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A. Guidelines for making contributions to the FOI Section 83 NetForum:

1. Making and argument:

You are encouraged to contribute arguments to each topic on the NetForum.  Some of these may express your opinions, but your are encouraged to experiment with different conclusions.  Since opinions are conclusions of arguments, a good contribution includes good reasons and solid evidence for these conclusions.  The extent to which others argue or disagree with you is irrelevant to my evaluation of your contribution.  What is more important is that you begin to treat your opinions critically and try to improve them by experimenting with alternate arguments and conclusions and by taking into account all of the evidence available to you.

2.  Responding to other arguments:

Your response should follow the directions for 1. Making an argument, above.   In addition:

    a.  Whether you express agreement or disagreement, your goal should be to try to help other students improve their arguments and their ability to formulate overall issues.

    b.  An excellent response to another student's argument is a question that provides a good alternative conclusion and good reasons for this alternative conclusion or for both conclusions.  Yes/no questions are only a starting point.  They should only be a stepping stone towards questions about alternative arguments and conclusions.

    c. If you agree with another student's conclusions, you should give at least one good reason that has not been provided by any other student in support of your agreement or you should add to a reason given by someone else in a way that makes it more convincing.

    d. If you disagree with another student's reasons or conclusions, you can formulate this disagreement as a good question (see b.) or as an argument for an alternative conclusion that includes good reasons supporting this alternative conclusion.  

        1) Disagreement is essential to all learning.  It may make us feel nice to agree, but agreement, if it does not provide additional reasons for a conclusion, rarely teaches us anything.  So be honest, but respectful, about your differences and we will all learn more.

        2) Good disagreement not only gives alternative conclusions and reasons, it explains why another person's reasons are not convincing.

        3)  Disagreement need not be painful if it is perceived as providing suggestions that may help the other person think out their problem more fully.

        4) Disagreement will often hurt other people's feelings if it is perceived as a criticism of the other person or of their ability to make arguments, rather than of their specific argument.  So show respect for their ability to arrive at different arguments and conclusions than yours and comment only on the argument they are making at a particular time.  

            a) Disagree only with their conclusion, reasons, or overall argument, not with "them," since they will hopefully learn from your alternative ideas, even if they do not accept your counter-argument. 

            b) Do not totally dismiss another person's conclusion, reasons, or arguments (by saying, for example, "That's stupid!").  You are proposing what you believe to be a better argument and which you will try to show to be better by providing good reasons.

3.  You will receive extra credit for extra, thoughtful contributions to Netforum.

4.  If you do not follow the guidelines you will be excluded from the NetForum and lose all Netforum credit.

B. Go to the FOI Section 83 Netforum