SPRING 2023, Online
Promoting Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue Between Experts in Argumentation and Innovative Technologies
Helping students develop the ability to construct high-quality arguments and to engage in productive argumentation with others is now widely seen as an essential goal of schooling that should be at the forefront of our efforts to develop an educated citizenry. Today, in all grades and school subjects, students are expected to actively engage in knowledge construction through inquiry and argumentation: they should ask questions, define problems, challenge the ideas of others, and defend their own positions with reasons and evidence. These ambitious educational goals call for profound changes in the roles and responsibilities traditionally assigned to students and teachers. They require creative solutions, which include the use of innovative pedagogies and technologies.

This 2-day, online workshop brings together scholars in argumentation and technology, creating a shared space for researchers to discuss existing barriers and blind spots and engage in cross-disciplinary collaboration. During the workshop, participants will examine current challenges in argumentation and technology, identify additional areas of concern, explore possible solutions, and create new opportunities for collaboration. Possible research topics may include the following:
When:
February 9 and 10, 2023

Where:
Synchronous online (on Zoom)
Argumentation
  • Examining mechanisms of teaching and learning argumentation
  • Designing new analytic methods for argument evaluation and analysis
  • Improving argumentation quality during peer discussions
  • Supporting students' argumentative writing
  • Using argumentation to support the learning of disciplinary knowledge in sciences and humanities
  • Engaging students in critical reading of arguments
  • Improving teacher education and professional development in argumentation
  • Scaling up efforts to promote argumentation in schools
Technology
  • Utilizing machine learning for adaptive learning, predictive analytics, and/or learning analytics
  • Using speech technology (automated speech recognition, speech synthesis, conversation modeling)
  • Implementing natural language processing tools to support writing pedagogy
  • Exploring applied linguistics methodologies for classroom application
  • Applying immersive or augmenting technologies for innovative educational purposes
  • Employing argument mining techniques
On Day 1, workshop participants will present and discuss research projects in their respective disciplines. That is, argumentation experts will introduce educational innovations and engage in a discussion with technology specialists to receive feedback about how technology could be incorporated to support their work. Similarly, technology specialists will discuss their work with argumentation experts. These presentations and discussions will serve as the basis for forming cross-disciplinary teams by the end of Day 1. Each team will have researchers from both argumentation and technology who are interested in exploring opportunities for further collaboration.

On Day 2, workshop participants will work in cross-disciplinary teams to identify opportunities for and barriers to using technology to address specific educational innovations in teaching and learning argumentation. Each team will also discuss possibilities for collaboratively developing grant proposals for a project that incorporates argumentation and innovative technology. At the end of the workshop, participants will complete a survey that addresses ideas, barriers, and opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Organizing Team
  • Alina Reznitskaya
    Principal Investigator
    Professor, Montclair State University
  • Evgeny Chukharev-Hudilainen
    Co-Principal Investigator
    Associate Professor, Iowa State University
  • Emily Dux Speltz
    Workshop Coordinator
    Graduate Research Assistant, Iowa State University
Contact us
workshop@isu-pacelab.org
This workshop is by invitation only. Please contact us if you are interested in participating.