How We Argue: Strategies for Disagreeing with Empathy and Evidence

The course takes approximately 15 hours over three weeks to complete, which includes individual assignments and online discussions. Participants who complete the course receive a certificate indicating fifteen hours of instruction as well as assignment completion.

By the end of the course, participants will:

• Acquire a simple vocabulary for disagreements that works across academic disciplines and social settings.
• Map arguments using a visualization technique.
• Use the steps of systematic empathy to understand the reasons behind someone’s argument.
• Help others engage constructively in disagreements about professional, personal, and political topics.

By the end of the course, participants will:

• Acquire a simple vocabulary for working on arguments across academic disciplines and social settings.
• Analyze and plan arguments using visualization techniques, and help others do the same.
• Teach the steps for listening to better understand the reasons behind different views.
• Help others engage constructively in disagreements about professional, personal, and political topics.

Individual educators may participate in this course, but team enrollment is strongly encouraged. We strongly advise that teams include a cross-section of stakeholders, including:

• Instructors and administrators in middle school, high school, and/or higher education
• Faculty members at universities and community colleges who teach introductory expository writing, law, philosophy, and science writing courses
• Advisors and coordinators of enrichment programs, such as debate teams, forensic teams, model UN, moot court, ethics bowl, social justice groups, and mock trial competitions
• Administrators of associations and organizations, e.g., the National Council of Social Studies, National Council of Principals, and National Association of Social Studies Administrators

This program welcomes registrations from both individuals and teams. First-time registrants need to create a Professional Education account to register.

Individuals: Click the "Register" button at the top of this page to log into your Professional Education account and access the registration page. Proceed with the individual form until submission. Invoices will be immediately available upon the submission of the form.

Teams:

Step 1: Designate one participant or an administrative staff member as the Coordinator.

• The Coordinator should click the "Register" button at the top of this page to log into their Professional Education account and access the registration page.
• Proceed with the team form, including providing the name, email address, and job title of each participant in your team.
• The Coordinator can choose to receive a team invoice.
• The invoice will be immediately available upon the submission of the form. Contact us if you are eligible for the group discount. 
• Contact us if you need to make any changes to your team after submitting the form.

Step 2: Upon the submission of the team application, all team members will receive an email notification with a link to their personal registration form. Team members should complete their forms promptly to access the program’s Community Group for updates and Canvas course access.

Tuition assistance is available for this program on a need and application basis. Tuition assistance is granted based on participant and institutional needs. Requests for tuition assistance do not affect an applicant's prospects for admission. You may access the tuition assistance application after you have submitted your program application. Tuition assistance applications should be submitted at least one month prior to the final application deadline.