Michael Nussbaum and LeAnn G. Putney (both of Educational Psychology and Higher Education) have published an article on "Learning to Use Benefit-Cost Arguments: A Microgenetic Study of Argument-Counterargument Integration in an Undergraduate Seminar Course" in the Journal of Educational Psychology. This microgenetic case study explores how an undergraduate student (Nolan) in a second-year seminar mastered an argument weighing scheme and used it to organize his writing. Nolan showed particularly strong growth, and this qualitative case study analyzes his discourse to generate insights and hypotheses into his development. Extensive engagement in ethical discussions, along with studying ethical theory and answering critical questions on argument vee diagrams (AVD), may have contributed to his development. Theoretical and practical implications related to teaching argumentative writing in conjunction with oral discourse are discussed.
