HNRS 2010 / Fall 2013

HNRS 2010, INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL THINKING T /Th, 1pm 2:15pm, 070 MacDonald North INSTRUCTOR DATA Dr. Paul Cesarini 419.372.7740 / email or FaceTime: pcesari@bgsu.edu / Skype: paul.cesarini Department of Visual Communication & Technology Education, 261 Technology Bldg. Office hours: T/W, 10am 11:30am (face-to-face, by phone, or via chat), or by appointment PEER FACILITATOR Kelsey Montgomery / kelmont@bgsu.edu / Office hours by appointment, in Honors Loft. COURSE DESCRIPTION Introduction to Critical Thinking (4) Interdisciplinary inquiry in social sciences. Analysis of arguments through assumptions, ambiguity, data and fallacies; formulation of conclusions and alternative inferences; value assumptions and decision making. Prerequisite: admission to the honors program or permission of honors director. Applicable to the social sciences general education requirement. REQUIRED COURSE TEXTS AND WEB SITE M. Neil Brown and Stuart M. Keeley, Asking the Right Questions, 10th edition. (New Jersey: Pearson, 2012) Additional readings online, as well as video and audio clips, will be assigned as needed. The course will use a Canvas Web site (or course shell) where you will be able to download course handouts and use communication tools. COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS You will need to have an active BGSU account, and must be able check your BGSU email regularly. If you rely on an alternate email address, it is your responsibility to have your BGSU email forwarded to that address. You must also familiarize yourself with using Canvas. You will need access to a broadband-connected computer that has the most recent versions of the following software: Browser: FireFox or Chrome (most preferred), Safari, or Internet Explorer (least preferred) Media Players: QuickTime Player (either Windows or Mac OS X), Windows Media Player (either Windows or Mac OS X, or the Flip4Mac plugin), Flash browser plugin (desktop only) PDF viewer: Adobe Reader, Preview (Mac OS X), or any PDF viewer Word Processor: Microsoft Word, Google Drive, or OpenOffice Presentation: Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Drive, or OpenOffice All of the above-mentioned software is available for use in the University computer labs, with the possible exception of FireFox and OpenOffice. COURSE OVERVIEW The purpose of this class is to analyze, evaluate, and improve your critical thinking skills. Successful students will leave this class with a phenomenal gift and a lifelong ability-to construct and evaluate arguments. Although this class will utilize formally recognized principles and guidelines as outlined in the course textbooks and readings, the true heart of this class will come through the practical implementation of these principles and guidelines. With practice, students should finish this course confident in their ability to critically examine and construct arguments. COURSE GOALS At the end of the course, your progress toward becoming a critical thinker will be based on how well you are able to address the following questions:

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What is the issue that generated this argument? Why does the problem or issue matter? What is the speakers or writer's conclusion? What are the reasons provided for the conclusion? Is there significant ambiguity contained within the argument? What assumptions are contained within the argument? What evidence is used to support the reasons? How valid is the evidence? Are there any logical fallacies within the argument? What significant information was omitted from the reasoning? What values are present within this argument? What value preferences do the authors have that allows them to make their conclusion? What is your conclusion with respect to this argument? What is the basis for your conclusion? INSTRUCTIONAL PHILOSOPHY This course will build upon the principles and guidelines outlined in the course textbook and additional readings through the systematic and practical application of the skills required to critically examine arguments. Class discussion, discussion forum participation, and completion of other assignments will demonstrate success. The course will not follow a rigid schedule. Assignments for the next class will be made at the end of each class. This course represents the philosophical foundation of the Honors Program-successful completion is required to remain in it. In class and online, I expect you to read and complete all assignments in advance; to attend and participate; to ask and answer questions; and to construct and evaluate arguments COURSE DELIVERY Course delivery will be a blend of face-to-face interaction in our regular classroom and online activity, by way of our Canvas course shell. In place of several face-to-face class meetings throughout the semester, you will participate online with me, our peer facilitator, and other students to build a cooperative learning community. Asynchronous communication tools, including email and online discussion forums, will be heavily relied upon in addition to our regular class meeting times, and in some cases in place of our regular class meeting times. The required text is for independent study; and the course site will serve as a clearinghouse for information, where course handouts will be available, and communication tools, discussion board, and virtual classroom will be used by you, myself, and invited guests. Because of the nature of this course, consistent online interaction is mandatory. You must ensure that you complete assignments by their due dates, and respond to me and working groups within a reasonable amount of time. You will participate in bi-weekly electronic discussion forums that collectively account for a considerable portion of your final grade. New forums will be posted every other Monday, and will be archived or closed a week after they are posted. It will be your responsibility to inform me if scheduling difficulties arise. SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS All assignments will be submitted though each individual assignment link in the Unit folder of the assignment in question. Research papers will be automatically filtered through the Turnitin plagiarism detection tool built into Canvas, and will then be uploaded directly into the grade book. I will grade and comment on your papers directly in the grade book as I complete them. UNIT AND ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS There will be a total of three quizzes in this class, some of which will likely be web-based and available to take outside of our regular class time. You will also be responsible for a small group

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presentation that will last 30 minutes, and you will also have a research paper due toward the end of the semester. There will be an in-class, collaborative competition. There will be a final exam, as well. Additional required articles, audio interviews, and video clips for each unit are also listed in the corresponding module within our course shell. Whenever possible, audio and video clips will be directly embedded within the corresponding unit folder. Slidecasts of any face-to-face class lecture will be accessible as needed. SCHEDULE All relevant dates associated with this course are available on the online course calendar, which can be accessed by way of MyBGSU. GRADING The following is a list of assignments and their corresponding maximum point values: Group Discussion Board / chat Participation Quiz #1 Quiz #2 Quiz #3 Issue Response Group Presentation Issue Response Paper Fallacy Competition IGNITE Presentation Final Exam Total for the Course 45 points (9 forums @ 5 points each) 10 points 10 points 10 points 25 points 25 points 20 points 5 points 20 points 170 points

Note: A 90, 80, 70, 60 percentage scale will be followed strictly for the semester grade. There will be no scale or curve of any type. They may be more or less discussion forums depending on how the schedule meshes with the academic calendar. There will be extra credit opportunities at various points throughout the semester. Details on these opportunities will be discussed in class. DISABILITIES The Disability Services for Students Office is to help provide equal access and reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities attending BGSU. Students wishing to discuss their eligibility for such accommodations are encouraged to contact the office at 419/372-8495. ACADEMIC HONESTY The Academic Honesty Committee has set forth the following objectives and procedures regarding academic honesty: To communicate to all members of the University community the conviction of the University and its faculty that cheating and plagiarism are destructive of the central purposes of the University and are universally disapproved. To state procedures for accomplishing the above objective by students, faculty, academic deans, and the University Academic Honesty Committee. For the Complete statement, refer to the Academic Honesty Policy as stated in B.II.8 of The Faculty Handbook as it appears in the Academic Charter or refer to Appendix D - Academic Honesty Policy as it appears in Bowling Green State University Student Code. The University Student Code, Academic Honest Regulations and Policies will be strictly followed. What this means is that do not under any circumstances even consider representing the text or work

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of another person as your own, or submitting work as new that was previously submitted in another class. It is not worth the risk to your GPA or your college career. If you do resort to academic dishonesty, I will find out about it. You will then receive a failing grade for this course, the deans Office will be notified, and your actions will be documented on your permanent record. LEARNING SUPPORT SERVICES AND RESOURCES Technology Support Center The Technology Support Center (TSC) provides a central point of contact for faculty, staff and students for questions, problem reports, service requests and inquiries for University computer systems and communications technologies at BGSU. email: tsc@bgsu.edu / Phone: (419) 372-0999 Student Technology Assistance Center Students looking for more in depth assistance with computer technology needed for a class project or tutoring should contact the Student Technology Assistance Center (formerly the Academic Resource Center) or consult their web page at http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/stac/ email: stac@lists.bgsu.edu / Phone: (419) 372-9277 Learning Commons According to their web site, the BGSU Learning Commons provides students with academic resources that foster independent learning. The highly trained professional, graduate, and undergraduate staff utilizes technology and additional resources to offer individual and group tutoring and consultations tailored to meet the needs of any student in any course at any time in the learning process. http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/learningcommons/ email: tlc@bgsu.edu / Phone: (419) 372-2823 My BGSU Portal Self-Help http://www.bgsu.edu/its/tsc/self-help/page10888.html BGSU Library http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/ BGSUs Office of Distance Education http://online.bgsu.edu COURSE SITE ORIENTATION The purpose of the following set of instructions is to help you navigate and use the course site (Canvas course shell). Virtually all information pertaining to the course will be communicated via the main announcements page in our course site. It will be up to each of you to manage your time appropriately and actively participate in this course. This course site can be accessed through the My BGSU portal, which provides a link to personal information (grades and bursar accounts), email access, and other university services. Authentication The authentication process enables you to establish your own portal on the BGSU Web and once enrolled in the course, you will have access to the course assignments and other information. The following step-by-step instructions will lead you through the authentication process: 1. Get to the Bowling Green State University Authentication Page by going to the BGSU Homepage at http://www.bgsu.edu and clicking the My BGSU button on the left navigation bar of the page

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2. Once you get to the main MyBGSU page, enter your BGSU user name and password. 3. In My BGSU click on the Courses area and click on the course link. This will take you into the course site or shell. Organization of Course Site Once you are on the course site, you will see a list of navigational buttons on the left side of the screen. Your course site will always begin with the main page, often where I will post announcements, embedded video clips, etc. The next buttons you will use on a regular basis and it will be to your advantage to learn how to use them in the course. Home: As the name implies, this link will always get you back to the main page for this course Syllabus: This link will take you to a combination of the course syllabus (both as a downloadable PDF and as a clickable list, and a quick access course calendar with all assignments listed. Modules: Look here for documents to view and/or download, including course syllabus, book information, lecture presentations, assignment related materials, general instructions, and assignment instructionsexcept for due dates. Assignment due dates can be found on the Course Calendar. Links to all group discussion will be accessible from here, as well. People: This link goes to a list of everyone involved in this class, including students, teaching assistant(s) (if available), and me. Grades: Your grades for this class are accessible 24/7 from here. Chat: This area will be used for virtual office hours for me, in the event you have a quick question and are not geographically close to this side of campus. Calendar (upper, horizontal menu): All relevant dates pertaining to assignments, exams, and discussion boards can be found here. I recommend viewing by month, rather than the default viewing by day, in order to see more calendar entries at once. Please note some of the calendar entries may appear to be truncated or otherwise cut off. Click the link on any entry for additional information.

There may be an additional button or two added or changed once the semester starts. I am always trying to improve the overall navigation of the course site. Group Discussion Board You will use your Group Discussion Board to discuss topics posted by me. If you want to respond to someone elses message that has been posted to a discussion forum click on reply, but if you want to add a new message (thread) click Add New Thread. I will also be participating in these discussions. For additional information about discussion board forums, posting, and evaluation criteria, please see the Discussion Groups section in our course site. Additionally, in the group pages there will be an open forum. This forum represents a venue to discuss anything not directly related to content in the regular discussion forum. You can also ask questions about the class in general. I will attempt to check the open forum regularly. Document Preparation for Submitting Assignments Use the assignment tool to submit / upload any papers. Do not send your assignment as email attachments.) Be sure to submit assignments by no later than midnight of the due date. I do not accept late assignments. However, you may always submit assignments earlier than the due date. Downloading Documents from the Course Site To download files from any part of the course site, right-click a file and choose save as.