Study Guide on Process of Structured Paraphrasing and Class Dynamics

Introduction

• Focus on practicing problems in a supportive environment.

  • Interactive group work and demonstrations by the instructor.

  • Key objective: Provide students the opportunity to ask clarifying questions.

• Importance of addressing questions students feel hesitant to ask during lectures.

  • Factors affecting question-asking: intimidation, fatigue, missed opportunities during lecture.

Structure and Approach of Discussion Section

• The instructor aims to run an effective and engaging discussion section.

  • Open to feedback on how to improve the session's efficiency.

• Grading Policy Overview:

  • Instructor will grade all exams, including midterms and finals.

  • Opportunity for students to ask about grading criteria.

  • Grading also includes attendance and participation:

  • Attendance is more significant than participation due to systematic tracking challenges.

  • Alternative attendance tracking might include problem-solving at the beginning of class instead of traditional attendance sheets.

Learning Objectives and Class Activities

• “LO” written on board indicates daily learning objectives.

  • Students informed about the goals for each session.

• Activity: Structured Paraphrase Practice

  • Review of sentence examples where students must identify key elements:

  • Main Point (NP)

  • Secondary Point

  • Determine if the sentence involves explanation or reasoning.

• Emphasis on clarity regarding the two functions of sentences:

  • Explanation: Identifying causes

  • Reasoning: Identifying conclusions

Framework for Sentence Interpretation

• Review of indicators distinguishing between explanation and reasoning:

  • Using specific flags to identify reasoning such as:

  • Normativity flags:

    • Words indicating obligation or prescription such as "ought," "should," "required," "prohibited."

  • Indirectness flags:

    • Words suggesting inference like "may," "must," "probably," "suggests," "implies," "entails."

• Importance of flags in understanding the distinction between reasoning and explanation:

  • Absence of flags suggests an explanation is present.

  • Examples of explanations provided for better understanding:

  • e.g., A person went to the store because they wanted milk.

Examples Provided

• Sentence Analysis: Example breakdown of reasoning and explanation:

  • Example sentence: "It is raining, so the streets must be wet."

  • Identifying main and secondary points:

    • Main Point: "It is raining"

    • Secondary Point: "the streets must be wet"

  • Explanation vs. reasoning in practice:

  • In this instance, reasoning is identified due to the presence of "must" as a flag indicating inferred conclusion.

  • Conclusion: "the streets must be wet" inferred based on the fact it is raining.

Student Participation and Class Dynamics

• Encouragement for questions on examples or process:

  • Anticipation of trickier examples in future sessions.

• Instruction on structuring responses for clarity:

  • Emphasis on indentation for organized written responses.

Conclusion

• Next class will incorporate group work for deeper analysis of structured paraphrase.

  • Students encouraged to practice independently as a part of their learning process.