PHIL 2374: CRITICAL THINKING
COURSE INFORMATION 8 - 2003
Student Conference Times: MW 2:15 -- 3:15 TTh 2:15 -- 3:15 Fri 11:20 — 12:00
9:00 -- 9:15 Tue. Night (And most afternoons when I am not in class)
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION: Surveys thinking strategies useful in developing effective analytical and creative thinking skills, with an emphasis on developing autonomous (self-managed) thinking habits. Develop competencies in recognizing different types of reasoning, evaluating supporting ideas, and constructing arguments. Course includes both theory and practice for developing effective problem-solving skills. NOTE: PHIL 2303 and 2374 cannot both be taken for credit. Semester Hours 3 (3 lec)
GRADING: Two Exams: (@25% each) 50%
Writing assignments/Pop quizzes/Attendance/Punctuality/Participation 25%
Response Report on Covey's Seven Habits 25%
EXAMS: The mid-term and the final exams will cover both the concepts (theory) and the skills (practice) included in this course. These exams will be mostly subjective. Specific and detailed exam objectives will be given to students prior to each exam. (So there will be no surprises on the exams.)
CLASS ATTENDANCE: Given the subject matter of this course and the way student skills are practiced, regular and punctual attendance is essential to student success. Students with excessive absences will be dropped from the course in accordance with the following policy: Except in cases of significant (and documented) extenuating circumstances, students who miss two consecutive weeks of class or who accumulate absences which total 25% of the semester' s scheduled meetings WILL BE DROPPED from the course!. Should you ever have to miss consecutive classes, I suggest that you contact me by phone. Students are responsible for all work assigned or covered in classes from which they were absent. Students will be provided with periodic updates regarding their attendance status.
PUNCTUALITY, AND PARTICIPATION: Habitual tardiness and repeated early departures from the class are disruptive and will not be tolerated. Nor will students be permitted to wander in and out of class! These activities will be counted as partial absences and treated accordingly. If you should ever have to come into this class late, PLEASE DO NOT CUT CLASS. Instead, please enter quietly and take a seat BY THE DOOR and then check with me after class to assure that I have your partial attendance credited. So, please note that a rare late arrival will NOT cause you problems, but recurring tardiness will eventually lead to a student being dropped from the course. The great majority of college students understand the need for civility toward others. Most students routinely exhibit such behavior, and expect their classrooms to be free from serious distractions. So please be assured that significant or chronic disruptive behaviors will not be tolerated in this class. (For example: abusive language, eating, sleeping, chatting, cell phone use, bringing children or other guests, etc.)
ATTITUDES AND MENTAL STRATIGIES: The attitudes and mental strategies that students must exhibit during this semester are a basic part of the content of this course, and each student's performance will be evaluated accordingly. As you will discover during the course of the semester, attendance and punctuality are aspects of time management (or, as we will emphasize--a matter of priority management), and that is fundamentally a thinking skill --a skill that this class seeks to teach. I cannot make you come to class. I cannot make you want to be here on time. (I cannot make you do anything! But I can demonstrate for you that there are “real world” consequences that result from our actions, especially those that are habitual. Please know that I expect you to do well on this objective, and I expect you to succeed in this course. I pledge that I will make every reasonable effort to assist you in that effort and I expect you to do those things necessary for you to learn the course skills and concepts.
“MISSING PERSON” REPORTS: Students are responsible for making up all missed coursework. And that includes submitting a one-page (hand-written, double spaced) summary of the class notes including a description of the activities, handouts, and assignments given for each and every missed class session. The summaries (with the date you missed class listed in the title) are always due one week following your return to class. These reports will count as a portion of your writing assignment grade, and I perhaps should warn you that since you are responsible for keeping up with your assignments, that I will not be giving you repeated reminders about this assignment. You will be expected to catch up any missed material very quickly! If you should miss a class, next time come to class early enough to get a quick review from a neighbor. Needless to say, this will also help you get ready for pop quizzes!
COVEY RESPONSE ESSAY: Each student will read Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and mark those passages which are found to be provocative, significant, insightful, helpful etc. After completing the reading (and the highlighting or marking) you should go back through the book reviewing the accented passages and select at least five quotes (or groups of quotes) which, in your judgment, contain important ideas (concepts, insights, suggestions etc.) that you determine to be most significant. Arrange the five ideas (and you are not being asked necessarily, to find one in each chapter!) in descending order of importance, and write a (oh, let's say, seven to ten page, double-spaced typed) paper that presents your personal RESPONSE (your reaction, how you relate) to each of the key ideas. To assist you with you motivation to get the reading done, you will be assigned specific chapters to read each week, beginning with the second week of class. The final paper is due in my office by five P.M. on Friday of the fourteenth week of class. (I will give you more detailed instructions for this assignment later.)
OTHER ASSIGNMENTS: Various thinking and writing assignments will be made throughout the semester. All written materials (including pop quizzes) must be turned in on standard size (8.5' x 11') paper with smooth edges (no spiral binding debris). Please make a habit of putting your name in the far, upper left hand corner of the page LAST NAME, FIRST. Unless otherwise instructed, you may turn in handwritten assignments as long as they are neat and legible. And most important, please put good thought into all of your assignments. Students will be responsible for turning in all work properly and on time. (Yes, a penalty will be assessed for late work.) Students are asked to make it a habit in this course of retaining a copy of each assignment turned in to me. (Keeping good records is a good example of one of the specific convergent thinking skills taught in this course.) Students should always be prepared for a pop quiz over all assigned readings and over material covered in the previous class session.
SPECIAL HELP FOR STUDENTS: Students are expected to work diligently to master the course skills. Anyone who experiences significant or prolonged difficulty with course content is expected to seek individual assistance from the instructor (and perhaps in some cases, from the Tutorial Center In accordance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), MCC's designated ADA co-coordinators, Dr. Johnette McKown, Executive Vice President and Dr. Lynn Abernathy, Vice President, Student Services, are responsible for coordinating the College's efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under ADA. Students with disabilities requiring physical alteration of the classroom setting (e.g., separate table and chair, wheelchair access, etc.) should inform their instructor or contact Dianne Feyerherm at 299-8843 or dfeyerherm@mclennan.edu . Students with all other disabilities (e.g., learning, ADD, dyslexia, etc.) should contact Katie Garrett at 299-8428 or kgarrett@mclennan.edu
COURSE CONTENT: This course includes a little bit of theory and a lot of practice. Students will be expected to demonstrate familiarity with a variety of thinking styles and strategies. The goal of this course is to develop the student's understanding of how people think effectively and to improve his/her abilities to perform all three types of thinking skills covered in this course:
1. CONVERGENT (or "Critical") THINKING: These are the skills of (logical & scientific) analysis.
2. CREATIVE (or "Divergent", or “Lateral”) THINKING: These are the skills of productive thinking.
3. CONTROL (or "Managed") THINKING: These are the skills that we use in managing our thinking.