How We Evaluate* is a free online course taught by Gary Comstock at North Carolina State University. The course objective is to teach students to understand the structure of complex arguments about moral issues. One of the anticipated benefits of the class is that students will feel more comfortable and confident engaging others in civil discourse about controversial topics.

How We Evaluate is the second of a two-course sequence. In the prerequisite, thinkARGUMENTS (née How We Argue), students learn the elements of arguments, including main claims, premises, objections, rebuttals, inferences, deduction, induction, validity, and soundness. If you’re familiar with these concepts, you're ready for our lessons which apply these skills to more complex arguments about divisive social issues, equipping you to decide for yourself what you believe about them. The issues you'll work on include abortion, physician assisted suicide, the existence of God, animal rights, and more.

* The link may not work for you. It's not yet easy to access the course, but--with a little patience and perseverance--you can get in. First step:

• Sign up for a free account with North Carolina State University here. Then follow the instructions to enroll in How We Evaluate, Sp 24. 

• If you already have an NCSU Unity ID, follow these instructions.

The NC State University Honors Program is conducting a 2-year, quasi-randomized controlled trial involving 1,000 first-year undergrads. Our objective is to assess the effectiveness of thinkARGUMENTS (How We Argue) and How We Evaluate. Preliminary results are here (and below).

We're looking for partners. Please join us! Email me, Gary Comstock, at gcomstock@ncsu.edu.