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Clayton State University Department of Communicative Arts & Integrative Studies

Syllabus For Crit 1101: Critical Thinking

Part One: General Course Objectives and Policy Information

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  • COURSE DESCRIPTION:

    CRIT 1101 -- Critical Thinking (3-0-3): A course focusing on skills essential to effective critical thinking in both academic and general use. The study of important common components (issue, method, evidence, conclusion) provides a basis for the construction, analysis, and evaluation, of arguments in a variety of contexts. The course also addresses fundamental elements of informal logic (e.g., induction, deduction, fallacy-avoidance) and of elementary formal logic (e.g., tests for validity) as they inform good reasoning in any context, from everyday decision-making to academic argumentation. [Note: Learning Support students who are required to take ENGL 0099 and/or READ 0099 must exit the requirement(s) before they can enroll in this course.]

  • CRITICAL THINKING AND THE GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM:

    Instruction in the skill of Critical Thinking is an essential part of your education here at Clayton State University, just as is instruction on the college level in the skill of Communication. Courses are set aside in the initial stage of the University's General Education curriculum to focus directly on these skills: CRIT 1101 for Critical Thinking; ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102 for Communication. Other courses in the curriculum will provide additional instruction and assessment in Critical Thinking or Communication or both.

    Clayton State University has identified components which anchor the concept of critical thinking, thereby securing its ready application in any discipline and in any course. Students will, in fact, be asked in course after course to demonstrate their understanding of these anchor points and their ability to organize particular instances of critical thought in terms of them. These key components of Critical Thinking are

    • Question/Issue: Asking questions and addressing issues provides the structure for a continuous process of inquiry which results in the expansion of knowledge, which makes the critical thinking process dynamic. Focused and specific questions or precisely formulated issue statements are prerequisite to effective inquiry and to the production of good and useful answers, which themselves promote further useful inquiry, which in turn spawns new questions.
    • Method: Academic disciplines have traditionally been concerned with different aspects of our lives and the world around us. They have asked different types of questions and have developed different methods to find answers. The academic method selected in a given situation is therefore relative to the task and will vary from discipline to discipline and from task to task. The method and procedures of scientific reasoning, for example, are tailored to the production and testing of hypotheses and rely on empirical data. Aesthetic reasoning, on the other hand, is less reliant on empirical evidence and is focused on the search for answers to literary or artistic questions. Specific criteria for determining method will vary depending on the disciplines involved and the nature of the inquiry.
    • Evidence: Evidence is the totality of information gathered to find answers to questions or to support conclusions or judgments. The type of information gathered will vary depending on the issue at hand, the academic discipline involved, and the method of inquiry selected. The strength or value of evidence is determined by its relevance to the question or task at hand and by its reliability and sufficiency to support conclusions reached or answers to questions posed. In short, one seeks evidence statements that are true and that logically support asserted conclusions.
    • Conclusion: The conclusion is the result of the inquiry or task. It may be a decision, an answer to a problem, an interpretation of history or music, a reasoned explanation, a new perspective. An acceptable conclusion is one that is well justified by the evidence and that fits the evidence, being neither too broad nor too narrow.
  • GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE:

    Course Goal: By the end of the course, successful students will have a deeper understanding and appreciation of the concepts of Issue, Method, Evidence, and Conclusion as the foundation of virtually all types of clear, careful reasoning. Specifically, students will learn to:

    • Recognize the role of critical thinking in various academic disciplines and in professional and personal decision- making.
    • Recognize the importance of precise and clear language, appropriate sentence construction, and nonverbal elements in expressions of thought.
    • Solve problems systematically.
    • Identify arguments and distinguish their premises and conclusions, making clear the relationships of subordinate arguments to main arguments.
    • Recognize and avoid common informal fallacies.
    • Evaluate evidence for truth or reliability, relevance, and sufficiency.
    • Distinguish inductive from deductive reasoning, including the ability to recognize common forms of inductive argument and common forms of deductive argument.
    • Evaluate inductive arguments for strength and cogency, with particular attention to analogical, causal, and statistical arguments.
    • Evaluate deductive arguments for validity and soundness, with particular attention to categorical and hypothetical arguments.

    Student progress in meeting these objectives will be measured by a combination of critical thinking assignments and chapter, unit, and cumulative examinations. See Part II below for specific class assignments and examination requirements. Critical thinking assignments may involve academic questions (historical, social, scientific, etc.), contemporary issues, professional or occupational concerns, personal interests, or some combination thereof. Tasks may require construction of original argument or explanation, clarification and evaluation of existing argument or explanations, or hypothesis positing and testing. Exercises from the textbook are especially important in preparing students for the examinations. Assignments may include team projects and class presentations.

    The content of this course syllabus correlates to education standards established by national and state education governing agencies, accrediting agencies and learned society/professional education associations. Please refer to the course correlation matrices located at the following web site: http://a-s.clayton.edu/teachered/Standards and Outcomes.htm

    REQUIRED TEXT: Patrick Hurley, A Concise Introduction to Logic, 8th edition.

  • ATTENDANCE AND WORK ETHIC:

    Students are expected to attend all class meetings, conferences with their instructors, appointments in the Learning Center, and other scheduled class activities, either "live" or arranged by e-mail or Internet. If you miss a class or other appointment, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and to make up any work you are permitted to make up. Poor attendance, tardiness, lack of class preparation, and other lapses in responsibility will very likely impede both learning and class performance. Late work and unexcused absences or tardiness may incur grade penalties, as outlined in each instructor's syllabus supplement. Students enrolled in online sections are expected to participate in all synchronous and asynchronous activities as designated by the instructor. Failure to do so can be grounds for failure in the course.

  • OTHER CLASS POLICIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
    • Major assignments must be typed, using standard formats. No assignment written in pencil will be accepted.
    • Failure to submit an assignment or other failure to complete required work is grounds for a course grade of F.
    • Students will be penalized for turning work in late.
    • Students will be expected to cooperate and work as a team on certain assignments. Students enrolled in online sections will be expected to participate in all synchronous and asynchronous activities as designed by the instructor. Failure to do so can be grounds for a course grade of F.
    • Homework is essential to doing well in Critical Thinking 1101. Success in college usually requires two or more hours of preparation outside of class for each hour spent in the classroom. For CRIT1101, this means approximately six hours each week of outside class work in addition to time spent in class. In some cases, even more outside time may be necessary in order to achieve at a C or higher level.
    • While group work in class and for studying or doing group projects outside of class is encouraged, collaboration on work assigned for individual completion is not permitted. Each student should be aware that the copying of another student's written work is plagiarism. If there is evidence of plagiarism or collaboration, those involved will receive a grade of zero for that work and may be subject to action by the Dean of Student and Enrollment Services. (Policies regarding student responsibilities are found in the Clayton State University Student Handbook.)
    • No make-up exams will be given in this course except upon the presentation of a signed physician's excuse or other appropriate documentation.
    • Always keep copies--either electronic or print-of your written work until after you receive your final grade in the course. You should keep print copies of all your important electronic files. Your instructor will retain your hardcopy final exam, and may retain the originals or copies of your other papers.
    • From time to time, students in any educational institution may be asked to participate in national, statewide, or local surveys or tests whose primary purpose is to gather information relevant to measuring and increasing the quality of education. If your class is involved in such surveying or testing, your participation is required.
    • If you have any questions or concerns about your class, please speak with your instructor as soon as possible. If your questions or concerns remain after you have conferred with your instructor, you may see the Head of the Department of Communicative Arts & Integrative Studies in office 210-D in the Arts and Sciences Building.