in a course. When needed, instructors facilitate interventions to minimize risks and support successful course completion.11
Building a culture of unified support focused on completion won’t happen overnight. It took 30 years for Rio Salado to get to this point. Our upside-down faculty model has made it possible for the college to adapt a corporate “systems approach,” and all Rio Salado staff and faculty participate in a training program to instill a unified commitment to helping students complete their degree programs.12
Technical Challenges
Staying ahead of the online curve comes with its share of challenges. Rio Salado had to build its own learning management system because there wasn’t one available that would support all of the features that our faculty and students wanted. In partnership with Microsoft and Dell, RioLearn was designed to be scalable to more than 100,000 students.13
However, a few years ago, it didn’t fully support Mac users. Although students could access their coursework, they had to switch Internet browsers to do so. A new version of RioLearn was launched in 2010 to help students access their courses, regardless of the platform they are using.14
15
A recent report examines Rio Salado’s efforts and the experience and perspectives of more than 30 institutions throughout the U.S. addressing similar challenges to ensure student success—especially for low-income, minority, and adult students—and pursuing promising approaches to increase college completion rates.16
Reimagining the System
Our country can’t continue to allow millions of people who are college material to fall through the cracks. We must find new, convenient, and high-quality educational options for students who might otherwise have missed out on a college education. That means serving more students in more places—especially where college enrollments have been capped—through efforts such as online early college initiatives, by creating cohorts at the high-school level and developing open-source courses.17
With tuition rising faster than the rate of inflation, and the best-paying jobs requiring some form of postsecondary degree, specialized certification, or licensure, we have to find solutions that lower costs for students. We need to innovate. We need new models of education to leverage public resources through private and public partnerships and increase the capacity to serve nontraditional students through productive and cost-efficient means.18
It’s encouraging to see the rapid growth in affordable online learning. It has broken down the barriers of time, distance, and affordability without sacrificing high-quality academics. But shoring up its credibility and value for students means heeding some of the lessons learned over the past 15 years. The stakes for getting it right are certainly high and getting higher.19
AT ISSUE: SOURCES FOR USING ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO ARGUMENT
According to Bustamante, “[T]here is healthy skepticism about the proliferation of online learning” (para. 4). What does he mean? What reservations, if any, do you have about the rise of online education?
In this essay, where does the claim appear? How is this claim qualified? How does the qualifier set up the rest of the essay?
Bustamante’s article focuses on the development of one school’s online education program. Do you think the risks and rewards he discusses also apply to other schools’ online offerings? What factors might account for any differences in other schools’ experiences with online learning?
Does Bustamante ever address opposing arguments? If he does, where? If he does not, should he have addressed them? Explain.
What does Bustamante mean when he says that we must reimagine the system of higher education? What problems does he see with the current educational system? How will online education help solve these problems?
DAVID SMITH RELIANCE ON ONLINE MATERIALS HINDERS LEARNING POTENTIAL FOR STUDENTS Students of today should be thankful for the … plethora of ways available for them to learn. Compared to our grandparents, parents, and even older siblings, we have access to modes of communication and education that would not have been possible even 10 years ago.1
Students today, not just in college but in high school, middle school, and elementary school, take in and process astounding amounts of information on a daily basis. We have access to TV and the Internet, social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook, and a nearly inexhaustible supply of ways to keep in contact with and learn about one another.2
This variety has begun to work its way into academia, as well; more and more, it seems, organized instruction is moving beyond the classroom and into cyberspace. Pencils and paper, once the sole staples of the educational experience, are slowly being ousted by keyboards, webcams, and online dropboxes.3
Here at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, this growing prevalence is easy to see. Just look at Blackboard and how some courses are completely dependent upon it. Blackboard has everything from grade tracking and homework assignments to the administration of quizzes and exams.4
Look at MyRED, which now handles everything from class enrollment and scheduling to residence hall contracts and meal plans.5
Look at things such as the Love Library’s EBSCO search engine, which gives students access to a greater wealth of information than even the most practiced scholar would know what to do with, and online courses such as the Keller Plan, which allow students to complete coursework and earn credit without having to leave their dorm rooms.6
It’s clear to even the most casual observer that taking in and processing information is far easier for the students of today than it was for the students of 100, 50, or even 10 years ago.7
But it begs the question: While the Internet has certainly made learning easier, has it made it better? Not necessarily.8
Think for a moment about the fundamental differences between a traditional course, taught in a classroom, and one conducted entirely via Blackboard’s online services.9
10
Such is not the case with classes taken outside the classroom. The instructions for such courses are, at least in my experience, pared down to the following: “Read this by this date, this by this date, and this by this date. There are quizzes on Day X, Day Y, and Day Z, and the final exam can be taken at any time during finals week in the testing center. Have a nice semester.”11
Now, I know that college is supposed to be a place of greater expectations, of increased responsibilities and better time management skills. I get that, I really do. But the sad truth is that all too often, giving a student that kind of freedom doesn’t end well.12
By removing the sense of structure from a course, you remove the student’s notion that he or she is under any sort of pressure, any sort of time constraint. By removing a constantly present instructor, you remove what is, in many cases, the sole source of motivation students have to do well in a class. You take away the sense of urgency, the sense of immediate requirement, and by extension the student’s drive.13
Readings are put off or forgotten, material review sessions (if there are any) are blown off or missed, and quizzes and exams are ultimately bombed. More often than not, the student will get caught up with work from the other, more traditional courses on their schedule—the ones they remember they have homework in because it was assigned in class this afternoon or the ones they have to study for because the professor reminded them about the upcoming exam the other day. Unfortunately, another marked difference between traditional and online courses is that the latters are typically far less forgiving when it comes to things such as deadlines and extensions, making it next to impossible for students to get out of the holes they dig themselves into.14
The Internet is a powerful tool. It allows us to share, distribute, and absorb more information in a single year than our ancestors absorbed in a lifetime, and its capacity to do those things is constantly growing. What people, educators in particular, need to realize is that no matter how powerful a tool it becomes, the Internet should never become anything more than that: a tool.15
There will never be an adequate online substitute for the watchful eye and the stern voice of a professor, or the pressure of an exam time limit that is about to expire, or the dismay and subsequent motivation to improve that can come from a handed-back assignment with a failing grade scrawled on it.16
Now … off to class.17
AT ISSUE: SOURCES FOR USING ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO ARGUMENT
Paragraph 8 expresses Smith’s thesis in the form of a question and answer. Paraphrase this thesis statement in one sentence.
Why does Smith spend his first seven paragraphs discussing the amount of information currently available to students?
In paragraph 8, Smith says that his previous statement “begs the question.” What does he mean? Is this statement actually an example of begging the question ? Explain.
How, according to Smith, is online education different from classroom learning? What problems does Smith identify with online learning?
In paragraph 13, Smith says that online courses remove “the sense of structure from a course.” What evidence does he present to support this statement?
What does Smith mean in paragraph 15 when he says that what we “need to realize is that no matter how powerful a tool it becomes, the Internet should never become anything more than that: a tool”? What is he warning against here?
Where does Smith use the techniques of Rogerian argument? Does he use these techniques often enough? Does he use them effectively? Explain.
In paragraph 16, Smith says, “There will never be an adequate online substitute for the watchful eye and the stern voice of a professor.” Do you agree? Do you think this highlights a disadvantage of online education (as Smith intends) or an advantage?
ELENA KADVANY ONLINE EDUCATION NEEDS CONNECTION From the most trivial of issues (who went to what party this weekend?) to the most traditional of society’s establishments (newspapers, music and book industries, Postal Service), the Internet has transformed our lives. But one area remains to be revolutionized digitally: education.1
Online education is on the rise, pitting those who support the idea of a virtual university for its ability to increase access and revenue against those who believe there is no substitute for real-time, traditional educational experiences.2
There’s one thing wrong with the entire conversation, however: Viewing online education as a new higher-education business model that must supplant the current system is a close-minded view. Why not look at it as a means by which we can strengthen and innovate education by blending digital and traditional elements?3
Online education began mostly as distance-learning programs for graduate degrees that lend themselves to the medium like engineering or business.4
USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering has a well-established Distance Education Network that offers more than 30 master’s degree programs.5
Now, in times of financial crisis, schools across the country, especially in California, are searching for ways to reinvent themselves. This has led to an expansion of digital courses into the undergraduate sphere.6
But there is a distinct danger in allowing finance-driven ideas to dominate the dialogue about schools’ futures and education in general, especially for undergraduates whose educational experiences and life tracks are so defined by their first four years on a campus.7
This is not to say that universities should completely reject online learning. It’s great to be able to listen to lectures at home or gain access to classes you can’t physically attend or afford.8
Higher learning, however, is about a level of personal interaction and commitment that can’t be re-created online.9
Before transferring to USC, I spent a semester at the University of San Francisco, where I took a hybrid service-learning Spanish class. It combined conventional in-class instruction twice a week with a once-a-week class online with Blackboard, in addition to a requirement of outside community service hours.10
11
For undergraduates, hybrid classes could be incredibly valuable and much more engaging for a generation that spends so much time online.12
Some of the University of California schools have submitted courses in response to an online education pilot project proposed by the University’s Office of the President.13
Sebastian Thrun, a professor at Stanford University renowned for leading the team that built Google’s self-driving car, now offers a free online course, “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence.” Enrollment in this class has jumped from 58,000 to 130,000 across the world in the past month, according to the New York Times . USC is lucky enough to have generous alumni that keep it more than afloat financially. But as many universities choose to go digital, USC might want to follow suit.14
The potential of all things online is vast. And there’s no match for the value of real-time, person-to-person educational experiences.15
There’s no reason universities can’t take advantage of both.16
AT ISSUE: SOURCES FOR USING ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO ARGUMENT
In paragraph 2, Kadvany says that online education pits those who support virtual education against those who support traditional classroom education. Do the essays in this At Issue section confirm or challenge Kadvany’s point? Explain.
In paragraph 3, Kadvany says that it is wrong to view online education as a “higher-education business model” that will displace classroom education. Why does she use the term “business model”? Does she expect this term to have positive or negative connotations for her readers? How can you tell?
How has the financial crisis helped to promote the idea of online education? According to Kadvany, what is the danger of letting “finance-driven ideas” (para. 7) dominate the conversation about education?
In paragraph 9, Kadvany says that the personal interaction and commitment that characterize higher learning “can’t be re-created online.” What evidence does she present to support this statement? How convincing is this evidence? What additional evidence could she have used?
Does Kadvany ever use the techniques of Rogerian argument? If so, where? If not, should she have used them?
JOHN CRISP SHORT DISTANCE LEARNING The end of the semester at my college always inclines me toward reflection, relief, and mild melancholy. I suspect my students feel the same way, with more inclination, perhaps, toward relief. Five classes have met with me about 30 times each over the course of 15 weeks, five communities of individuals that materialize, coalesce, and disperse in a few months.1
Whatever its merits, I’ve never developed much enthusiasm for online learning. Its proponents contend that a community of learners can develop among students scattered by geography but connected by the Internet, and I’m not in a position to say they’re wrong.2
In fact, my purpose isn’t to disparage online education. Along with the trend toward a part-time professoriate, the proliferation of online education is probably the most prominent tendency in higher education during the last decade.3
Still, I prefer the face-to-face classroom, which seems to me to preserve a fine touch of humanity that warrants reflection during this week of final exams.4
Who was in my classes this semester? Many are traditional students, fresh from high school and on their way to a four-year college or university, after a sojourn at my community college. Many are bright, capable, and articulate. Others are shy and reserved. A few are sullen or downright surly. But they’re not always my most interesting students.5
Consider the young woman who, a decade after high school, finds herself slogging through a developmental writing course before she can even attempt freshman composition. Pardon the cliché, but sometimes you do see a light go on in a student. She begins to listen to her instructor’s and classmates’ every word, to take notes and to think, to become absorbed in her writing, which over the course of the semester really does get better.6
It doesn’t always work like that, by any means. Other students are taking my developmental writing class for the second or third time. I like them, but they miss too much class. Some of them have tattoos that betray their gangbanger history; some have been thieves and some have been in prison. And how well can you learn to write amid the violence and futility in the barrio?7
Many of them say that’s all in the past now, and I believe them. Will they pass this semester? I’m not sure. If they don’t, what will become of them?8
9
In mid-semester, a young woman in the same class lost control of her car on the way home from school and died in a one-vehicle rollover. When I told the class the next week that she wouldn’t be coming back, there were some tears. So we learned about more than just writing this semester.10
A middle-aged woman expressed conservative religious beliefs then admitted that she spent two years in prison for marijuana possession. Several veterans can’t sleep at night and some of them drink too much. A young man came to class so depressed that I took him to one of the college’s counselors, and he never came back.11
Another young man and a young woman sat on opposite sides of the class and never spoke up or spoke to anyone else. Then they began to sit together and talk to each other. A lot. Now I occasionally see them around the campus together. Does that happen in online classes?12
In short, it’s all there, a rich mixture of human experiences in one ephemeral microcosm: birth, mating, sickness, death, frustration, laughter, storytelling, aspiration, failure, and learning.13
Good luck, students; the pleasure was mine.14
AT ISSUE: SOURCES FOR USING ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO ARGUMENT
Where does Crisp attempt to establish his credibility? How effective is this appeal to ethos ?
To whom is Crisp addressing his argument? Teachers? Students? Parents? Administrators? Others? How do you know?
In paragraph 3, Crisp says that his purpose “isn’t to disparage online education.” What is his purpose?
In paragraph 4, Crisp says that he prefers traditional classroom instruction because it preserves “a fine touch of humanity.” What does he mean? What evidence does he present in paragraphs 5–12 to support this point? How convincing is this evidence?
Draw a rhetorical triangle
Crisp ends his essay with a single sentence. Is this sentence an effective concluding statement? Why or why not?
Suppose Crisp wanted to present his ideas in a speech. What parts of his essay would you suggest he expand? What parts would you advise him to condense or delete? What visuals would you suggest he include?
SCOTT L. NEWSTOK A PLEA FOR CLOSE LEARNING
“At the School” (1910), French postcard envisioning learning in the year 2000.
Private Collection © Look and Learn/Bridgeman Images.
What an exciting year for distance learning! Cutting-edge communication systems allowed universities to escape the tired confines of face-to-face education. Bold new technologies made it possible for thousands of geographically dispersed students to enroll in world-class courses.1
Innovative assessment mechanisms let professors supervise their pupils remotely. All this progress was good for business, too. Private entrepreneurs leapt at the chance to compete in the new distance-learning marketplace, while Ivy League universities bustled to keep pace.2
True, a few naysayers fretted about declining student attention spans and low course-completion rates. But who could object to the expansively democratic goal of bringing first-rate education to more people than ever before? The new pedagogical tools promised to be not only more affordable than traditional classes, but also more effective at measuring student progress. In the words of one prominent expert, the average distance learner “knows more of the subject, and knows it better, than the student who has covered the same ground in the classroom.” Indeed, “the day is coming when the work done [via 3
2013, right? Think again: 1885. The commentator quoted above was Yale classicist (and future University of Chicago President) William Rainey Harper, evaluating correspondence courses . That’s right: you’ve got (snail) mail. Journalist Nicholas Carr has chronicled the recurrent boosterism about mass mediated education over the last century: the phonograph, instructional radio, televised lectures. All were heralded as transformative educational tools in their day. This should give us pause as we recognize that massive open online courses, or MOOCs, are but the latest iteration of distance learning.4
In response to the current enthusiasm for MOOCs, skeptical faculty (Aaron Bady, Ian Bogost, and Jonathan Rees, among many others) have begun questioning venture capitalists eager for new markets and legislators eager to dismantle public funding for American higher education. Some people pushing for MOOCs, to their credit, speak from laudably egalitarian impulses to provide access for disadvantaged students. But to what are they being given access? Are broadcast lectures and online discussions the sum of a liberal education? Or is it something more than “content” delivery?5
“Close Learning”
To state the obvious: there’s a personal, human element to liberal education, what John Henry Newman once called “the living voice, the breathing form, the expressive countenance” (2001, 14). We who cherish personalized instruction would benefit from a pithy phrase to defend and promote this millennia-tested practice. I propose that we begin calling it close learning , a term that evokes the laborious, time-consuming, and costly but irreplaceable proximity between teacher and student. Close learning exposes the stark deficiencies of mass distance learning, such as MOOCs, and its haste to reduce dynamism, responsiveness, presence.6
Techno-utopians seem surprised that “blended” or “flipped” classrooms—combining out-of-class media with in-person discussions—are more effective than their online-only counterparts, or that one-on-one tutoring strengthens the utility of MOOCs. In spite of all the hype about interactivity, “lecturing” à la MOOCs merely extends the cliché of the static, one-sided lecture hall, where distance learning begins after the first row. As the philosopher Scott Samuelson (2013) suggests, “The forces driving online education, particularly MOOCs, aren’t moving us toward close learning. We should begin by recognizing that close learning is the goal and then measure all versions of our courses by that standard. Many giant lecture-hall courses are going to be found wanting, as will many online courses, and all (or almost all) MOOCs. In the end, we’re still going to need a lot of face-to-face learning if we want to promote close learning.”7
8
A Columbia University neuroscientist, Stuart Firestein, recently published a polemical book titled Ignorance : How It Drives Science . Discouraged by students regurgitating his lectures without internalizing the complexity of scientific inquiry, Firestein created a seminar to which he invited his colleagues to discuss what they don’t know. As Firestein repeatedly emphasizes, it is informed ignorance, not information, that is the genuine “engine” of knowledge. His seminar reminds us that mere data transmission from teacher to student doesn’t produce liberal learning. It’s the ability to interact, to think hard thoughts alongside other people.9
In a seminar, a student can ask for clarification, and challenge a teacher; a teacher can shift course when spirits are flagging; a stray thought can spark a new insight. Isn’t this the kind of nonconformist “thinking outside the box” that business leaders adore? So why is there such a rush to freeze knowledge and distribute it in a frozen form? Even Coursera cofounder Andrew Ng concedes that the real value of a college education “isn’t just the content…. The real value is the interactions with professors and other, equally bright students” (quoted in Oremus 2012).10
The business world recognizes the virtues of proximity in its own human resource management. (The phrase “corporate campus” acknowledges as much.) Witness, for example, Yahoo’s controversial decision to eliminate telecommuting and require employees to be present in the office. CEO Marissa Mayer’s memo reads as a mini-manifesto for close learning: “To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together” (quoted in Swisher 2013).11
Why do boards of directors still go through the effort of convening in person? Why, in spite of all the fantasies about “working from anywhere” are “creative classes” still concentrating in proximity to one another: the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, information technology in the Bay Area, financial capital in New York City? The powerful and the wealthy are well aware that computers can accelerate the exchange of information and facilitate “training,” but not the development of knowledge, much less wisdom.12
Close learning transcends disciplines. In every field, students must incline toward their subjects: leaning into a sentence, to craft it most persuasively; leaning 13
Technology as Supplement
Devotion to close learning should not be mistaken for an anti-technology stance. (Contrary to a common misperception, the original Luddites simply wanted machines that made high-quality goods, run by trained workers who were adequately compensated.) I teach Shakespeare, supposedly one of the mustiest of topics. Yet my students navigate the vast resources of the Internet, evaluate recorded performances, wrestle with facsimiles of original publications, listen to pertinent podcasts, survey decades of scholarship in digitized form, circulate their drafts electronically, explore the cultural topography of early modern London, and contemplate the historical richness of the English language. Close learning is entirely compatible with engaging in meaningful conversations outside the classroom: faculty can correspond regularly with students via e-mail and keep in close contact via all kinds of new media. But this is all in service of close learning, and the payoff comes in the classroom.14
Teachers have always employed “technology”—including the book, one of the most flexible and dynamic learning technologies ever created. But let’s not fixate upon technology for technology’s sake, or delude ourselves into thinking that better technology overcomes bad teaching. At no stage of education does technology, no matter how novel, ever replace human attention. Close learning can’t be automated or scaled up.15
As retrograde as it might sound, gathering humans in a room with real time for dialogue still matters. As educators, we must remind ourselves—not to mention our legislators, our boards, our administrators, our alumni, our students, and our students’ parents—of the inescapable fact that our “product” is close learning. This is why savvy parents have always invested in intensive human interaction for their children. (Tellingly, parents from Silicon Valley deliberately restrict their children’s access to electronic distractions, so that they might experience the free play of mind essential to human development.)16
What remains to be seen is whether we value this kind of close learning at all levels of education enough to defend it, and fund it, for a wider circle of Americans—or whether we will continue to permit the circle to contract, excluding a genuinely transformative intellectual experience from those without means. Proponents of distance education have always boasted that they provide access, but are they providing access to close learning? 17
References
Firestein, S. 2012. Ignorance: How It Drives Science. New York: Oxford University Press.
Rise and Progress of Universities and Benedictine Essays, edited by M. K. Tilman, 6–17. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Oremus, W. 2014. “The New Public Ivies: Will Online Education Startups like Coursera End the Era of Expensive Higher Education?” Slate , July 17, www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/07 /coursera_udacity_edx_will_free_online_ ivy_league_courses_end _the_era_of_expensive_ higher_ed_.html. .
Swisher, K. 2013. “‘Physically Together’: Here’s the Internal Yahoo No- Work-from-Home Memo for Remote Workers and Maybe More.” AllThingsD, February 22. http://allthingsd.com/20130222/physically-together-heres-the-internal-yahoo-no-work-from-home-memo-which-extends-beyond-remote-workers .
AT ISSUE: SOURCES FOR USING ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO ARGUMENT
What effect does Newstok want his introduction to have on readers? How can you tell? In your opinion, is his strategy successful?
In paragraph 5, Newstok asks whether an education “is something more than ‘content’ delivery.” What does he mean?
According to Newstok, what is “close learning” (para. 6)? What are its advantages over online education?
Where does Newstok address the major arguments against his position? How effectively does he refute them?
Use Toulmin logic to analyze Newstok’s essay, identifying the argument’s claim, its grounds, and its warrant. Does Newstok appeal only to logos , or does he also appeal to pathos and ethos ? Explain.
Is Newstok’s argument primarily deductive or inductive? Why do you think that he chose this structure?
RAY MCNULTY OLD FLAMES AND NEW BEACONS A few years ago, I saw a video of a pop concert. It looked just like concerts of my youth: a well-lit stage amid a darkened crowd flecked with small wavering lights. I laughed when I realized, however, that the swaying glow was coming not from cigarette lighters but from LCD screens.1
This juxtaposition of old flames and new beacons reminds me of distance learning. Once the realm of correspon dence schools, whose matchbook cover advertisements promised the chance to learn from home, distance learning has evolved into myriad interactive oppor tunities that cater to the spectrum of learners’ needs. Striking a match on the correspondence school model, technology has ignited a virtual wildfire of prospects for education.2
Educators have long pondered the technology question. Most of their students know nothing firsthand about, or can scarcely remember, a time before laptops and cellphones. Yet, though they recognize the value of technol ogy, many educators still do not take full advantage of it in their teaching. They are flummoxed by what they perceive as an all-or-nothing choice. If they integrate virtual learning strategies, will they work themselves into obsolescence? If they maintain the status quo, will they be able to fully engage students? These are under standable questions, but I do not believe the answer is mutually exclusive.3
Light Sources
Emerging teaching models combine the best of classroom methods with the litheness of online learning to offer more pathways to learning for more students. Three particularly strong new models of this ilk are gaining popularity in Ameri can education: flipped classroom, blended classroom, and supported distance learn ing. Technology-infused, these learning models suit all types of curricula, including career and technical education (CTE), which leads the way in applied learning by keeping current with technological ad vances across disciplines. They also echo CTE’s core goal of providing learners with relevant skills and knowledge to prepare them for successful careers.4
The flipped classroom model reverses the traditional lecture/application cycle. Educators post recorded lectures online and assign digital materials to further students’ understanding. Pre-class work by students frees teachers to focus class meetings on discussions to reinforce understanding and hands-on activities for practice in application. Continuous access to lectures supports 5
The blended classroom model involves mixing in-class lectures with online assignments, giving students opportunities for both group and independent learning. Classroom and online activities are balanced depending on content and learning goals. This model works particularly well for large or especially diverse groups of learners because it supports differentiated instruction to ensure that all students not only meet expectations but are also stretched in their learning.6
Supported distance learning—tech nology-delivered coursework with low or no classroom residency requirements—is education’s fastest growing sector. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that between 2005 and 2010, distance learning course enrollment among American public high school students increased by 77 percent to 1.3 million students, representing 53 percent of public high school districts. An estimated 18 percent of undergraduates will enroll in distance learning for 80 percent or more of their coursework by 2013, according to coursehero.com .7
Snuffing Out the Myths
The rising popularity of online learning models invites a hard look at the myths and realities of what these approaches offer.8
First, there is the erroneous perception that distance learning is only for adults. Distance and hybrid learning options are relevant across levels, from high school to graduate to career advancement programs, and capture more nontraditional students. The flexibility appeals to learners for many reasons. Some are encouraged—sometimes subsidized—by employers, others are self-motivated for career entry, advancement, or change. Others are pursuing new dreams. Learn ers who struggle in traditional programs find that asynchronous delivery and other elements of distance learning allow them to eliminate obstacles and forge pathways to learning success.9
A recent Penn Foster blog asked students for feedback about why they had chosen distance learning. Some responses were expected: people with jam-packed lives sought portability and flexibility, employers were paying the fees, and lower costs. Others revealed simple but important personal reasons. One student shared that fluorescent classroom lighting gave her headaches; working at home eliminated the issue. Many respondents mentioned that music—from classical to classic rock—helped them concentrate. Several posters were happy to leave behind noisy classrooms, social pressures, and bullying. For many students, learning had become joyful and purposeful instead of forced.10
11
Then there is the idea that hybrid and distance learning work only for purely “academic” subjects, not for courses or programs that require hands-on time in labs, practicums, or internships for credentialing. A good example of success in distance learning for a hands-on profession is Penn Foster’s veterinary technician program. Our vet tech students complete accredited coursework online with support from peers and advisors. When they are ready for internships, an advisor helps connect them with an onsite learning position with one of the school’s many partners. The approach works: 100 percent of Penn Foster’s vet tech students have passed the independent credentialing exams required for employment in the field.12
The vet tech program debunks the notion that distance learners must go it alone, without the valuable and vibrant dialog with teachers and peers or well-appointed libraries and other learning resources available on traditional campuses. Flipped and blended classrooms feature classroom or campus time, so these concerns are irrelevant to those models.13
Students enrolled in well-supported distance learning need not worry about isolation either. Quality distance learning programs provide many options for students to engage with peers and teachers through online forums, via email, by phone, and, sometimes, in person with local classmates. In the vet tech program, students regularly connect with peers in online forums, and they work closely, if remotely, with advisors throughout the program, especially when it comes time to arrange for internships.14
Tending to the Future
The go-it-alone myth strikes a chord with many educators. If students have the main responsibility for their learn ing, what is the teacher’s role? Changes in teaching theory and practice do not change the qualities of a good teacher. The most effective teachers are still those who are most inspired by the possibility and responsibility of helping to shape the future and who aspire to inspire their students. Certainly, distance and hybrid learning models change the educator’s role, but they do not negate it. High-quality programs and 15
Teaching distance or hybrid model classes is different, but it offers some unique advantages.16
In distance learning, the biggest practical differences for teachers tend to be asynchronistic teaching cycles and limited (or no) face-to-face time. Because distance learners set their own pace, teachers may find they are working with more students concurrently than is possible in a classroom. Staggered learning timelines make this possible, and many educators enjoy simultaneously teaching various stages of their lessons rather than following a sequential path for a set term. Although in-person contact is reduced, there are many opportunities for one-to-one contact by phone and online.17
Flipped and blended classrooms shift the educator’s role from a “sage on the stage” to one of an applied learning coach. With students taking on more pre-class prep, educators have more time to facilitate discussions and hands-on activities.18
One of the most exciting advantages these dynamic models have for teachers is the flexibility to explore “next practices,” innovative and sometimes as-yet untested ideas that may (or may not) evolve into best practices. Next practices speak to the ideals of what education can accomplish, and these teaching models support the creativity educators need to think ahead to those ideals.19
In fact, it’s a bit like switching from cigarette lighters to LCD screens at a con cert. The old flame was good in its time, but technology offers a new beacon. As an educator, how will you choose to light up learning?20
AT ISSUE: SOURCES FOR USING ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO ARGUMENT
Explain the essay’s title.
Regarding technology, how does McNulty characterize students? How does he characterize instructors? Based on your experiences, are these characterizations fair? Accurate? Explain.
Define the following terms that McNulty introduces in paragraph 4.
Why does he discuss these new models of instruction? How does his discussion prepare readers for the rest of his essay?
Throughout his essay, McNulty uses headings. What is the purpose of these headings? Do they help readers, or do they just get in the way? Explain.
Who is McNulty’s intended audience? How can you tell?
PETE RORABAUGH TRADING CLASSROOM AUTHORITY FOR ONLINE COMMUNITY Early web commenters referred to the Internet as a primitive, lawless place like the “Wild West.” Plenty still needs to change to make certain parts of the web more civil and useful, but some aspect of the “Wild West” spirit is applicable to a discussion of student-directed learning. Too much civilization and society makes us compartmentalized and complacent. The West was a challenging place for European immigrants because it required an expansive sense of responsibility. You could no longer be just an apothecary or a cobbler. You had to provide for your own food and shelter from the resources around you; you had to decide just “what to do” with all this freedom.1
Digital culture is having a similar effect on the practice of education, and that’s a good thing. Students have to own their learning more. They can’t just follow the dotted line on the ground that leads to their assignment, their grade, their degree.2
Consider four core values for the classroom in general and the online classroom: show up , be curious , collaborate , and contribute . The online classroom is more student-directed in the sense that students are more “on their own” than they are in a traditional classroom. With more authors, contexts, and platforms to consider, digital media literacy insists that students filter, evaluate, and prioritize information with more critical proficiency than traditional students. Traditional students could trust the stability of the worksheet and the textbook. Digital education by its mere existence insists on more progressive practices for teachers and students. Digital culture has already started affecting dominant cultural epistemologyº by shifting some focus away from experts and giving it to participants.3
Students in the digital environment, whether in a hybrid or fully online classroom, carry more responsibility for their own progress. To succeed, they have to monitor their own progress more directly, engage with the insights of their peers, and ponder the external relevance of their work. A revolution is growing online that takes this trend to an extreme—digital citizens are building educational communities without institutions. “Learning” no longer means, or needs to mean, “going to school.” It can just mean developing good observation and critical thinking skills.4
What this means for the online classroom is twofold: 1. We recognize and communicate the shift from a follow-the-leader framework to a framework in 2. We have to model this new approach to learning in our classrooms (whether analog or digital). Students might be happy to see the culture of experts and talking heads dissolve, but if they want to be part of the revolution then they have to be ready to share the work that the experts used to do. For example, we might have students blogging publicly instead of submitting their work to the instructor as a one-to-one transaction. In this move, students become content creators, instead of content consumers—creators of their own educations instead of consumers—textbook creators instead of consumers.5
Traditional classrooms, the ones inspired by factories, create ideal students who follow instructions well. (“Changing Education Paradigms,” a video from RSA animate, offers a cogent argument for this shift in thinking about education.) The web and digital culture create ideal citizens who investigate things “just because.” These students reach for Wikipedia or Google Maps on their iPhones to get immediate clarification when they need help. Our online classrooms should harness this educational holster mentality. Don’t understand something? Ask the class, email a group of professionals, call the company, interview your grandmother. And this is the beauty of digital and critical pedagogy; when it’s done right, it connects us to each other and to the world.6
AT ISSUE: SOURCES FOR USING ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO ARGUMENT
Rorabaugh begins his essay by comparing the Internet to the Wild West. In what respects is this analogy
Where in this essay does the claim appear? How is the claim qualified? How does the qualifier set up the rest of the essay?
Rorabaugh makes a number of statements that he assumes are self-evident. For example, in paragraph 2 he says that in the online classroom “[s]tudents have to own their learning more,” and in paragraph 3 he says, “The online classroom is more student-directed.” Identify other statements like these. Are they really self-evident, or do they require support?
Rorabaugh is clearly a supporter of online learning. Does this prevent him from seeing problems associated with online learning? Explain.
What preconceptions about online learning does Rorabaugh assume his readers have? How do you know?
Suppose Rorabaugh wanted to rewrite his essay as a Rogerian argument. What changes in his essay’s tone and emphasis would he have to make?
TEMPLATE FOR WRITING A ROGERIAN ARGUMENT Write a one-paragraph Rogerian argument in which you argue that the drawbacks of online education have to be addressed before it can be successful. Follow the template below, filling in the blanks to create your argument.
TEMPLATE FOR WRITING A TOULMIN ARGUMENT Write a one-paragraph Toulmin
EXERCISE 6.7 Discuss your ideas about online learning with one or two of your classmates. Consider both the strengths and the limitations of this method of teaching. What types of classes do you think it is best suited for? Which classes do you think it would not work for? Then, edit the Rogerian and Toulmin arguments that you wrote on the previous templates so that they include some of these comments.
EXERCISE 6.8 Write an argumentative essay on the topic, “Is Online Education Better Than Classroom Education? ” Use the principles of either Rogerian argument or Toulmin logic to structure your essay. Cite sources in the Reading and Writing about the Issue section on pages 222 –247 , and be sure to document the sources you use and to include a works-cited page. (See Chapter 10 for information on documenting sources.)
EXERCISE 6.9
Review the four pillars of argument that are discussed in Chapter 1 . Does your essay include all four elements of an effective argument? Add anything that is missing. Then, label the elements of your argument.
EXERCISE 6.10 Assume that you have been asked to present the information in the essay you wrote for Exercise 6.8 as an oral argument. What information would you include? What information would you eliminate? Find two or three visuals that you would use when you deliver your speech. Then, make an outline of your speech and indicate at what points you would display these visuals.
AT ISSUE: SOURCES FOR STRUCTURING AN ARGUMENT