Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Stephanie and inductive_deductive
In the Brookhart chapter assigned for this week, entitled Assessing Logic and Reasoning, the author gives definitions of both deductive and inductive reasoning. After reading the chapter, what is your "take" on the difference between inductive and deductive types of reasoning? As you are working on your unit of study what might be one deductive and one inductive question that you could ask your students? Are you comfortable using these types of questions? Have you used this type of questioning in the past?
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According to Chapter 3 in Brookhart, deductive reasoning is based on sound, unchanging premises whereas inductive reasoning is based on specific instances and examples (page 65). Both certainly have a place in the classroom but their appropriate use may differ based on discipline, topic, and/or audience. A lot of the examples about the varying methods of logic throughout the chapter were also helpful and gave real-life examples of what the authors were trying to convey. An example of a deductive question in the social studies discipline might be something along the lines of : "We now know the causes of the Revolutionary War. How might an episode such as the Boston Massacre have spurred on the conflict?" Here, you begin with the principle (causes of the war) and work your way to a specific example (massacre). An inductive question might be posed by saying: "A lot of Confederate soldiers deserted the Civil War effort between 1862 and 1864. What does this say about the general morale of the war in the south?" Here you are beginning with an instance (soldier desertion) as part of a greater assertion (the morale was poor) and students should, through the example, be able to tell me the assertion. I use this type of questioning without thinking about it. Today in class we were talking about the Boston Massacre and a student didn't understand why just five people dying started an entire war. I explained that it alone did not start the war- but it was a major catalyst toward war. I paralleled my explanation with an example from math. I said that if you know how to add, then you can put together any two numbers and get a sum. This seemed to help her understand the type of inductive reasoning we were using. I believe that both deduction and induction, at least in my discipline, can be used to convey small and large principles and to help students understand how you start from the general and work your way to the minute details.
ReplyDeleteI frequently use these types of question in class as science lends itself to the discussion of principles. In my class we are currently discussing the nervous system. If I took the deductive approach I can start with the principle that any stimulus causes a nerve impulse. I offer children some examples and then give the class some problems to work on. Students can determine what is a stimulus and what is not, by checking to see if each problem causes a nerve impulse, or reaction. For example, a football is not always a stimulus, as it does not always cause a reaction. However, students can infer that a football can be a stimulus if it is thrown in your direction, because you would have the nerve impulse to either catch or block the incoming ball.
ReplyDeleteInduction on the other hand is anytime that we are doing lab work. During experiments, students have the opportunity to identify principles through hypothesis testing and their data collected. For example, students are able to learn that reaction time tends to improve with experience and practice. While they may be slow to respond to something at first, through repetition they are able to better prepare themselves.
While its hard to explain how inductive and deductive reasoning is used in my classroom, the methods are used within my instruction. When using deductive and inductive reasoning, I find that both these concepts play an active role when I am modeling a science experiment for my class, as a whole group. Just the other day, I conducted a sink or float experiment and many of the students used the inductive reasoning by just assuming that some objects would sink or float, without any logical thinking or basis to back up their hypothesis. However, deduction is frequently used within my math instruction. Many of these students have realized the quantity of a certain number doesn't change unless you add or subtract from it. They seem to understand the logic that 2 is just that, 2. If I add one more I get 3, if I take away, I get 1.
ReplyDeleteDeductive reasoning is the process of starting with one or more premises that you KNOW to be true. In other words, I already have a rule in place and I just use that same rule but in a different situation. Deductive reasoning can be demonstrated in my classroom by the following example. Find the number for x. Example 4+x = 9. Therefore by deductive reasoning the students will be able to identify that x is 5. Inductive reasoning is the process of coming to a conclusion based on premises you ASSUME to be true. In other words, I create a rule from my experiences. An Inductive example could be seen if the students are doing probability. A word problem could say that there are 10 marbles in the bag. All the marbles in the bag are white. Therefore the students can apply the rule and assume that a marble they pull out is going to be white. I believe that both inductive and deductive reasoning are important concepts that need to be incorporated into the classroom. Students should be able to self-identify that differences between both.
ReplyDeleteI believe deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning are confused very often, but must be implemented in a classroom. Deductive reasoning explains how reasoning from statements are used to reach conclusions. If all the statements are true and clear then the conclusion will be true and clear. For example, an example of deductive reasoning being used in my classroom would be when I am introducing a letter in Language Arts. For example a letter A will always be that letter unless I add another letter to it to make a new word such as (AT). But that letter will never change. Now when, I talk about communities in my unit study and the children will have to talk about their families. They will talk about how their family will always stay the same. But, there was a possibility that a family member could be added or taken away from the group. Inductive reasoning talks about specific examples that have taken place. They will make observations and draw conclusions from these observations. It was convenient to see some of the examples in the book because these 2 reasonings can be very confusing. So for example, when we are doing math problems on the board; the children will know how to show 6 from my work on the board as I demonstrated to them in a picture where 6 objects were found. They will be able to show me how to draw six objects now because of my example that they saw. For these reasons and more, we have to understand the importance of both reasonings.
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