ArgumentationDay 1

June 23, 2014What is

it???

ARGUMENTATION PRE-WRITE(~15 MINS)

When done, please make sure your name is on it and put into the Table Folder.

Standards of Mathematical Practice1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

4. Model with mathematics.

5. Use appropriate tools strategically.

6. Attend to precision.

7. Look for and make use of structure.

8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Overarching Guiding Questions:What is a mathematical argument? What

“counts” as an argument?What is the purpose(s) of a mathematical

argument in mathematics? In the classroom?

What does student argumentation look like at different grade levels/levels of proficiency? What are appropriate learning goals for students with respect to constructing viable arguments?

What will Smarter Balanced “count” as a quality response to prompts that target Claim 3?

One way to think about arguments

One way to think about argumentsAnother way to think about arguments…

We’ll go for a third, more analytic approach…

avoid, avoid, avoid

A Mathematical ArgumentIt is…

◦A sequence of statements and reasons given with the aim of demonstrating that a claim is true or false

It is not… ◦An explanation of what you did (steps)◦A recounting of your problem solving process◦Explaining why you personally think

something is true for reasons that are not necessarily mathematical (e.g., popular consensus; external authority, intuition, etc. It’s true because my John said it, and he’s always always right.)

ArgumentationMathematical argumentation involves a host of different activities: generating conjectures, testing examples, representing ideas, changing representation, trying to find a counterexample, looking for patterns, etc.

Let’s take a look…

When you add any two consecutive numbers, the answer is always odd.

Think1) Is this statement (claim) true?2) What’s your argument to show that it is

or is not true? Pair - Share

When you add any two consecutive numbers, the answer is always odd.

Consider each of their responses:◦ Is the response mathematically accurate?◦Does the response justify the statement? (That is,

does the response offer a mathematical argument that demonstrates the claim to be true?)

Two students, Micah and Angel, explained why the following statement was true.

When you add any two consecutive numbers, the answer is always odd.

Micah’s Response5 and 6 are consecutive numbers, and 5 + 6 = 11 and 11 is an odd number.12 and 13 are consecutive numbers, and 12 + 13 = 25 and 25 is an odd number.1240 and 1241 are consecutive numbers, and 1240 +1241 = 2481 and 2481 is an odd number.That’s how I know that no matter what two consecutive numbers you add, the answer will always be an odd number.

Angel’s ResponseConsecutive numbers go even, odd, even, odd, and so on. So if you take any two consecutive numbers, you will always get one even and one odd number.And we know that when you add any even number with any odd number the answer is always odd.That’s how I know that no matter what two consecutive numbers you add, the answer will always be an odd number.

Students’ views on argumentsWhat percent of middle school

students do you think thought Micah had a valid and acceptable justification? What of Angel’s response?For grades 6 – 8, at each grade,

40% - 50% of students thought each argument was valid. (responded to “Whose response proves the statement is true?”)Slight decrease in thinking Micah had proved the statement true.Slight increase in thinking Angel had proved the statement true.

Student Responses (6th – 8th grade)Angel’s response, because Micah’s just proves that those 3 number pairs work for the rule. But Angel should have given examples. Angel’s because she provides proof and facts, not just a few different problems by experimenting with different numbers.Micah’s because she proved that it will work with any number, low or high.Both prove that, but they prove it in different ways. Micah’s proves it mathematically and Angel’s proves it by explaining what goes on with the odd and even numbers.Angel’s because God sent her and Micah has several errors.

Whose response proves that the statement is true? Explain your

reasoning.

When you add any two consecutive numbers, the answer is always odd.

Roland’s Response

The answer is always odd.

A number + The next number =

An odd number

There’s always one left over when you put them together, so it’s odd.

WHAT DO YOU NOTICE ABOUT THESE ARGUMENTS?How are they similar?How are they different?

Comments on the approachesExample based (Micah)Narrative (Angel)Pictorial (Roland)Symbolic (algebraic, example

shown here)◦Consecutive numbers can be

represented as n and n+1. ◦Adding these, we get n+

(n+1)=2n+1.◦2n+1 is odd because there’s one left

over when you divide by 2.

A Mathematical ArgumentIt is…

◦A sequence of statements and reasons given with the aim of demonstrating that a claim is true or false

It is not… ◦An explanation of what you did (steps)◦A recounting of your problem solving process◦Explaining why you personally think it’s true

for reasons that are not necessarily mathematical (e.g., popular consensus; external authority, etc. It’s true because my John said it, and he’s always always right.)

Toulmin’s Model of Argumentation

Claim

Data/Evidence

Warrant

Toulmin’s Model of Argumentation

Claim

Data/Evidence

Warrant

THE ARGUMENT

Toulmin’s Model of Argumentation

Claim7 is an odd number

Data/Evidence2 does not divide 7 evenly

WarrantDefinition of odd/even

An even number is a multiple of 2;

An odd number is not a multiple of 2.

Example5 and 6 are consecutive numbers, and 5 + 6 = 11 and 11 is an odd number.12 and 13 are consecutive numbers, and 12 + 13 = 25 and 25 is an odd number.1240 and 1241 are consecutive numbers, and 1240 +1241 = 2481 and 2481 is an odd number.That’s how I know that no matter what two consecutive numbers you add, the answer will always be an odd number.

Micah’s Response

Example5 and 6 are consecutive numbers, and 5 + 6 = 11 and 11 is an odd number.12 and 13 are consecutive numbers, and 12 + 13 = 25 and 25 is an odd number.1240 and 1241 are consecutive numbers, and 1240 +1241 = 2481 and 2481 is an odd number.That’s how I know that no matter what two consecutive numbers you add, the answer will always be an odd number.

Claim

Micah’s Response

Example5 and 6 are consecutive numbers, and 5 + 6 = 11 and 11 is an odd number.12 and 13 are consecutive numbers, and 12 + 13 = 25 and 25 is an odd number.1240 and 1241 are consecutive numbers, and 1240 +1241 = 2481 and 2481 is an odd number.That’s how I know that no matter what two consecutive numbers you add, the answer will always be an odd number.

Claim

Micah’s Response

Data/Evidence3 examples that fit

the criterion

WarrantBecause if it works

for 3 of them, it will work for all

J: I am a British CitizenB: Prove it

J: I was born in Bermuda ?

Toulmin’s Model of Argumentation

Claim I am a British citizen

Data/EvidenceI was born in Bermuda

WarrantA man born in Bermuda will legally be a British Citizen

Toulmin’s Model of Argumentation

Claim ◦ Conclusions whose merit must be established. For

example, if a person tries to convince a listener that he is a British citizen, the claim would be “I am a British citizen.” (1)

Data/Evidence ◦ The facts we appeal to as a foundation for the

claim. For example, the person introduced in (1) can support his claim with the supporting data, “I was born in Bermuda.” (2)

Warrant ◦ The statement authorizing our movement from the

data to the claim. In order to move from the data established in 2, “I was born in Bermuda,” to the claim in 1, “I am a British citizen,” the person must supply a warrant to bridge the gap between 1 & 2 with the statement, “A man born in Bermuda will legally be a British Citizen.” (3)

Example from Wikipedia, entry on Stephen Toulmin

Note: What “counts” as a complete or convincing argument varies by grade (age-appropriateness) and by what is “taken-as-shared” in the class (what is understood without stating it and what needs to be explicitly stated). Regardless of this variation, it should be mathematically sound.

Applying Toulmin’s: Ex 1Which is bigger: 73 – 26 or 76 – 26 – 3?

a. 73 – 26 is the same as 76 – 26 – 3. I add 3 to 73 and then take 3 away at the end.

b. 73 – 26 is the same as 76 – 26 – 3. If I add 3 to 73 and then take 3 away at the end, I’ve added nothing overall, so the answer is the same.

c. 73 – 26 is the same as 76 – 26 – 3 because 73 – 26 is 47 and 76 – 26 – 3 is also 47.

What’s the claim? What’s the data/evidence and warrant? (Are they both provided?)

Applying Toulmin’s: Ex 2Which is bigger? 4 +(x+3)2 or π

a. Neither because x is a variable

b. Pi, because you can’t figure out what 4+(x+3)2 is

c. 4+(x+3)2 because 4 is bigger than pi and (x+3)2 is always positive, so you’re adding a positive value to 4.

What’s the claim? What’s the data/evidence and warrant? (Are they both provided?)

It seems that Calvin’s teachers haven’t helped him see math as something that involves reasoning…

CommentaryArgumentation is important forTeaching By eliciting reasoning, you gain insight into students’

thinking – can better address misconceptions and scaffold their learning

Learning◦ By reasoning, students learn and develop knowledge

(conceptual, linked knowledge, not memorized facts)◦ Equity issue – provide students access ◦ In the end, it’s more efficient (retention; it’s not ‘you know it or

you don’t’)AssessingPositive classroom culture

◦ Reasoning is empowering; merely restating or memorizing information is disempowering and not engaging; reasoning is mathematics

◦ Many students can reason very well, even when they have weaker computational skills