General ideas for using the cards in an educational context, whether with very young or more mature students

As for the use of cards, in general:

  • The cards can be used for both group work and individual work, both at home and in the classroom.
  • An educational objective can be pursued through games.
  • Debating is an area where cards like these can be an invaluable aid in self-assessment and in adjudication, given that debates prohibit the use of fallacies.
  • School plays and drawing activities (especially in an art schools) to present the fallacies: this could also involve the creation of videos or posts for social networks (without using the cards themselves - they are protected by copyright).
  • For more mature students it might also be engaging to have the students themselves study and explain the fallacies in class, and find or invent illustrative examples of their own (one fallacy per student).

As far as games in the classroom are concerned:

  • Scores, rankings and prizes should be provided.
  • The teacher will have to play the role of referee, while the students will be divided into teams.
  • One way to acquire points, on which the game can be based, is to recognize a fallacy among arguments that are not fallacious, or among other fallacies.
  • Of course, remembering the exact name of the fallacy can also be rewarded.
  • Another way to score points colud then be to be able to do a skit showing a fallacy: for younger learners, the example could be the same as the one on the card, while older ones should be able to create similar examples.

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Some examples of usage scenarios

One in forty - a game for the youngest

  • The teacher divides the students into two or more teams; each team will need its own deck of cards.
  • To illustrate each fallacy (presuming a very limited number of them at a time), the teacher must have prepared a situation similar to one of those in the cards, with a script that will be acted out by two students at a time (or by two students per team, using the same or a similar script).
  • After the recital, the teams, consulting the cards, must find (by analogy) the name of the represented fallacy and write it on a piece of paper, in a limited time.
  • Whichever teams guess the fallacy score points and you can move on to the next round (fallacy).
  • If all teams fail, they have the same amount of time to try again, and so on.
  • The teacher can then also assign a score to the teams whose "actors" have recited the fallacy well.
  • After each round the teacher can explain the fallacy in question.

One in forty - the same game for more mature students

  • A variation on the previous game involves the students acting out a fallacy using a script that they must write themselves.
  • In this case it may be useful for the game to involve three teams, with each team in turn acting out a fallacy, while the other two teams challenge each other to identify it.
  • In addition to points for recognizing the fallacy, the teacher will assign a higher or lower score to the team that acts out the fallacy, depending on the on the accuracy of the example and the quality of the recital.

Which of the three? - another game, with many possible variations

  • Three teams (or four)
  • The teacher calls one pair of students per team to act out a different script: only one of the scripts contains a fallacy.
  • Once the skit is over, the teams get to work (with the cards) to identify which of the three contains the fallacy; the time is limited and the result must be written on a piece of paper.
  • An additional score can be attributed for the explanation of a fallacy (i.e., in addition to the score for having recognized the fallacious reasoning, a score is added for having identified the name of the fallacy and a score for its explanation).
  • The teacher then fine-tunes the explanation.
  • A variation envisages the teacher first explaining the fallacy to be identified: in this case the three scripts may illustrate different fallacies, but the goal is to recognize the fallacy proposed by the teacher.

I know them all - a game to play when the fallacies have all been explained, just to refresh them

  • Two or more teams, with each member choosing a progressively higher number from 1 to X.
  • The teacher calls a number and the representatives of the teams with that number play the round (so, for example, number 3 from team A, number 3 from team B and number 3 from team C). Only these representatives will be allowed to answer the question, without consulting the cards.
  • The teacher gives the definition of the fallacy (or a dialogue that represents it) and the first one to name it correctly gets one point for the team (whoever makes a mistake has to wait for the others to answer before trying again).
  • The game continues with a new card and players with different numbers (for example the numbers 7 of each team).

Why don't you tell us how you used the card to have fun or play with your friends? Please let us know! We will share your experience and give you a gift!

How to buy cards

Argumentative debate in schools and universities

 
The cards can be a valuable support for teachers who want their students to learn debating skills. Anglo-Saxon-style argumentative debating (debating) is an increasingly popular learning activity because it favours the structuring of skills that form the personality and the development of argumentation skills, including analytical, critical, and communicative skills, both verbal both non-verbal. These skills are the cornerstone of democratic and participatory citizenship.

Do you want to tell us about interesting resources related to debates? Write to us at info@psycomix.net!

Want to buy more decks of cards to use in your class or group? Please write to us. We will reply as soon as possible to agree on particularly favorable conditions!

A recommendation

 
The cards always deliberately propose rather neutral, almost naive situations. Clearly the hope is that users learn to recognize fallacies even in the situations that surround them in everyday life, starting with the mass media and politics.
However, it would be a serious mistake, in our opinion, to use these fallacies in support of a one-sided criticism against specific parties or categories of citizens: it would not constitute a service to students, but an attempt at manipulation. Indeed, fallacies have often been put forward (on the net) in the service of one cause or another, in a way that is intellectually dishonest, if not downright wrong.
We will be pleased to collect any experiences you want to report to us via email.

Buy cards for school or for groups

 
Unfortunately we do not provide discounts for single purchases (a single deck) on our site even by teachers (verification would be too expensive for us).

Large purchases are a different matter, however: in this case it is advisable to agree the price directly with us.
For more information, write to us indicating your school or association, and, if you can, how many decks you may need, what budget is available to you and perhaps even the type of use you intend to make of them: in any case, we will try to find a solution that works for you.

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