College Reasoning/Critical Thinking
/Fall 2001 O’Hare Wednesday nights
Don Sorsa
/COMPETENCE
LL-5 Can listen, speak, and reason in a manner appropriate to intellectual discourse.
L-5 Can analyze issues and reconcile problems through critical and appreciative thinking.
TEXTBOOK AND MATERIALS
The Informed Argument is available at the bookstore or online. Students will also use the Internet either from the DePaul computer labs or their homes and offices.
FACULTY BIO
Don Sorsa received a BA from SNL, an MA in Applied Linguistics from UIC, and is completing a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences at Northwestern University. His current research tries to understand the individual and social factors that surround adult learning.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The ability to reason and think critically is a central outcome for a good education. With the tremendous quantity of information available to anyone with a library card or access to the Internet, it is important to develop effective ways of judging the reliability, different interpretations, and implications of data; this is the purpose of College Reasoning. This course will help students examine their traditional ways of analyzing information, and sharpen their critical thinking skills. There are many aspects and components of critical thinking, but this course will focus on those four discussed in the OUTCOMES section of the syllabus.
Many people equate fast decision-making, quick answers, item recognition, and possession of data with "intelligence"; this course is not about speed or quick thinking or accumulating "facts" or data. It is not about learning new "things", although we will encounter new information which will need to be analyzed. The focus of the course is to slow down our decision making in order to develop new strategies for evaluating information and creating arguments.
This course gets deep and when you reckon you've got it figured out, well, it just gets deeper. And then the quarter is over and your life returns to normal, except that you question everything around you. You start going around saying, "What's your data for that belief?" And since nobody invites you to parties anymore you'll have more time to work on SNL stuff, and then YOU will end up teaching College Reasoning and Critical Thinking. Don't say you weren't warned, OK?
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Exercises in this class will take place individually, in small groups, and with the class as a whole. Discussions and exercises will be integrated with reading and writing homework assignments, and your success in this class will depend on your active, committed, open-minded participation in different methods of inquiry and problem solving.
The first part of this course will center on analyzing articles from the textbook, daily newspapers, and various periodicals. In the second part, students will apply their analytical skills and write a persuasive paper.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
Students in this course will:
(1) Identify assertions and evidence.
(2) Generalize from data and observation to theory, and recognize when theories are confirmed by observable data.
(3) Identify underlying assumptions.
(4) Create an effective argument.
EVALUATION METHODS AND CRITERIA
Student evaluation will be based on your conscious attention to the development of your own critical thinking abilities and skills, as evidenced in these tasks:
-thoughtful participation
-completion of weekly written assignments
-written critical reviews
-one multi-draft persuasive paper
If you must miss a class, the assignments for that week must be emailed to me on Tuesday. Not submitting 2 or more of the weekly assignments, will result in an incomplete grade. In addition, if the various drafts of the final paper are not brought to class - the introduction, the rough draft, the outline – then you will receive an incomplete grade. It is unlikely, although possible, you will pass this course if you miss more than one class. I’ve taught this course 30 times and discovered that students who are unable to devote adequate time to working on this course are seldom able to develop/demonstrate the competence. Those who put in the time inevitably learn and teach themselves.
The final draft of the final paper must be submitted on a hard copy AND ALSO on a diskette. This paper is an argument; it is not a narrative. We’ll talk about this in class.
Tentative schedule for Critical Thinking/College Reasoningversion 07-13-2001
Class 1
- Intro to the course - syllabus, participation patterns, expectations, definitions
- Mental models of the world - maps
- We don’t know what we don’t know - taxes
- The imagined agreement of others
- Practicing the assignment for next week
Assignments for Class 2
- Read Preface for Students and Preface for Instructors
- Skim the Table of Contents and pages 1-62. Note anything you want to discuss or read later
- Read and summarize articles by Kinsley (213-216), Topolnicki (224-229), Borjas (230-240)
(Do Topolnicki and one of the other two – your choice)
Bring 5 copies of your summaries - and don’t wait until the last minute to make them please
Assignments for Class 3
- Skim pages 63-91, noting important parts to discuss in class and read later
- Read and summarize assigned articles from the gun control section
Assignments for Class 4
Critical success factors:
- work 7-9 hours every week on assignments
- look at the classroom as a place to review your learning
- talk to your classmates, colleagues, co-workers, friends, family, instructor
- don’t look for simple answers to complex questions
- realize that deep learning is not linear
- come to every class prepared
- don’t give up, don’t give up
- Read and summarize assigned articles from the national parks section
Assignments for Class 5
- Summarize assigned articles from the culture and curriculum section
- Start thinking about final project
Assignments for Class 6
- Summarize assigned articles from the same-gender marriages section
- Discuss ideas and plans for the final project
Assignments for Class 7
- Rewrite assignments from past weeks – TBD
- Summarize articles of your choice
- Decide on final project and start working on it
- Possible working session in the computer lab
Assignments for Class 8
- Plan A - bring in the 1st paragraph and an outline of your final paper
- Plan B - bring in your summaries of online articles
Assignments for Class 9
- Plan A - bring in a revised copy of your final paper
- Plan B - more summaries from the Internet
Assignments for Class 10
Plan A - Bring in final draft of paper and give your presentation and analysis
Plan B - Present opposing sides of an argument and present your opinion and analysis