University of Nevada Las Vegas (Singapore)
Critical Thinking/Rebel 9
Fall, 2011
Dr. Erik N. Lindland
Classroom 2
Monday 12-3:15pm and Wednesday 3:30-6:45pm
Office Hours: After Class and by Appointment
Email: lindland@unlv.nevada.edu
Course Website: criticalthinkingunlvsing.blogspot.com
COURSE OBJECTIVES/ LEARNING OBJECTIVES/ LEARNING OUTCOMES |
In this course students are expected to acquire the following knowledge and skill sets:
1. An understanding of Philosophy and its Four Braches of Study
2. An ability to distinguish Matters of Opinion and Matters of Fact
3. An understanding of the technical definition of argumentation and its components
4. An ability to distinguish arguments from non-arguments
5. An understanding of what an issue is and the ability to identify the main issue in a paragraph
6. An understanding of the different types of arguments and how to evaluate them
7. An understanding of how to correctly evaluate claims and sources for credibility
8. An understanding of the difference between argument and rhetoric
9. An understanding of various “slanters” used to prejudicially load language
10. An ability to spot and correctly identify each slanter
11. An understanding of the various informal fallacies
12. An ability to spot and correctly identify each fallacy
13. An understanding of truth tables and how they can test for validity
14. An ability to use truth tables to test for validity
TEXT / REQUIRED READING / RESOURCES |
Text: CRITICAL THINKING Tenth Edition. Moore and Parker. McGraw Hill, N.Y., 2011.
Additional Handouts will be distributed by the instructor or made available online.
CLASS EXPECTATIONS |
You will be expected to attend class, read the assigned material and do the homework. There will be a mid-term and a final examination covering both the assigned readings and the lectures. The exact time of these exams will be announced in class. There may also be some quizzes from time to time.
Turn off your cell-phone before you enter the classroom!
ATTENDANCE POLICIES |
Students are expected to attend every class and to be on time. Since each class is three hours and fifteen minutes long we will be covering a lot of material during each of our meetings. It is best to think of a Critical Thinking course as akin to a math course in that the concepts build on each other. Therefore, missing any layer of course material can easily lead to disorientation and poor class performance.
In addition, I tailor make each course to the skills and abilities of the students in each class. Because of this there is no schedule “set in stone” (though I will provide a rough guide below). If you miss a class you are going to need to make sure that you get the homework assignments and notes from one of your fellow students
PUNCTUALITY:
Please be on time for class as late arrivals are disruptive and can impair the ability of your fellow students to concentrate on the course material. At the beginning of each class I will ask you to pick up a sheet of paper upon which I will ask you to respond to a question at the end of each class.
After class has started I will “pull” these papers and late arrivals will not be able to participate or obtain credit for that particular assignment.
MISSED CLASS(ES) / STUDENT |
If you have to miss a class for a religious holiday, an official UNLV extracurricular activity or for any other approved reason please let me know ahead of time that you will be missing class and we will make the appropriate arrangements.
EXAMS RELATED |
The mid-term exam will be scheduled approximately half-way through the course once we have covered the materials covering argument, argument evaluation and credibility. The final exam is scheduled for the last day of class.
CALCULATION OF COURSE GRADES |
Your final grade for the course will be based on scores you attain for the following assessments:
Assessment Component | Percentage (Example) | Score (Example) |
Mid-Term Exam | 45% | 100 |
Final Exam | 45% | 100 |
Participation, Homework and Quizzes | 10% | NA |
Total | 100% | 200 + |
As you can see each exam will be worth 45% of your grade. Quizzes, homework and participation will count for a combined total of 10%.
GRADING SCALE AND EXPLANATION OF GRADE (QUALITY, QUANTIFY OF KNOWLEDGE, ABILITY, ETC) |
Grade | Percentage Value % |
A | 100-93 |
A - | 92-90 |
B + | 89-87 |
B | 86-83 |
B - | 82-80 |
C + | 79-77 |
C | 76-73 |
C - | 72-70 |
D + | 69-67 |
D | 66-63 |
D - | 62-60 |
F | 59-00 |
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POSTING OF GRADES |
Final grades will be posted on MyUNLV no later than noon on the Monday following the last day of class.
All completed coursework will be retained for a period of one calendar year from the date of the last day of the term/semester and all grades will be kept permanently.
REBELMAIL |
The official means of communication between instructors and students is through our Rebelmail accounts. Please use your Rebelmail e-mail account when contacting me.
More importantly, if I need to send a notification out to the entire class you will only receive it if you are checking your Rebelmail account.
ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT |
Academic integrity is a legitimate concern for every member of the campus community; all share in upholding the fundamental values of honesty, trust, respect, fairness, responsibility and professionalism. By choosing to join the UNLV community, students accept the expectations of the Academic Misconduct Policy and are encouraged when faced with choices to always take the ethical path. Students enrolling in UNLV assume the obligation to conduct themselves in a manner compatible with UNLV’s function as an educational institution.
An example of academic misconduct is plagiarism. Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of another, from the Internet or any source, without proper citation of the sources. See the Student Academic Misconduct Policy (approved December 9, 2005) located at: http://studentconduct.unlv.edu/misconduct/policy.html
COPYRIGHT |
Copyright – The University requires all members of the University Community to familiarize themselves and to follow copyright and fair use requirements. You are individually and solely responsible for violations of copyright and fair use laws. The university will neither protect nor defend you nor assume any responsibility for employee or student violations of fair use laws. Violations of copyright laws could subject you to federal and state civil penalties and criminal liability, as well as disciplinary action under University policies. Additional information can be found at: http://www.unlv.edu/committees/copyright/
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS POLICY |
Religious Holidays Policy -- Any student missing class quizzes, examinations, or any other class or work because of observance of religious holidays shall be given an opportunity during that course period to make up missed work. The make-up work will apply to the religious holiday absence period only. It shall be the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor no later than the last day of late registration of his or her intention to participate in religious holidays which do not fall on holidays or periods of class recess. This policy shall not apply in the event that administering the test or examination at an alternate time would impose an undue hardship on the instructor or the university which could have been avoided. For additional information, please visit: http://catalog.unlv.edu/content.php?catoid=4&navoid=164
ANY OTHER CLASS SPECIFIC POLICIES |
As stated above, please turn off your cell phones before entering the classroom. Laptops are acceptable for taking notes but not for surfing the internet during class. Critical Thinking is a course that requires quite a bit of concentration and distracting yourself through surfing and texting is highly likely to lead to poor course performance. You are invited and encouraged to record each lecture if you wish.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS / COURSE CALENDAR / TOPICS |
In this course we will learn how to evaluate, analyze and construct arguments. Along the way we will learn how to detect rhetorical strategies that are frequently employed to stymie thinking, confuse issues and misdirect attention. We will conclude with a brief introduction to formal argument analysis.
The following course schedule is only approximate and subject to change. Activities listed under Assignments/Homework will either be completed in class or assigned for homework.
| Class | DATE/DAY | TOPIC | ACTIVITY | ASSIGNMENTS/HOMEWORK |
| 1 | Aug 29 | Introduction to Course The Four Branches of Philosophy Lecture | Lecture, Discussion | Read Clifford’s ‘The Ethics of Belief’ Part I. The Duty of Inquiry |
| 2 | Aug 31 | Clifford’s ‘The Ethics of Belief’ Milgram’s ‘Obedience’ | Quiz #1 Lecture, Discussion | Read Chapter One |
| 3 | Sept 5 | The Fundamentals of Logic/ Argumentation Matters of Fact Versus Matters of Opinion | Lecture, Discussion, In Class Individual and Group Work | Read Selection from Chapter Two (pp. 39-42). Ex. 1-3 Ex. 1-4 (skip: #9) |
| 4 | Sept 7 | Matters of Fact Versus Matters of Opinion (Review and Practice) Argument Versus Non-Argument | Homework Review, Individual and Group Work, Lecture, Discussion | Ex. 1-5 Ex. 1-6 Matter of Fact Versus Opinion Handouts |
| 5 | Sept 12 | Argument Versus Non-Argument (Review and Practice) Focused Topic: Argument Versus Explanation Finding the Main Issue | Quiz #2 Homework Review, Individual and Group Work, Lecture, Discussion | Ex. 1-11 Ex. 1-7 Ex. 1-12 Argument Versus Explanation Handouts Read: Chapter Three (pp. 69-81). |
| 6 | Sept 14 | Finding the Main Issue (Review) Vagueness Ambiguity | Homework Review, Lecture, Discussion, In Class Individual and Group Work | Ex. 3-1 Ex. 3-2 Ex. 3-7 Read Chapter Four |
| 7 | Sept 19 | Ambiguity (Review) Credibility Mid-Term Exam Review | Homework Review, Lecture, Discussion | Study for Mid-Term Examination Prepare Short Essay Question |
| 8 | Sept 21 | Mid-Term Examination | | Read Chapter Five |
| 9 | Sept 26 | Mid-Terms Handed Back Logic Versus Rhetoric Slanters | Mid-Term Review, Lecture, Discussion, In Class Individual and Group Work | Ex. 5-6 Ex. 5-7 Ex. 5-8 Ex. 5-15 Ex. 5-16 Read Chapter 6 |
| 10 | Sept 28 | Slanters (Review and Practice) Begin: Psychological and Related Fallacies | Homework Review, In Class Individual and Group Work | Slanters Handouts Ex. 5-18 Read Chapter 7 |
| 11 | Oct 3 | Psychological and Related Fallacies Begin: More Fallacies | Homework Review, Lecture, Discussion, In Class Individual and Group Work | Ex. 6-2 Ex. 6-6 Ex. 6-8 |
| 12 | Oct 5 | More Fallacies | Homework Review, Lecture, Discussion, In Class and Individual Group Work | Ex. 7-3 Ex. 7-4 Ex. 7-5 Ex. 7-6 |
| 13 | Oct 10 | Mixed Fallacies (Ch. 6 and 7) Final Exam Review | Homework Review, In Class Individual and Group Work, Discussion | Ex. 7-9 Ex. 7-10 Ex. 7-11 Study for Final Examination |
| 14 | Oct 12 | Final Examination | | |
DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS |
UNLV Singapore is committed to fostering a diverse community that includes individuals with disabilities. A variety of course-related reasonable accommodations are provided to students with documented disabilities. Specific accommodations for students are determined on a case-by-case, course-by-course, and sometimes test-by-test basis. Examples of these accommodations include, but are not limited to the following: test proctoring services; extended time for tests; and distraction reduced environments.
All course-related reasonable accommodation requests should first be directed to the course instructor. The course instructor should contact the Chief Academic Officer, to verify if the student’s disability has been documented by the appropriate practitioner.
