ࡱ> UWT` 5bjbj 5N,'>PPP8D""L@(hhh!!!!!!!$$h&!"!hh1!EEEd8hh!E!EE:!,]!h 6O>PdI! }!$!0""S! 'd']!']! E!!^""dPP English 007: Critical Thinking ǶƵ Dr. Allison Heisch Spring 2007 Office: FO 107 Telephone: 924-4434 Preferred E-mail:  HYPERLINK "mailto:heisch@email.sjsu.edu" heisch@gmail.com Office Hours: Mon & Wed by appointment (7-7:30;10:30-11:30 & other times ) Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 1A English 007 satisfies requirement A3 of Core GE Required texts: Sherry Diestler, Becoming a Critical Thinker .4th ed. Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. 2004 A recent handbook of English grammar and style (Recommended: Diana Hacker,A Pocket Style Manual, 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford St. Martins. 2000) Online,up-to-date course information: This course is registered at www.schoolnotes.com. To check on assignments, changes in schedule, anything happening in the course, you should register by going to schoolnotes.com and entering your information. This course is listed at 95192 as critthink. Through your registration, you will be able to keep current with this class. This class is also registered at www.turnitin.Com. Members of the class will receive information explaining how to register for this class with Turnitin. That registration is required; students will be submitting work for the courseessays and teststo that site as well as in hard copy. The class gradebook is kept on that site,so you need to be able to submit work there in order to receive credit for it. Note: the professor may on occasion assign readings from sources available online. Such assignments will typically be made in class or links will be added to the schoolnotes site. Students should routinely (i.e. daily) check their email for notices regarding the class. Be aware that students are entitled to an ǶƵ email account and that laptop computers are always available for use in the library Course Objectives Taking this course should help you learn how to think in the following ways: It should enable you To be able to locate, retrieve, organize, analyze, synthesize, and communicate information of relevance to the subject matter of the course To understand how arguments are structured To learn how to reason effectively, orally and in writing To develop the habit of intellectual autonomy To develop or improve your appreciation of different world views To cultivate courage and perseverance in inquiry and commitment to employ analytical reasoning To be able reliably to distinguish between reasoning (e.g., explanation, argument) and other types of discourse (e.g., description, assertion) To be able reliably to find and state crucial unstated assumptions in reasoning To be able reliably to evaluate factual claims or statements used in reasoning and the sources of evidence for such claims It should also enable you To be able to apply principles of critical thinking to your daily life To become a better reader and writer, and to develop the vocabulary of an educated person To become a better thinker and a more interesting person To lead a happier (and less confused) life Course Content: students will analyze, evaluate, and construct their own arguments about a variety of issues both practical and ethical: these will probably include questions about such matters as gender, class, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Also: religion, politics, and in generalmost of the things you are usually advised to avoid discussing. The course will teach formal and informal methods for determining the validity of deductive reasoning and the strength of inductive reasoning, including a consideration of common fallacies in inductive and deductive reasoning. We will consider value conflicts and the ways our personal views affect judgment. We will pay special attention to semantics-- the use of language-- and we will (briefly) study the use and methodologies of statistical evidence. Students should remember that this is an English Department course, and as such will require and expect considerable and correct writing. Along the way, you will also practice oral presentation skills, library research skills, and collaborative work. Grading and Evaluation Weekly assignments/homework 20% Participation 30% Papers 30% Final 20% I calculate course grades by means of a point system. You accumulate points through: 1) your presence and serious participation 2) oral and written assignments 3) written exercises and tests. PLEASE NOTE: Because the tests you are given will be used as a means of reinforcing what you have read and because the test items will not have themselves been tested, they will be graded holistically. Work you do to prepare for a class exerciseincluding any written workwill be evaluated for its intrinsic quality and also for its presentation: looks do count! The final essay examination for this class will be assigned points equal to 20% of your grade. It will consist of an analytical essay on a topic of current interest and a review of significant elements of the text. The total number of accumulated points will determine your grade in the course. That number will be translated into a percentage and then to a letter grade (which may be accompanied by a plus or minus): 90-100% = A; 80-89% =B;70-79% = C; 60-69% =D; Below 59% =failing. Participation: Participation, which requires attendance, is extremely important in this early-morning class. If you are in doubt about your ability to arrive in the classroom on time each class period, you should not enroll in this course. An attendance sheet will be circulated at the beginning of each class period. Homework: Homework will include exercises and questions from the text. Typically, as we go through a chapter, you will be assigned a quiz, a written exercise to be downloaded from schoolnotes.com, or an essay. These assignments will be worth up to 10 points each. Class work may require activities such as locating editorials on-line to be used in conjunction with readings in the text. During the first two weeks of the semester, students must complete two on-line library tutorials (Info Power and Plagiarism). Students may register for these tutorials on-line by going to the ǶƵ library website. They will be counted as individual home work assignments (i.e. 10 possible points per exercise). Students will be responsible for down-loading and printing their own copies of articles assigned for class discussion. If for some reason you miss a class, you should check with a classmate to be sure you are prepared for the next class: although we usually stay in touch via schoolnotes.com and Turnitin, the class discussion or some topic that arises may cause your professor to make an assignment spontaneously. Preliminary Essay: At the bottom of the schoolnotes.com course site, you will find a link to an editorial. Your assignment is to download a copy (which you will bring to class), read the essay, and write a two to three page essay (one-inch margins, double-spaced, perfectly proofread, etc.) in which you discuss the relevance or irrelevance of the essay to contemporary issues. You may write about this from any vantage you wish. The single requirement is that your response be interesting and original. That essay is due at the second meeting of the class. Extra Things to do for your head: Through  HYPERLINK "http://www.dictionary.com" www.dictionary.com you may subscribe to Doctor Dictionary: Word of the Day. This subscription will deliver a new word to you each day. You should also pay a visit to  HYPERLINK "http://www.politicalcompass.org" www.politicalcompass.org and take a test that will tell you interesting things about yourself. Another extremely interesting site for telling you about yourself can be found by logging on to  HYPERLINK "http://www.authentichappiness.com" www.authentichappiness.com: there you will find various tests that may help you understand the psycho-social you. Judging your progress in the course: You should be able to calculate your status in the course by keeping track of the things I use to assign your grade: 1)presence and participation 2)points you accumulate for exercises and papers. General Advice: If you are having difficulty with any aspect of this course or if you have a personal emergency, you should contact me promptly. I will be helpful to you in any reasonable way, but it is your responsibility to alert me to the problem. Students who attend faithfully, participate meaningfully and write coherently typically succeed in this class. Missing class or showing up unprepared and not participating will have negative consequences. Classroom Etiquette and Other Important Rules Cell Phones and computers must be turned off Attendance is noted at the beginning of class All papers and homework are to be submitted with your name, my name, the course name, the name or number of the assignment and the date of submission at the top right of the first page. If your work is late, you must write me a proper letter explaining the circumstances and suggesting to me reasons why I should consider accepting it. Caveat: Please keep a copy of any out of class written work you submit and retain all graded work until the end of the semester. Plagiarism, the submission of anothers work as ones own (in any sense), cheating of any kind, or the submission of work done for another class, will be dealt with according to university policy. Special Accommodation: Please see me if you have ADA issues of any kind. I will gladly arrange satisfactory accommodation for you.  Tentative Schedule Spring Semester 2007 (this is subject to change) Week 1: 1/24: Introduction to the course Homework: Library Tutorials Reading: Diestler, Chap. 1 (hereafter D= Diestler, 1 = Chap. 1) Week 2: 1/29-2 1 What is a critical thinker and when do you need to be one? Exercises: Analysis of editorials and articles, impromptu opinion statements. Homework: Library Tutorials; preliminary essay due Week 3: 2/5-7 Ethics and Values Reading D2 Discussion: Values and value assumptions, ethical standards in argumentation. Exercises: Value conflicts, Real and Ideal Week 4 :2/12-14 Assumptions Reading D3 Discussion: Reality assumptions and deductive reasoning. Exercises: Opinions on controversial issues, critical inference test: assumptions Week 5: 2/19-21 Statistics Reading D4 Discussion: The use and compilation of statistical evidence; reporting of statistical research. Week 6 2/26-28 Evidence and Expertise Reading D5 Discussion Controlled research studies, expert testimony, bias. Week 7 3/5-7 Informal Fallacies Reading D6 Discussion: Logical fallacies. Week 8 3/12-14 Continue Informal Fallacies Week 9 3/19-21 Language and Semantics Reading D7 Discussion: Denotation and connotation, vagueness and ambiguity, doublespeak, and weasel words. Week 10 3/26-30 SPRING BREAK Week 11 4/2-4 TBA Week 12 4/9-11 TBA Week 13 4/16-18 Making and Breaking Arguments Reading D9 Discussion: Defense mechanisms, points of logical vulnerability, semantic devices, and active listening. Week 14 4/23-25 Continue Argumentation Week 15 4/30-5/2 Persuasion Reading: D 10 Discussion: Persuasive speaking, organizing and presenting ideas, overcoming speech fear. Week 16 5/7-9 Continue Persuasion Week 17 5/14 Last Day of Class Eng 007 Final Examination Thursday, May 17 7:15 AM     PAGE 1 PAGE 1 The Department of English and Comparative Literature reaffirms its commitment to the differential grading scale as defined in the official ǶƵ Catalog (The Grading System). Grades issued must represent a full range of student performance: A=excellent; B=Above Average; C=Average; D=Below Average; F=failure. 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