Week #1: What is critical thinking?

(Week 1: March 16-22)

Goals, overview. This course is about “critical thinking,” which Wikipedia defines as “…purposeful and reflective judgment about what to believe or do in response to observations, experience, verbal or written expressions, or arguments.” The goal of this activity is to consider critical thinking as a perspective that is essential to the researcher.

Activities. Go to the Wikipedia article about critical thinking and spend an hour or so reading the material and linked materials it provides. Feel free to read any other materials you wish on this topic.

Then visit The Critical Thinking Community website. It is run by Richard Paul, a long time leader in the critical thinking movement. Two provisos about the Paul material:
  1. Paul focuses a good deal on education, and teachers who are trying to find ways to infuse instruction with his critical thinking concepts. Thus, he makes a number of references to this focus. However, his principles are widely applicable and translate easily to any profession.

  2. Paul is trying to sell his services. You will see advertisements for materials and workshops throughout his material. While this doesn't devalue his contribution, be aware of the fact that you are being pitched a service.
I recommend that you spend an hour or so scanning his resources, reading those materials that resonate with you. In particular I like Critical Thinking in Everyday Life: 9 Strategies and Personal and Professional Development.

Forum discussion question: What are the two or three most important qualities of critical thinking that you discerned from your activities this week? Respond to this question, as well as at least two other posts from colleagues. Discussion concludes over the weekend.

Post on your blog, using the heading “A definition of critical thinking.” In a minimum of 2-3 paragraphs, post a definition of critical thinking that you have cultivated as a result of this activity. What are your “take-away” realizations as a result of this activity? As always, feel free to note any biases you suspect in the materials that were used. Also, be vigilant about using visually differentiated text in your presentation. Blogs postings must be completed by Sunday evening.

Extra links, materials for your consideration

Professor Dowden's critical thinking materials:
Other links:
On the lighter side
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Week #2: What are urban legends?

(Week 2: March 23-29)

Goals, overview. There is a good deal of storytelling going on in the media. Some is deliberate, some is inadvertent and some happens just because information exchanges hands so many times that error and embellishment become part of the public narrative. The goal of this activity is to look at the tension that exists between the proliferation of what are often referred to as “urban legends” and those who seek to distinguish fact from fiction.

Activities. Urban legends - or suspected urban legends - abound. Here are just a few:
  • The $600 hammer. Remember hearing about the military’s $600 hammer? We tended to believe the story was true because we have a bias about believing that government wastes money. But, it wasn’t true – or at least one source says it wasn’t. Read all about it.

  • Sarah Palin's SAT scores. Here’s another example of a possible urban legend that rippled through the web. During the era of Sarah Palin’s notoriety, a very convincing image of her rather low SAT scores began circulating on the web. However, at least one reader was convinced that he was seeing digital forgery. Read all about it.
Now it's your turn. Go to Snopes or another debunking site, and spend an hour or so reading material and linked material until you find something that challenges a previously held opinion or “truth assumption” you had subscribed to.

Forum discussion question: Based on your activities this week, what do you think causes the wide discrepancies in "the truth" that proliferate throughout the web? Respond to this question, as well as at least two other posts from colleagues. Also, respond to two other posts from colleagues. Discussion concludes over the weekend.

Post on your blog, using the heading “Urban legends.” Post a minimum of 2-3 paragraphs about what you discovered about the nature of authenticity on the web. What are your “take-away” realizations as a result of this activity? As always, feel free to note any biases you suspect in the materials you used. Also, be vigilant about using visually differentiated text in your presentation. Blog updates need to be completed by Sunday evening.

Extra links and materials
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Week #3: How does music persuade?

(Week 3: March 30- April 5)

Goals, overview. The Jaws theme can make Bambi appear evil. That is because music is one of the most manipulative media within the overall multi media collage. Music easily escapes our judgmental mind, slipping below our conscious radar, skewing how we feel about what we experience. Even Aristotle recognized this when he said in his book Politics that 'music possesses the power of producing an effect on the character of the soul.' The goal of this activity is for you to better understand how this happens.

Activities. Go to my digital storytelling site that addresses the power of music in media. The specific place you are directed to provides links to three movie sequences. They are only 30 seconds long and are identical – except for the music that accompanies them.

Follow this process:
  1. Turn the sound off on your computer and play Movie Sequence One. Take a moment and jot down what you think “the story is” that the clip describes.
  2. Now turn on the sound and play the clip again. Note how the story has changed because of the music. Make some notes about how the story has changed for you.
  3. Play Movie Sequence Two, and note how the story changes for you.
  4. Play Movie Sequence Three, and once again note how the story changes for you.
Compare HBO and network television. Now watch television, and become hyper vigilant of the music. Imagine how the scene you are watching would take on a different meaning if the music were eliminated or changed. Watch an episode of an HBO series, and then one from a network TV series. A primary difference between them is that HBO uses far less music during dialogue, as well as during action. Any ideas as to why that is? Now watch a news cast on a major network. What role does music play?

Forum discussion question: Based on your activities this week, how do you view the role of music in news reporting, or other forms of journalism (vs. entertainment)? Respond to this question, as well as at least two other posts from colleagues. Also, respond to two other posts from colleagues. Discussion concludes over the weekend.

Post on your blog, using the heading “Power of Music.” Post a minimum of 2-3 paragraphs about the persuasive nature of music, including addressing how your perspective may have changed because of this activity. What are your “take-away” realizations as a result of this activity? As always, feel free to note any biases you suspect in the materials you used. Also, be vigilant about using visually differentiated text in your presentation. Remember: blog posts need to be completed by Sunday evening.

Resources and link
Books
* Aristotle quote from Barker's 1948 translation of Politics (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1948), as cited in A Brief History of Citizenship, by Derek Heater (New York University Press, 2004).
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