Course Description

This short course is about how to strengthen your reasoning so you can present a clear and compelling case for some position - whether it be in a business proposal, a risk assessment, an intelligence product, a progress report, or any other serious task.

The course is based on a technique called argument mapping. The basic idea is that we create diagrams showing the parts of our reasoning, and how they are logically related. These diagrams make it easier for our brains to see what is going on. They also allow us to apply some powerful principles, including one which might well be the single most useful technique in the whole field of logic.

The course is a highly condensed version of advanced material covered in multi-day workshops and semester-long university subjects. It presents the most essential ideas in an rapidly digestible format.


Satisfaction Guarantee

We stand behind our courses with a 100%, no-questions-asked guarantee. If you enrol and aren't happy just let us know and we'll process a full refund immediately.


This is great fun! I'm really enjoying it! Bite-size enough to progress in small bits of time I have available. And really enjoying the humor! Not to mention, I'm learning stuff too!
- K., Policy Manager, Victorian Government


What's in the course?

The course is an expanded, self-paced version of our popular email short course on argument mapping, but offers much more:


Who's the course for?

The course will be useful to analysts, lawyers, auditors, consultants, managers and more generally anyone who needs to make their "on the job" reasoning more clear and compelling.

Tim van Gelder has taught better reasoning to literally thousands of people at all levels over the last two decades. Generally this work has been behind closed doors of serious organisations, but now these proven methods are being made more widely available.


Contacts

The content of this course was developed by Dr. Tim van Gelder, based on extensive experience teaching such material for over twenty years at university level and in training provided for many large organisations. Contact Tim to discuss theory, or applications of this material outside the course environment.

The course manager is Sujai Thomman. Contact Sujai with any problems, queries or suggestions. Alternatively, post your issue in the Discussion forum within the course.

vG&M Team

van Gelder & Monk courses are developed and taught by our team collaborating in various combinations.Dr. Tim van Gelder is a philosopher and cognitive scientist with expertise in reasoning and critical thinking. He is a founder of, and a Principal Consultant with, van Gelder & Monk; a Principal Fellow (Associate Professor) at the University of Melbourne; and Foreign Advisor, Critical and Creative Thinking Education, to the Ministry of Education, China. He has provided consulting and training services to many large organisations. He is known around the world for his work in critical thinking and the development of methods and tools for improving reasoning. Dr. Richard de Rozario is an applied epistemologist specialising in risk. He is a principal Consultant with van Gelder & Monk. He has worked in areas such as risk analysis, business analysis and schedule optimisation, and taught hundreds of workshops in related areas. Richard studied computer information systems in the USA and holds a post-graduate diploma in Market Modelling from Swinburne University, as well as a PhD in Applied Ontology from the University of Melbourne. Sujai Thomman is an Associate with van Gelder & Monk and our general manager of online learning. He holds degrees in economics, politics and Chinese, and is himself a voracious consumer of online learning in various formats.

Course curriculum

Also available