Okay, sorry but I'm confused about what the counterarguments are? Is this the chain of reasoning step? Or something we've talked about but not included on paperwork previously? I just need a few more links in the chain in order for my brain to get it. ~ Michelle

I am at a loss about counter arguments at the moment (12:03) am on 1/22/09. The three AEG's I looked at are close enough to each other, indicating we are looking at the big peicture in the same way. But I can not remember where the counter arguments com in to play. I ask my kids to put them in box 9- if they withhold judgment, reject or even if they accept an issue. If that is correct, we are on the same page. BTW I do not know how to get my AEG to post to the table so it is listed as Mandan's late AEG in the recent activities. And yes I do not know how to type my own name either.

This article presents counter argument within its text, which makes it different that most of the other articles we have used. I inserted the counter argument in my claim as a qualifier, but it could be lised as evidence - making the claim more questionable? - or brought up as a the basis of a counter argument as a concern. I don't think one of these is more correct than another. It seems to me that our hope is to get students to discuss a claim and the strenght of its presentation so where the counter argument is put is not as important as the discussion itself.

Yes to KC but the isn't counter argument a part of the claim in this case? Mandana

Nola's AEG Commentary:
I share Gail, Mandana, Michelle, and Travis’ concern that parental observation of their children’s behavioral change on the diet was being discounted or labeled as “placebo effect.” I, too, think that more studies, perhaps larger studies, need to be conducted.

Regarding the placement of the counterargument, I like having it right where it is. I think having it there helps the students form their explanation of whether or not to accept the claim in the next step (box 9). If they believe the claim (box 8), they have to think about why they believe it. If they don’t believe the claim, they still have to think about why they believe it. Answering the “why” gives them the basis for their answer to box 9.

Gail's AEG Commentary:
All the AEG's focus on how the diet may not help autistic children. Most of us used the same evidence. I see differences in who is saying that the diet helps in the claim and in the rating of the evidence. I think that this brings out the importance of discussion about the evidence and how well it supports the claim. This is how scientists and people can reflect on their ideas in the light of other interpretations of the same set of information.

It seems that most of us can agree that there is a lack of solid evidence for this claim. Withholding judgment can be an easy way out for the kids to avoid thinking about a conclusion, but this would be a great article to show them that there are appropriate times to avoid judgment. I try to push them to be decisive with their judgment unless there is a big problem with the evidence or chain of reasoning.

I guess I wasn't worrying about which was the counter arguement. I didn't find science studies about how it positively affected autism. The only thing I think you could do would be to talk about how personal information from your family changes how you view scientific information that comes from studies.

While I agree with Travis that this could be a great article to justify withholding judgement (which is what my conclusion was), I think it's more of an emotional reaction to the narratives of these parents than to the scientific information that the article makes available. I think that's another great discussion. Despite the evidence why you still believe that something might not be true...why the study that was cited might not be conclusive and how more studies are needed before you can make a definitive conclusion.

I agree that there is a lack of evidence to support the claim. I would like to see more recent scientific studies with larger sample size. I also like Mandana's statement about science disregarding the parents' observations as placebo. That brings up a big question to me--should that be totally disregarded? I think that more evidence is needed before you can write that off. The evidence showing that there is no scientific proof does not seem strong enough to support the claim. With my students, we have been evaluating data from different experiments to see if the data supports the claim being made. This would be a good example of when to withhold judgement.