The students learn to identify and formulate relevant questions to a text and to apply these to open a text for understanding and analysis. Moreover, the activity trains the students in writing a coherent text on the basis of their answers to the questions.
The objective of the course is for the student to learn to define relevant philosophies of science and to analyse the scientific philosophical and methodical frameworks of the research and works of the science of history and related traditions. Moreover, the student acquires the ability to assess the applicability of various theoretical and methodical approaches in relation to specific issues.
New students need to practice fundamental study tools, including the ability to ask relevant questions to texts with a view to creating an opening for understanding and analysis, as well as academic writing skills. This activity combines training in the use of both these tools.
The activity may be used in all courses that have written elements and in which the students need to practice how to use relevant questions to get to understand texts. The exercise may be run as group work, possibly combined with individual work, and structured on the basis of the amount of time available to you as a teacher.
The exercise increases the students’ awareness of how to analyse theoretical texts academically and gives them an opportunity to reflect on their own academic writing skills. At the same time, the activity prepares the students for the exam as it exemplifies how an exam question may be approached on the basis of syllabus texts.
Progression towards greater independence is important, and repeating and varying the exercise during the semester may be helpful in this respect. I have also found it helpful to divide the students into different groups at each session to ensure that they received different input. In addition, it is a combined exercise which, with a minimum of preparation time, enables the students to practice different tools and techniques and is therefore well suited for classroom instruction by student teachers. You may want to supplement the exercise with a presentation made by you regarding questioning techniques and academic argumentation, or you may encourage the students to seek knowledge themselves on academic argumentation at Studypedia.
