Unit 2
What is Critical Thinking Anyway????
This unit (sometimes called a "session" or a "chunk") is comprised of several assignments or tasks. Please read through all the tasks, conceive a plan to accomplish all the tasks in the alloted time, decide to execute the plan, and then.......do the plan.
(Please print this webpage for your reference. The webpage will be approximately three printed pages long. There is a space next to each task for you to "check off" the task when you have accomplished it. And the margins should be wide enough for your notes.)
___Writing a "Think Piece"
Read the following question. Ponder the question for a while. Do not talk to anyone else or read anything about this question.
After some reflection, write a one and one half page (maximum of one and one half page, minimum of one page, typed, double-spaced) response to the following question. (I call this a "think piece.")
Using a word processing program, write your think piece, save it, copy it, then log on to Canvas. Post your think piece in the appropriate area.
This is the question for your reflection:
Since you are enrolled in an online class, you receive a letter from Valley College. In the letter, you find out that the college has just received permission from the state to institute a “technology fee” of $100 to be added to the tuition that you pay for the class. So you would be paying $72 for the tuition and $100 for the technology fee for a total of $172 for an online class. Before instituting the fee, however, the administration wants to get feedback from online students. You are to write a letter to the vice president of instruction, Dr. Linda Stevens, telling her what you think about this new fee.
Remember, this is a critical thinking class. . And remember....this is a fantasy for this assignment. Do not send her a real letter.
Good luck. Drop me an e-mail if you have any questions about this.
___Participation in the Discussion Forum
Post under the appropriate Unit’s Discussion Forum and interact with your fellow students. Remember, this is a portion of your grade.
___Reading the Text
Your assignment here is to read the chapter on What is Critical Thinking Anyway??? in Moore and Parker's book. As you reread or review the chapter, try one of the following tasks to organize your reading and to make your reading more interactive. You might try to make a topical outline of the chapter. Do not get too detailed. In fact, try to limit yourself to one side of one page. You could go through the chapter and list any idea or concept along with a short phrase indicating the start of a definition. Any way that you can make the reading active and based on questions is good.
___Working the Material: Listening to the Guided Tours
Your instructor has created "Guided Tours" of the text. These are audio recordings that guide you through the key ideas of the text, page by page, example by example. This resource has proven valuable to those students who benefit by "hearing" or "listening to" the material as a complement to reading the material.
For the recorded guided, you will need to have QuickTime installed in your computer. (Installation of Quicktime was described in the first unit for the class.) Click on the link below to go to the webpage with the guided tours of sections of the reading for this unit.
Introduction (Pages 1-2) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Beliefs and Claims (Pages 3-6) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
issues (Pages 6-7) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Arguments (Pages 7-14) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Cognitive Biases (Pages 14-20) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Truth and Knowledge (Page 20) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
___Attendance
If you have completed the tasks for the unit during the allotted time, then there is nothing for you to do here. Go on to Assignment #1 of the next unit. But if you are behind on some work and haven't completed this unit's tasks in the allotted time, look again at the syllabus where it describes "Late Work" (there is no such thing) and the rationale for not getting credit for work that is posted late.
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Critical Thinking Basics
_____Assignment #1: Writing a Think Piece
_____Assignment #2: Reading the text
_____Assignment #3: Listening to a Guided Tour
_____Assignment #4: Participate in the Discussion Forum
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