* Conundrums: Fallacies, Critical Thinking, and Problem Solving

Conundrum: noun: a confusing problem or question that is very difficult to solve.

This dynamic class isn't just about critical thinking and oral argumentation – it's about mastering the art of persuasion. Collaborate with your peers, hone your communication skills, and tackle challenging conundrums head-on. Are you ready to step up and make your voice heard? 

Why should we study unanswerable questions?  Asking questions helps students build crucial critical thinking skills, as well as oral presentation skills.  In this class, we will be debating, reasoning, expressing opinions, and listening to others.  The skills we will build in this class are foundational to advanced math, science, communications, and any inquiry-based pursuits.  

We will start each class with a few minutes dedicated to creating class agreements as a group. We will then take a few minutes to watch a short video clip of a conundrum. Next, we will debate the topic, as a class or in groups, through reasoning out various solutions to the given problem. Students will also learn about logical fallacies and techniques for analyzing and organizing their ideas—key tools for constructing and evaluating strong arguments. We will end each class with a reflection on what went well overall and what we can improve on for next time.

This class aims to equip students with valuable critical thinking skills and attitudes that will not only serve them well in the context of debate, but also in their academic pursuits and future endeavors.  ESL Friendly!

This is an ongoing class, so feel to join at any time!

Week of September 9: The Ferry Conundrum
Week of September 16: The Pizza Conundrum
Week of September 23: Conundrum of choice (students' pick)
Week of September 30: The Chocolate Conundrum
Week of October 7: The Tree Conundrum
Week of October 14: Conundrum of choice (students' pick)
Week of October 21: The Neighbor Conundrum
Week of October 28: The Photo Conundrum
Week of November 4: The Lake Conundrum
Week of November 11: Conundrum of choice (students’ pick)
Week of November 28: The Martian Conundrum
Week of November 25: The Flying Bike Conundrum
Week of December 2: The Dragon Conundrum
Week of December 9: Conundrum of choice (students’ pick)
Week of December 16: The Moonshot Conundrum
Week of December 23: The Speed Conundrum
Week of December 30: The NASA Conundrum
Week of January 6: The Fox Conundrum
Week of January 13: Conundrum of choice (students’ pick)
Week of January 20: The Blue Comet Conundrum
Week of January 27: The Presidential Conundrum
Week of February 3: The Message in the Bottle Conundrum
Week of February 10: Conundrum of choice (students’ pick)
Week of February 17: The Puppet Conundrum
Week of February 24: The Plant Conundrum
Week of March 3: The Conundrum Conundrum
Week of March 10: Conundrum of choice (students’ pick)
Week of March 17: The Secret Conundrum
Week of March 24: The Art Conundrum
Week of March 31: The Fruit Conundrum
Week of April 7: The Magic Crime Conundrum
Week of April 14: Conundrum of choice (students’ pick)
Week of April 21: The Future of Rockets Conundrum
Week of April 28: The Treasure Conundrum
Week of May 5: The Game Conundrum
Week of May 12: Conundrum of choice (students’ pick)