Thinking Critically - Cal State LA

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Instructor’s Resource Manual
Thinking Critically
NINTH EDITION
John Chaffee
LaGuardia College, City University of New York
Sonya Alvarado
Eastern Michigan University
Bette Davidson Kalash
Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York
Collin Brooke
Old Dominion University
Fred Janzow
Southeast Missouri State University
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ISBN 10: 0-618-94859-7
ISBN 13: 978-0-618-94859-8
Contents
NOTE TO THE INSTRUCTOR .................................................................................................................... V
PART ONE: USING THINKING CRITICALLY
SECTION 1 – HISTORY OF THINKING CRITICALLY, NINTH EDITION ..................................................... 1
SECTION 2 – OVERVIEW OF CRITICAL THINKING ............................................................................... 6
SECTION 3 – TEACHING A CRITICAL THINKING COURSE.................................................................. 13
SECTION 4 – TOM RANDALL’S HALLOWEEN PARTY (THE TEST OF CRITICAL
THINKING ABILITIES)........................................................................................................................... 86
SECTION 5 – SOURCE MATERIAL FOR THE MARY BARNETT CASE ................................................ 102
SECTION 6 – THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT VISUAL IMAGES AND THE INTERNET ....................... 107
PART TWO: READING
NOTE TO THE INSTRUCTOR ................................................................................................................ 115
CHAPTER 1 – THINKING .................................................................................................................. 125
CHAPTER 2 – THINKING CRITICALLY ............................................................................................. 132
CHAPTER 3 – SOLVING PROBLEMS ................................................................................................. 140
CHAPTER 4 – PERCEIVING AND BELIEVING .................................................................................... 151
CHAPTER 5 – CONSTRUCTING KNOWLEDGE .................................................................................. 161
CHAPTER 6 – LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT ....................................................................................... 167
CHAPTER 7 – FORMING AND APPLYING CONCEPTS ....................................................................... 177
CHAPTER 8 – RELATING AND ORGANIZING .................................................................................... 183
CHAPTER 9 – THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT MORAL ISSUES ....................................................... 187
CHAPTER 10 – CONSTRUCTING ARGUMENTS ................................................................................. 190
CHAPTER 11 – REASONING CRITICALLY ........................................................................................ 196
CHAPTER 12 – THINKING CRITICALLY, LIVING CREATIVELY ........................................................ 209
PART THREE: WRITING
NOTE TO THE INSTRUCTOR ................................................................................................................ 215
CHAPTER 1 – THINKING .................................................................................................................. 227
CHAPTER 2 – THINKING CRITICALLY ............................................................................................. 233
CHAPTER 3 – SOLVING PROBLEMS ................................................................................................. 239
CHAPTER 4 – PERCEIVING AND BELIEVING .................................................................................... 245
CHAPTER 5 – CONSTRUCTING KNOWLEDGE .................................................................................. 254
CHAPTER 6 – LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT ....................................................................................... 261
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
iv
Contents
CHAPTER 7 – FORMING AND APPLYING CONCEPTS ........................................................................269
CHAPTER 8 – RELATING AND ORGANIZING ....................................................................................275
CHAPTER 9 – THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT MORAL ISSUES ........................................................280
CHAPTER 10 – CONSTRUCTING ARGUMENTS..................................................................................285
CHAPTER 11 – REASONING CRITICALLY .........................................................................................290
CHAPTER 12 – THINKING CRITICALLY, LIVING CREATIVELY ........................................................297
PART FOUR: USING THINKING CRITICALLY IN FRESHMAN YEAR
EXPERIENCE COURSES
NOTE TO THE INSTRUCTOR .................................................................................................................305
CHAPTER 1 – THINKING ..................................................................................................................313
CHAPTER 2 – THINKING CRITICALLY ..............................................................................................317
CHAPTER 3 – SOLVING PROBLEMS ..................................................................................................321
CHAPTER 4 – PERCEIVING AND BELIEVING ....................................................................................323
CHAPTER 5 – CONSTRUCTING KNOWLEDGE ...................................................................................327
CHAPTER 6 – LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT .......................................................................................330
CHAPTER 7 – FORMING AND APPLYING CONCEPTS ........................................................................334
CHAPTER 8 – RELATING AND ORGANIZING ....................................................................................338
CHAPTER 9 – THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT MORAL ISSUES ........................................................339
CHAPTER 10 – CONSTRUCTING ARGUMENTS..................................................................................341
CHAPTER 11 – REASONING CRITICALLY .........................................................................................346
CHAPTER 12 – THINKING CRITICALLY, LIVING CREATIVELY ........................................................350
PART FIVE: BIBLIOGRAPHY
CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING ..................................................................................................353
THINKING CRITICALLY AND READING AND WRITING ..........................................................................358
Note to the Instructor
This Instructor’s Resource Manual is unique because its subject—critical thinking—is an emerging,
evolving area of inquiry. Critical thinking is developing as a distinct field of study that focuses on
understanding the cognitive process in an integrated interdisciplinary fashion. It also has as its goal
improving people’s thinking abilities, helping them develop the sophisticated, higher-order intellectual
and language abilities needed to understand the world and make informed decisions.
The Instructor’s Resource Manual is divided into five parts. Part One, “Using Thinking Critically,” is
an introduction to and overview of teaching a critical thinking course. Part One was written by John
Chaffee.
Because critical thinking is a new field of study—with its own intellectual framework, concepts, and
methodologies—the first two sections in Part One (“History of Thinking Critically, Ninth Edition” and
“Overview of Critical Thinking”) provide essential background information, address key issues, and
suggest general strategies for promoting critical thinking abilities. Section 3 of Part One provides
specific suggestions for using the textbook to teach a critical thinking course. Section 4 of Part One is
“Tom Randall’s Halloween Party (The Test of Critical Thinking Abilities)” developed by John Chaffee.
It is provided in a form that can be printed out and reproduced, and it intended to allow for a
comprehensive evaluation of student thinking and language abilities. Using a court case format arising
from a fatal student drinking incident, students are challenged to gather and weigh evidence, ask
relevant questions, construct informed beliefs, evaluate expert testimony and summation arguments,
reach a verdict, and then view the entire case from a problem-solving perspective.
Section 5 contains an article on the Mary Barnett case in Chapter 2. Section 6 provides suggestions on
how to teach the visual images found throughout the text as well as further resources to explore.
Because Thinking Critically is used as a textbook in a variety of other courses, including
writing/composition and reading, Part Two, “Reading,” and Part Three, “Writing,” discuss explicitly
how to use the text best in these courses. Written by Bette Davidson Kalash and Collin Brooke, Parts
Two and Three contain general strategies, sample syllabi, and chapter-by-chapter activities. Part Two
was also revised and updated by Dawn Graziani of Santa Fe Community College. Many of these
activities include handouts designed to be printed out and distributed to your class.
Part Four, “Using Thinking Critically in Freshman Year Experience Courses,” written by Fred Janzow
of Southeast Missouri State University, details how to use the text in courses and seminars explicitly
devoted to entering freshmen. This section includes sample syllabi, specific suggestions, and activities
designed for the special needs of entering freshmen.
Part Five, “Bibliography,” includes both a comprehensive bibliography of the field of critical thinking
and a bibliography that contains suggested fiction and nonfiction readings and films for enriching and
elaborating the themes of the text.
Thinking Critically, Ninth Edition, is based on the conviction that thinking and language abilities
develop in an integrated, reciprocal fashion. While you may want to give special attention to those
sections in the manual most directly related to the course you are teaching, I urge you to review the
other sections of the manual as well for insights, practical suggestions, and activities that will enhance
your teaching experiences. Sonya Alvarado, of the English composition/rhetoric faculty at Eastern
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Michigan University, has updated the Instructor’s Resource Manual and has added many activities that
incorporate the new readings and themes found in the text. Dawn Graziani of Santa Fe Community
College has contributed ideas and resources for using Thinking Critically to enhance reading skills.
I would like to acknowledge gratefully the contributions of the talented people who have worked on
this Instructor’s Resource Manual in previous editions: David Styler, Roberta Wright, Cecilia
Macheski, Leonard Vogt, Susan Huard, Christine McMahon, and Barbara Stout.
I encourage you to contact me with questions and comments at JCTHINK@aol.com and to visit my
website at www.thinkingworld.com. I would also appreciate your sharing creative adaptations of
Thinking Critically as well as productive experiences you have had in using the text.
John Chaffee
LaGuardia College E202
31-10 Thomson Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101
Part One
Using Thinking Critically
SECTION 1
History of Thinking Critically, Ninth Edition
•
The Evolution of Thinking Critically
•
Critical Thinking at LaGuardia College
THE EVOLUTION OF THINKING CRITICALLY
My favorite quotation about thinking is by the British philosopher Bertrand Russell, who said, “Most
people would rather die than think—in fact, they do!” Thinking is a cognitive process that enables us to
understand what is happening in our experience and to make informed decisions based on this
understanding. Yet, as Russell aptly points out, most people do not take full advantage of their thinking
abilities and often suffer the unpleasant—and sometimes fatal—consequences.
Thinking Critically is based on the conviction that thinking is an ability and, like other abilities, can be
improved through proper guidance and practice. It has grown out of my experiences of teaching
students to think more critically and creatively over the past twenty years in two distinct courses:
Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking: Theory and Practice.
When I first began to develop a course to help students develop sophisticated, higher-order thinking
abilities, I wasn’t sure quite how to proceed. Although everyone thinks, its commonplace appearance is
deceiving. When we turn our attention to the thinking process, we find that it is slippery, amorphous,
and extremely difficult to define. To complicate the situation even more, trying to understand the
concept of thinking involves the process of thinking. Trying to get outside the thinking process is as
difficult as trying to escape your shadow—it sticks with you no matter how you twist and turn. Finally,
even if we develop a clear understanding of the thinking process, this gives us little insight into how
best to teach thinking abilities. Most books and many courses on thinking confuse giving information
about thinking with actually developing thinking abilities. My own quest to understand the thinking
process and to devise effective approaches for teaching thinking abilities has drawn on the insights of a
variety of disciplines, including the fields of philosophy, psychology, and language. After all, thinking
is not confined to any one discipline, and to understand this complex human process, one must view it
from a variety of perspectives.
Philosophy
Much of my academic preparation has been in the field of philosophy, a discipline that has traditionally
focused on exploring the nature and possibilities of human thought. A philosophical perspective
embodies a disciplined and systematic approach to thinking. It also encourages an attitude of critical
reflection, one of the essential qualities of thinking critically. As a result, when I first embarked on this
project, it was natural to begin with philosophical work in the area of thinking skills.
When I reviewed the textbooks and literature available in this field, it was clear that philosophy tends to
see thinking abilities through the prism of logical forms, including deductive arguments, inductive
arguments, informal fallacies, and symbolic logic. These are exceedingly important abilities required to
analyze and evaluate the myriad arguments presented to us by advertisers, politicians, professors,
religious authorities, reporters, family members, employers, and friends. Yet when I introduced this
perspective into my Critical Thinking class, the results were not entirely satisfactory.
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Section 1: History of Thinking Critically, Ninth Edition
In the first place, many students lacked the conceptual abilities necessary to understanding and
performing complex logical operations. Even the most elementary logic books seemed to presuppose a
wide range of thinking abilities that are not sufficiently developed in many students. Second, although
the systematic evaluation of arguments and the detection of fallacies are important abilities that we use
in our everyday lives, these abilities represent only one dimension of the thinking process. The
limitations of exclusively pursuing a logic/argument approach to teaching critical thinking abilities is
articulated by John E. McPeck in his book Critical Thinking and Education.
Logic, as such, is used for the assessment and justification of arguments and theories once they
have been presented. But it cannot generate (or formulate) hypotheses, theories or arguments in a
problem-solving situation. It can only be used to verify those hypotheses. Having the tools of
logic available to help us do this checking is valuable indeed; but they are virtually useless in
helping us find our way out of problematic situations the solutions to which depend on
possibilities and hypotheses. Logic can help to eliminate hypotheses, conjectures and plausible
solutions, but it cannot provide them. In the most common problem-solving situation within
disciplines and working fields of knowledge, the most difficult—and perhaps most important—
phase is that of producing a hypothesis, conjecture or alternative that is worth checking or trying
out.1
In short, logic does not directly aid us in producing more effective ideas, solutions, or hypotheses. At
best it can help us evaluate these products of thought once they exist. As a result, it seems unlikely that
focusing on examining the products of others’ thinking will have any significant impact on our own.
Our thinking abilities develop best when we are challenged and have the opportunity to use these
abilities. This means not merely reviewing the thinking of others but also working through thinking
situations on our own and then reflecting critically on our thinking so that we can sharpen and improve
it.
In response to these considerations, the chapters dealing with argumentation, logical forms, and
fallacies (Chapters 10 and 11) in Thinking Critically are located at the end of the text, after students
have had the opportunity to develop the thinking abilities needed to produce higher-order thoughts. In
addition, the treatment of argumentation helps students produce arguments of their own, not simply
evaluate the arguments of others.
Psychology
The insight that we develop our thinking abilities through experiential explorations is one of the
underlying principles of cognitive psychology, another discipline that has shaped Thinking Critically.
Based on the work of developmental psychologists such as Jean Piaget, this approach to teaching
thinking skills describes and analyzes the structured, sequential process by which thinking abilities
develop, a process delineated by recognizable stages. If a student does not complete one stage
satisfactorily before moving on to the next, subsequent development is distorted and limited. These
theories are based on exhaustive empirical research.
Harvard psychologist William G. Perry has developed a powerful conceptual framework for
understanding the holistic growth of the critical thinking person. Perry conducted research on collegeage students and was able to distinguish a series of stages that they pass through in developing a
sophisticated understanding of knowledge and the world. These stages represent coherent, interpretive
frameworks that people use to make sense of their educational experience and are arranged in orderly
sequence from the simple to the more complex. In the simplest stage, dualism, knowledge is viewed as
a discrete, factual quantity that is distributed by authorities. Given the appropriate experiences, people
gradually come to recognize the inadequacy of this way of thinking about the world. The conclusions of
authorities often conflict, and there are many areas in which no definite answers exist. The next stage,
multiplicity, also is not satisfactory because it often leads to cynicism and the belief that all views are
3
equal. In the most sophisticated stage (which Perry calls commitment in relativism but which I would
term developing a critical epistemology), people understand that some views make more sense than
others on the basis of the quality of the writer’s supporting evidence and reasons for those views.
Each of us must take responsibility for constructing our understanding of the world: examining all of
the various perspectives and the supporting evidence, engaging in our own comparative analysis, and
developing informed conclusions based on our own critical reflection and synthesis. Thinkers at this
level also recognize that in many instances knowledge is not absolute and unchanging but instead
depends on a specific context and evolves over time. Despite this uncertainty, we must be prepared to
commit ourselves to a world view, recognizing that this view is likely to evolve as we learn new
information and develop improved insight.
As impressive as the work in cognitive psychology has been, there has been much less success in
translating theoretical insights into classroom practice. It is one thing to describe the process of
intellectual growth, but it is quite another to devise strategies that stimulate and guide people to achieve
this growth. Although an effective course in thinking abilities must exhibit a developmental logic and
coherence, it also must engage students in their immediate situation. It must make use of their current
concerns, their accumulated experience, and their abilities to reflect, engage in dialogue, and create and
express meaning. Thinking Critically seeks to apply the insights of cognitive psychology to the
classroom, developing an integrated sequence of educational experiences that will stimulate students to
grow not just intellectually but personally as well.
Language Disciplines
Not only philosophy and psychology, but also the academic disciplines focusing on language—
including linguistics, composition, reading, and oral communication—have made important
contributions to the development of Thinking Critically, Ninth Edition. As the research of linguists such
as Lev Vygotsky and A. R. Luria suggests, thought and language are distinct processes that begin to
intertwine at a very early stage of human development. As a result, they are reciprocal, interactive
processes that we use in an integrated fashion to construct our understanding of the world. For example,
when we write or speak, we are using language to express our thinking process. And when we read, we
are actively using our minds to comprehend the thinking process of someone else. At the same time, the
process of using language stimulates thought, and the language we use shapes and influences the
thinking of others.
In using our thinking capacities to make sense of the world, we are actively composing it, and language
is the main tool for accomplishing this end. At every given moment, we are constructing our
understanding of the world to make sense of it, and in so doing we are continually using the complex
set of integrated thinking/language abilities addressed in Thinking Critically. Among these abilities are
organizing, naming, defining, classifying, articulating relationships, solving problems, inferring,
deducing, judging, describing, predicting, hypothesizing, conceptualizing, exemplifying, and
generalizing. The implications for the classroom are clear: we have to teach language abilities in order
to teach most thinking skills effectively, and we have to teach thinking abilities in order to teach
language abilities effectively.
Thinking Critically uses an integrated approach to develop thinking and language abilities together.
This approach is versatile, synergistic, and engaging. Students are stimulated and guided to explore the
important thinking concepts introduced through provocative, informative readings drawn from a variety
of disciplines; to engage in structured, analytical writing assignments; and to explore the topics through
the thoughtful exchange of ideas in dialogue with others.
For example, when students explore the concept of thinking critically in Chapter 2, they are asked to
read essays that analyze controversial issues and to engage in organized debates on topics they select.
4
Chapter 3, “Solving Problems,” introduces students to an organized approach for solving complex
problems that they learn by discussing essays describing problems such as security and privacy,
analyzing an important unsolved problem in their own lives, preparing a written analysis of this
problem, and presenting their conclusions to the class.
While exploring the concept of perceiving in Chapter 4, an active process that involves perspectivetaking, students analyze contrasting media versions of the Malcolm X assassination. They explore the
process by which our perceiving “lenses” are formed by reading essays such as “Acquired Knowledge”
and by writing about a significant event in their own experiences that shaped the way they see the
world.
Students expand their exploration of critical thinking to the sphere of ethics and morals in Chapter 9.
The essay, “The Disparity Between Intellect and Character” by Robert Coles offers students the chance
discuss and write about the gap that sometimes occurs between having a knowledge of ethics and being
an ethical person.
As you tailor this book to your individual instructional needs, I would encourage you to introduce
substantive writing assignments, readings, and discussion activities. The great conductor Arturo
Toscanini once said, “You don’t do anything in a performance that you haven’t done a thousand times
in practice.” Thus, if our students are going to become articulate thinkers, writers, speakers, and
readers, they must be given the ongoing opportunity to develop these abilities through a variety of
carefully planned activities.
The Whole Student
The work in various disciplines to promote critical thinking has led to the conclusion that effective
education must address the whole student—the writer, not just the writing; the thinker, not just the
thoughts. For students to develop the self-insight and motivation needed to excel in their college
studies, they must be encouraged to relate what they are experiencing in the college classroom to their
life experience—their goals, values, and self-concepts. This critical thinking approach to education is
embodied in Thinking Critically and is illustrated in the following passage written by Dr. Gilbert
Muller, a professor in the English department at LaGuardia College, which describes the experiences of
one of his students:
Typical of these individuals was Diego, a young man thoroughly confused about life and
congenitally innocent of academic experience. Diego had been placed on three years’ probation
for robbery prior to coming to LaGuardia. For him, the classroom was at the outset as much a
refuge from the world as a place in which to learn. Yet at an early point—perhaps during the
second week when he analyzed critical and uncritical thinking in an essay that dealt with the
period when he and other gang members were robbing delivery boys of their Chinese food and
money—Diego discovered that ideas are important. Ideas and the self exist in the world; both
must be tested and evaluated; both demand scrutiny. Responsible thinking and action must be
achieved if we are to lead authentic lives. Diego’s essay on his failure to think correctly and
critically was not a passing paper by the standards set by the exit exam committee. But it was a
“transformational” paper in terms of self-discovery and Diego’s commitment to work
energetically and competently to pass the course. Spending more time in the Writing Center than
any other class member, Diego moved in ten weeks’ time from a state of functional illiteracy to
one of relative fluency.
Thinking Critically attempts to knit together the thinking abilities being explored with the fabric of the
student’s experience. It is hoped that the skills students learn in this fashion will become part of who
they are—how they perceive their world, how they experience themselves and others, and how they
understand the contexts within which their choices and decisions are made. It is based on the conviction
5
that thinking abilities can be taught effectively only through a process of synthesis, giving students the
means to clarify and make sense of themselves and the world in which they live.
CRITICAL THINKING AT LAGUARDIA COLLEGE
The Critical and Creative Thinking program at LaGuardia College (a branch of the City University of
New York) began in 1979 with the development of its keystone course, Critical Thinking, which was
created to explore the cognitive process and help provide students with the higher-order thinking and
literacy abilities needed for academic and career success. Fueled by two grants from the National
Endowment for the Humanities, that initial seed has developed into an interdisciplinary program that
involves more than eighteen hundred students annually. Critical Thinking has four basic aims:
•
Develop and refine students’ higher-order thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities,
which many people believe to be in decline
•
Enhance and accelerate the development of students’ language abilities, based on the conviction
that language and thought are reciprocal partners that work together in constructing an
understanding of the world
•
Stimulate students to apply their evolving thinking and language abilities to important issues in
their life experience and to large social issues
•
Foster qualities like maturity, responsibility, and citizenship
The curriculum for the course is embodied in this text, Thinking Critically, Ninth Edition, which has
grown out of the collaborative efforts of those involved in the program. Because the course is an
elective, its growth to more than forty sections annually can be seen as one indication that the
LaGuardia community believes that it makes a significant contribution to the lives of our students, as
expressed in the following student quotation:
The words critical thinking will never leave my vocabulary because by learning how to think
critically, I am learning how to organize my ideas, support my point of view with reasons, and
solve my problems rationally. I have learned more effective ways of dealing with my life, my
children, and my schoolwork.
Of course, any one course in critical thinking will have a limited impact on students’ modes of thought
unless these same abilities are reinforced by other courses. At LaGuardia, our efforts to accomplish this
goal of infusing critical thinking across the curriculum have been funded by support from the National
Endowment for the Humanities. The project is structured around teaching pairs, in which a section of
Critical Thinking is joined with a section of another course selected from a variety of academic areas.
Students enrolled in a course pairing have to take both courses, providing a vehicle for integrating the
courses and reinforcing intellectual abilities. These course pairings, working in concert with weekly
meetings, give faculty the opportunity and guidance to redesign their courses and refine their teaching
methodology with the aim of fostering critical thinking and critical literacy abilities. The curriculum of
the program also includes the course Creative Thinking: Theory and Practice, which specifically
addresses the processes we use to create and elaborate on new ideas—ideas that can then be evaluated
with our critical thinking abilities.
The Critical and Creative Thinking program at LaGuardia has been characterized by the Educational
Testing Service as “a mature educational program, which has involved and succeeded with a wide
spectrum of students.” The National Endowment for the Humanities has called it “a very enlightened
approach to undergraduate instruction.”1
1
The program and its results are detailed in the document “Critical Thinking at LaGuardia College”
(final report to NEH), available by writing to Dr. John Chaffee at LaGuardia College, 31-10 Thompson
Ave., Long Island City, NY 11101.
SECTION 2
Overview of Critical Thinking
•
Why Teach Critical Thinking?
•
Critical Thinking Models: Teaching Versus Infusing
•
Infusing Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum
•
Using Critical Thinking as a Framework for Teaching Writing and Reading
•
Practical Strategies for Teaching Critical Thinking
WHY TEACH CRITICAL THINKING?
Traditionally, a higher education is thought to produce literate and sophisticated thinkers equipped with
the knowledge and intellectual abilities citizens need to be informed and successful in their chosen
careers. Yet in a modern day reenactment of the fabled Emperor’s New Clothes, there is a growing
awareness that many students are not leaving college clothed with the literacy, intellectual
understanding, and depth of insight supposedly symbolized by the degrees they have earned. The need
for higher education to foster the development of these sophisticated thinking abilities in mainstream
college courses is thus emerging as a problem of national significance. Although academically
successful students are typically able to absorb information, memorize facts, and learn fixed
procedures, they often experience profound difficulties in thinking critically and creatively about what
they are learning.
As a result, one of the most common complaints by faculty in college-level courses—as well as by
employers—is that students can’t think effectively. When people speak about thinking in this way, they
generally are referring to a variety of complex, cognitive activities that include the following:
•
Solving problems
•
Generating and organizing ideas
•
Forming and applying concepts
•
Designing systematic plans of action
•
Constructing and evaluating arguments
•
Exploring issues from multiple perspectives
•
Applying knowledge to new situations
•
Critically evaluating the logic and validity of information
•
Developing evidence to support views
•
Analyzing situations carefully
•
Discussing subjects in an organized way
Although these abilities are clearly needed for academic study and career preparation, and despite
teachers’ aspiring to teach them as an educational ideal, critical thinking is rarely taught explicitly and
Section 2: Overview of Critical Thinking
7
systematically. For example, numerous empirical studies have revealed that teaching behavior in most
high school and college classrooms tends to focus on the lowest cognitive level of knowledge—the
dispensing of facts—while higher intellectual operations (such as application, analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation) are typically ignored.1
CRITICAL THINKING MODELS: TEACHING VERSUS INFUSING
One of the current controversies in education is whether critical thinking abilities should be taught
directly in courses such as those at LaGuardia College or whether these skills should be developed as
part of the regular curriculum by integrating them into the discipline. Naturally, the infusion of critical
thinking across the curriculum is a necessary and desirable objective. College faculty can be guided to
redesign their teaching approaches so that students reinforce critical thinking abilities while mastering
course content. Because of the complexity of the various disciplines and the amount of material
expected to be covered as they are now construed, however, it is unrealistic to expect faculty to focus
specifically on thinking processes while simultaneously teaching their disciplines.
As a consequence, just as the need for first-year composition courses has not been eliminated by the
“writing across the curriculum” movement, so there is a need to teach cognitive abilities directly in the
form of critical thinking courses. Students by and large need a direct, in-depth opportunity to
understand and systematically develop these sophisticated thinking abilities early in their academic
careers so that they can use these abilities to negotiate and appreciate the complexity of their
disciplinary studies. Unless we focus on these thinking processes and abilities in a discrete course,
students will not develop them to the full extent possible. Other reasons for having specific critical
thinking courses include the following:
•
Critical thinking has evolved in recent years into a distinct field of study, a multidisciplinary
initiative focused on the operation of the cognitive process and the design of strategies for
improving the effectiveness of people’s thinking abilities. The field has spawned numerous books
and articles, research studies, evaluation instruments, conferences, professional societies, and
advanced degree programs. As such, it is an appropriate subject for study in an academic course
or courses.
•
There is persuasive evidence that a well-designed, effectively taught course in critical thinking
can accelerate the development of students’ higher-order thinking and literacy abilities.1 Of
course, care must be taken in designing and teaching critical thinking courses. For example, these
abilities cannot be taught in isolation; they must be applied to a variety of contexts to facilitate
transfer of these abilities to other academic course work and life situations. In addition, the proper
intellectual abilities must be taught in a way that fosters active and lasting learning.
INFUSING CRITICAL THINKING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
There is a historical trend in colleges to view education as the transfer of information from teacher to
student. Teachers operating under this coverage model view their primary responsibility to be covering
content rather than encouraging students to think about and critically evaluate what they are learning.
This information-transfer perspective has been described in various ways, ranging from the high-tech
1
Examples of this evidence include John Chaffee, “Critical Thinking at LaGuardia College,” report to
the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1985; P. Chance, Thinking in the Classroom: A Survey of
Programs (Columbia University, New York: Teachers College Press, 1986); J. Lochead and J.
Clement, eds., Cognitive Process Instruction: Research in Teaching Thinking Skills (Philadelphia:
Franklin Institute Press, 1979); and I. S. Schoefeld, “Evaluation Issues in Teaching Thinking Abilities,”
American Psychologist 42, 958–959.
8
“data bank” theory (students are blank disks waiting to be programmed) to the more earthy “feedlot”
model (students are emaciated cattle who graduate when they reach a certain weight).
This kind of academic bulimia is encouraged and supported by the educational system as a whole. It is
the way most faculty were educated, it provides clear criteria of student mastery that can be easily
evaluated, and it defines the structure of curricula and the rigor of courses. Under this coverage model,
teachers present complex bodies of information through readings and lectures, whereas students
develop and refine the abilities needed to master large amounts of information and to re-present this
information on examinations. Faculty are thus viewed as the sources of knowledge and the arbiters of
correct answers, while students are seen as relatively passive receptacles into which knowledge is being
poured. As a result, students are not encouraged to develop the critical thinking skills and higher-order
intellectual abilities that they will need in the world beyond these courses.
In contrast, the critical thinking model is based on the belief that students should not merely master
information but also should develop a progressive understanding of the process each discipline uses to
generate and think about information. From this perspective, instead of focusing on the presentation of
the facts and theories of history, the role of faculty is to introduce students to the way a historian thinks
about and perceives the world, a perspective that leads to the construction of historical information and
analysis of the historical process. For example, a critical thinking approach in history will emphasize
the intellectual skills used to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of eyewitnesses, observation, and
sources of information in constructing our knowledge of historical events. When taught in this way,
students come to realize that each discipline is not simply a repository of accumulated knowledge but
instead a dynamic, creative thinking activity—a structure of concepts and methodologies used to
organize experience, approach problems, and give explanations. By learning to think in these different
ways—historically, philosophically, scientifically, and mathematically—students learn new ways of
viewing their world and developing their intellectual abilities.
Many faculty are concerned that if they use a critical thinking approach to teach their courses, students
will not acquire enough knowledge. But these teachers are not being forced to choose between
knowledge and critical thinking. In fact, both educational aims are more effectively achieved when they
are pursued together. When we are stimulated to think about a particular subject, we learn more
effectively and our learning is more lasting because we have organized and constructed it ourselves. In
contrast, when we are merely trying to absorb information structured by others, our retention often
doesn’t extend far beyond the end of the course. The underlying aim of the critical thinking approach to
education is to create independent learners who will share the responsibility for learning and continue
on a lifelong journey of exploration and discovery.
USING CRITICAL THINKING AS A FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHING
WRITING AND READING
Learning to think critically is an essential and powerful vehicle for developing both writing and reading
abilities, a fact that has led to the adoption of Thinking Critically in many language arts courses.
According to the English department faculty at LaGuardia College, using critical thinking as a
framework for teaching writing is an effective approach for improving both the technical aspects of
students’ writing (in terms of coherence, organization, detail, and use of grammar) and the quality of
their writing (in terms of depth, insight, and sophistication). They cite the following reasons:
1.
Critical thinking provides an intellectual and thematic framework that helps writing teachers place
structural and grammatical concerns in a meaningful framework. Because students are involved
and concerned about what they are writing, they are increasingly motivated to master the technical
aspects of writing in order to represent the rich fabric of experience and articulate their thinking
with clarity and precision.
2.
A critical thinking framework permits students to understand the reciprocal relationship between
thought and language, between the process of thinking and the process of writing. Students are
stimulated to explore their own composing processes, gradually mastering the forms of thought
and critical thinking that are the hallmark of mature and thoughtful writing. Additionally, the
emphasis on precision in thought reinforces the idea of precision in word choice and prose
structure. The dual emphasis on the key language/thought categories of fact, inference, and
judgment also benefits the students, giving them the means to apply these concepts appropriately.
3.
The conceptual themes of critical thinking lend a rigor and seriousness to students’ writing.
Students are challenged and guided to think and write about important topics that build on the
cognitive activities and critical explorations being undertaken.
4.
The emphasis of critical thinking on the active exploration and discovery of ideas, both
individually and in dialogue with others, challenges students to become actively engaged as a
group in the learning/writing process. The focus on listening to others and carefully evaluating
opinions, arguments, and information provides a context for collaborative learning/writing
activities, enabling the group to develop from a collection of individuals into a community of
concerned thinkers and writers. Students learn to examine their own opinions more analytically
and relate these opinions to the world at large by assessing arguments and alternative points of
view in dialogue with others.
9
According to LaGuardia reading department faculty, using critical thinking as a framework for teaching
reading is an effective approach for improving both the mechanics and sophistication of students’
reading abilities for the following reasons:
1.
The critical thinking framework enables students to acquire the concept of reading as a thinking
activity rather than as a series of decoding skills. This insight into reading as a complex, cognitive,
and metacognitive activity—and its component skills and strategies—results in accelerated and
enhanced reading development. Instead of expecting spoon-feeding of information and
demanding, “What’s the answer?” students become active learners, involving themselves in the
process of finding answers and learning from that process.
2.
A critical thinking approach helps students to understand and develop the interrelated thinking
abilities that constitute the reading process, including problem-solving, forming and applying
concepts, and relating ideas to larger conceptual frameworks. For example, students learn how to
approach challenging passages systematically by defining the comprehension problems,
identifying and evaluating possible interpretations on the basis of contextual clues, and arriving at
provisional conclusions. Critical thinking also helps students to understand the organizational
structures and thinking patterns that writers use to create and express meaning, such as
classification, definition, causal and process analysis, and argumentation. At the same time,
students are learning how to use these ways of conceptualizing, relating, and organizing
experience in order to create and express meaning themselves.
3.
The emphasis of critical thinking on thinking about thinking provides a foundation for the
metacognitive abilities used by effective readers: monitoring understanding, setting goals,
analyzing purposes, anticipating ideas and events, and evaluating the author’s point of view.
4.
The critical thinking approach encourages students to examine their own opinions more
analytically and to relate those opinions to the world at large. By engaging in spontaneous and
effective dialogue with others, they learn to assess arguments and alternative points of view
synthesizing information and reevaluating opinions. The net result is a sense of community and
mutual support that greatly facilitates development, giving students the confidence to enter into
the learning process in an open, collaborative fashion.
10
PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING
A teacher, to paraphrase the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, is an artist with concepts. Effective
teaching is an extraordinarily complex and intensely personal activity, and in the final analysis students
often don’t rise any higher than the people who stimulate, guide, and inspire them. For example, if one
goal of higher education is for students to develop their critical and creative thinking abilities, they must
be taught by faculty who are themselves critical and creative thinkers and who embody and engender
these qualities in every phase of their teaching.
Although many college faculty would agree with the general aims of critical thinking, difficulties arise
when translating those aims into specific strategies and activities. There is a very large and rapidly
expanding body of literature on intellectual development. Following are some of the major themes in
this literature that can serve as guidelines in conceptualizing your courses and planning your learning
strategies.
1.
Articulate the critical thinking aims for your course. The course objectives for academic courses
are typically defined in terms of the content to be covered or the behavioral skills to be mastered,
and this emphasis is expressed in the course structure and evaluative measures. Fostering critical
thinking entails specifying the thinking and conceptual abilities students are expected to develop
in various aspects of the course as well as in the course as a whole. Once these abilities are
identified, faculty are in a position to design activities and implement teaching strategies that will
foster the development of the abilities.
2.
Stimulate active learning. Active learning lies at the heart of effective, lasting education.
Strategies that stimulate an active discovery approach to learning include interactive teaching,
which encourages student questioning and participation; collaborative group work based on peer
analysis and evaluation; student-led discussion, which explores key concepts dialogically; projects
that stimulate students to apply the knowledge they are gaining to develop and test hypotheses,
generalize to new situations, and evaluate the reasoning being presented; and having students
articulate their thinking/reasoning and receive feedback in order to encourage their awareness of
their cognitive processes. These and other approaches encourage students to become actively
involved in constructing their own understanding and sharing the responsibility for their learning.
3.
Encourage well-supported conclusions. Everybody has beliefs. What distinguishes sophisticated
thinkers is that their conclusions are informed, supported by reasons and evidence. In much of
college study, there is an inordinate emphasis on the “correct answer.” But the reasoning process
one uses to reach conclusions often is more interesting than the conclusions themselves, and it is
the effectiveness of this reasoning process that often helps determine our career and life success.
4.
Encourage perspective-taking. All individuals are involved in constructing their understanding of
the world as they actively select, organize, and interpret their experience in order to decide what
to believe, feel, and do. All aspects of the interactive process are colored by “screens”—individual
values, interests, biases, and predispositions—that influence what we perceive, how we process
information, and how we decide to act. Critical thinking involves becoming aware of our screens
(and those of others) by examining various viewpoints on issues and situations. As a result,
critical thinkers strive not only to support their views with reasons and evidence, but also to think
within points of view or frames of reference with which they disagree and to understand the
reasons that support these alternative perspectives.
For students to develop these abilities, faculty must introduce multiple viewpoints, ambiguity, and
disagreement among authorities. In addition, they must encourage students to be open to other
views and new ideas and be flexible enough to modify ideas in light of new information or better
insights. For example, examining a variety of historical accounts regarding the Vietnam War leads
to an appreciation of the complexity of the issues and the reasons for conflicting interpretations.
5.
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Stimulate thinking and language use at all cognitive levels. Benjamin Bloom2 identified a variety
of ways in which people organize and interpret information (Bloom’s taxonomy), ranging from
relatively simple levels (recall and comprehension) to more complex levels (application, analysis,
synthesis, and evaluation). As noted earlier, research shows that most secondary school and
college teaching focuses on the simpler cognitive levels, recall and comprehension. If students are
to develop higher-order thinking abilities, they must be challenged to do so within their course
activities. Here are some sample questions that can be used to stimulate use of the various levels
of cognitive functioning.
Recall: Identification and recall of information
Who, what, when, where, how _____________________?
Describe ______________________________________________________________
Comprehension: Organization and selection of facts and ideas
Retell _____________________ in your own words.
What is the main idea of _____________________?
Application: Use of facts, rules, and principles
How is _____________________ an example of _____________________?
How is _____________________ related to _____________________?
Why is _____________________ significant?
Analysis: Separation of a whole into its component parts
What are the parts or features of _____________________?
Classify _____________________ according to _____________________.
Outline/diagram/web _____________________.
How does _____________________ compare with _____________________?
What evidence can you list for _____________________?
Synthesis: Combination of ideas to form a new whole
What would you predict or infer from _____________________?
What ideas can you add to _____________________?
How would you create/design a new _____________________?
What might happen if you combined _____________________with _____________________?
What solutions would you suggest for _____________________?
Evaluate: Development of opinions, judgments, or decisions
Do you agree that _____________________?
What do you think about _____________________?
What is the most important _____________________?
2
Benjamin Bloom (ed.), Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Cognitive Domain/Affective Domain
(New York: McKay, 1956).
12
Prioritize _____________________.
How would you decide about _____________________?
What criteria would you use to assess _____________________?
6.
Promote critical literacy. The development of our thinking abilities is closely tied to the
development of our language abilities, and vice versa. This is due to the interwoven and reciprocal
relations between thinking and language. Although colleges have traditionally been committed to
the goal of developing articulate and literate thinkers, writers, speakers, and readers, a review of
typical college courses and textbooks reveals an absence of critical literacy. Many examinations
are objective, giving students little opportunity to express their thinking in any systematic and
developed fashion. Much of the reading they are required to do has as its main goal the transfer of
information, not the critical evaluation of the ideas being presented. And many of the classes are
cast primarily in a lecture format, reinforcing the notion that students are passive receptacles into
which information is poured, not thinkers who can question, reflect, and exchange ideas with
others. If students are to develop these sophisticated language/thinking abilities, they must have
consistent opportunities to complete substantive writing assignments, critically evaluate
challenging readings, and discuss ideas thoughtfully and systematically with other members of the
class.
7.
Build from students’ experience. Effective learning involves relating what students are learning to
their own experience, building systematically from their concrete, familiar contexts to more
abstract, conceptual understandings. One of the key insights of modern cognitive psychology is
the fact that we create explanations and solve problems in ways that are consistent with our ways
of thinking, and unless instruction is somehow matched to the student’s way of making sense of
reality, the students will learn little. If we merely try to transfer our knowledge and insights,
oblivious to the students’ context and ways of thinking, much of their learning will be rote,
involving memorization of key facts and manipulating bits of information that have no coherent or
lasting meaning for them.
A more effective approach is to enable students to expand their frame of reference gradually,
building on what they know by systematically integrating new information into their framework
of meaning. For example, if we are teaching students strategies for problem solving, we might
begin by having them solve problems from their own experience before moving on to more
abstract, less personalized contexts. This approach gives them the opportunity to internalize the
problem-solving methodology that is being developed as they begin thinking like problem solvers.
Once internalized, this way of thinking becomes an ongoing part of the way they make sense of
the world and equips them to move progressively to more abstract applications.
SECTION 3
Teaching a Critical Thinking Course
•
The Challenge of Teaching Critical Thinking
•
Introducing Students to the Course
•
Constructing a Syllabus
•
Sample Introductory Handout
•
Sample Syllabi
•
Teaching Strategies
•
Additional Critical Thinking Activities
•
Evaluating Student Progress
•
Examination Questions
•
Critical Thinking Examinations
THE CHALLENGE OF TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING
The prospect of teaching a course in critical thinking is both daunting and inspiring. It is daunting
because the thinking process is so complex and elusive. To complicate matters even more, we have to
use our thinking process to explore our thinking process. And finally, if a course in critical thinking is
to be effective, students must not simply learn about the thinking process; they must be stimulated and
guided to think more effectively in their everyday lives.
Teaching a course in critical thinking also is one of the most inspiring and rewarding experiences that a
teacher can have. Because the thinking process is such an integral part of who we are as people, the
prospect of expanding students’ thinking implies expanding who they are as human beings—the
perspective from which they view the world, the concepts and values they use to guide their choices,
and the impact they have on the world as a result of those choices. Teaching people to become critical
thinkers does not mean simply equipping them with certain intellectual tools; it involves their personal
transformation and its commensurate impact on the quality of their lives and those around them. This is
education at its most inspiring!
As explained in the first section of this Instructor’s Resource Manual, the book Thinking Critically,
Ninth Edition, is designed to serve as a comprehensive introduction to the cognitive process while
helping students develop the higher-order thinking abilities needed for academic study and career
success. Based on a nationally recognized interdisciplinary program in critical and creative thinking
established in 1979 at LaGuardia College, this academically rigorous and innovative course integrates
various perspectives on the thinking process drawn from a variety of disciplines such as philosophy,
cognitive psychology, linguistics, and the language arts (English, reading, and oral communication).
The LaGuardia course in critical thinking, taken by more than eighteen hundred students annually, is
designed to address a crucial need in higher education by introducing students to the rapidly emerging
field of critical thinking and fostering sophisticated intellectual and language abilities. The course and
its text, Thinking Critically, are constructed so that students apply their evolving thinking abilities to a
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Section 3: Teaching a Critical Thinking Course
variety of subjects drawn from academic disciplines, contemporary issues, and their life experiences.
The course and the text are based on the assumption, supported by research, that learning to think more
effectively is a synthesizing process, knitting critical thinking abilities together with academic content
and the fabric of students’ experiences. Thinking learned in this way becomes a constitutive part of who
students are.
With these considerations in mind, it should be clear that teaching a course in critical thinking involves
embarking on a journey that is full of unanticipated challenges and unexpected triumphs. I have written
Thinking Critically to serve as an effective guide for this journey. Additionally, this Instructor’s
Resource Manual is designed to complement the text in useful, practical ways. In the final analysis,
however, you must embark on the journey alone, relying on your experience, expertise, and critical
thinking abilities to provide productive education experiences for your students. The more you engage
in this challenging process, the more comfortable and proficient you will become. And in time, you
may have the opportunity to help colleagues embark on their own critical thinking journeys.
INTRODUCING STUDENTS TO THE COURSE
Students entering your critical thinking course will have at least as many questions, anxieties, and
uncertainties as you do. Since critical thinking is a field with which students are probably unfamiliar, it
is important to spend some time familiarizing them with this area of inquiry, as well as the nature and
purpose of your course. You might begin by asking them, individually or in groups, to describe the
thinking process and explain why it is important. In the subsequent discussion, their views can be
analyzed (What are the various dimensions of the thinking process? What exactly is going on in our
minds when we think? How do various perspectives compare and contrast?), synthesized (How can we
relate these various perspectives into an integrated whole?), exemplified (What are examples of the
thinking process in action?), and evaluated (What are the criteria for determining effective thinking?).
To help familiarize students with the purposes and history of the critical thinking course and text, the
Introduction to Critical Thinking handout on pages 18 and 19 can be distributed, incorporated into the
syllabus, or simply used by you to guide initial discussions regarding these issues.
CONSTRUCTING A SYLLABUS
Every course begins with a syllabus, a document that expresses the basic philosophy of the course, its
educational objectives, and an outline of the topics and assignments. Because a course in critical
thinking is an unfamiliar quantity to most students, creating a coherent, detailed syllabus takes on added
importance. As with most syllabi, the first part will probably include basic information about the
course, as well as a general statement of the course objectives. Several sample syllabi from the critical
thinking course at LaGuardia College follow in the next section.
The second part of the syllabus typically contains the outline of topics and assignments for the
semester.
There are many Thinking Activities in the text. These Thinking Activities are crucial to the success of
your course because they give students the opportunity to express their thinking in a systematic fashion,
to apply the concepts they are exploring, and to improve their thinking by sharing their ideas with their
classmates. It is not realistic to have students complete all of the Thinking Activities in the text; you can
select the ones that you believe will be most productive in accomplishing your specific aims.
15
To make full use of the text, you can divide the homework assignment section of your syllabus into two
sections, as shown by the following example:
Homework Assignment
Class Number
Class Topic
1
Introduction to thinking
2
Making decisions
Read Text
Hand-In Exercises
First half of
chapter, up to
“The
Autobiography
of Malcolm
X”
Second half of
chapter,
Analyzing and
Making
Decisions
Thinking Activity 1.1
Although a great deal of thought went into the organization of the text and the sequence of the chapters,
it is likely that you will create a course structure that is appropriate to the niche your critical thinking
occupies in the curriculum, to the students who are enrolled, and to your own areas of expertise and
interest. Similarly, there are some sections of the text that you will choose to cover quickly or skip
entirely and others that you will explore in depth, perhaps supplementing the text with additional
materials. This is precisely the way that Thinking Critically is designed to be used: as a flexible
teaching resource that you tailor to your own situation.
SAMPLE INTRODUCTORY HANDOUT
Introduction to Critical Thinking
Welcome to this course in critical thinking. We have worked very hard to make this course stimulating,
informative, and entertaining, and we hope that you will find the experience of taking it worthwhile.
This course has two general goals. First, it is designed to help you understand what the thinking process
is, a fascinating journey that is full of unexpected twists and turns. Second, by engaging you in a
systematic exploration of the thinking process, our aim is to stimulate and guide you to think more
clearly, insightfully, and creatively.
You may be asking yourself, “Why should I take a course in thinking? Don’t I already know how to
think?” Of course you do, and quite effectively as well. If you were not an effective thinker, you would
not be enrolled in college, working in a career, raising children, or performing the many other activities
that make up your life. However, thinking is an ability that we can all improve, since few (if any) of us
use our thinking abilities to the full extent. In this regard, thinking is like many other human abilities.
For example, if we examine the people who are at the top of their careers—baseball players, doctors,
ballet dancers—we find that one thing they have in common is their desire to improve their abilities,
even though they are more proficient than the vast majority of people. We must have that same
commitment to excellence if we are to achieve our potentials as well.
Although everyone thinks, most of us have not spent much time trying to understand the thinking
process—thinking about our thinking. In recent years, people have learned a great deal about the
cognitive (thinking) process and how it operates, and we will be exploring many of these discoveries
16
during this course. By understanding how the thinking process functions, we can learn to do it better
through systematic study and guided practice.
Attending college is another reason to study the thinking process. As you may have discovered, college
is a somewhat different world from that with which many people are familiar. To succeed at college,
you must be able to think in special, sophisticated ways. Not only are you expected to master large
amounts of information, but you also must understand complex and abstract ideas, systems of thought,
and methodologies. In addition to learning information, your best classes will require that you think
about and use the information you are learning—to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate.
Performing these tasks successfully means that we must be able to use our minds to think in
sophisticated, effective ways.
In addition to thinking effectively, success in college and most careers requires that we use language
effectively. We must be able not only to think clearly but also to express our ideas clearly to other
people. We also must be able to understand the ideas of others by reading about those ideas (as you are
doing now) or by listening to people explain them. And finally, we must be able to exchange ideas with
other people through organized discussions.
To perform these language activities effectively, we also must be able to think effectively. Although
language and thinking are separate processes, they are very closely connected and continually interact
with each other.
For example, have you ever tried to explain your ideas to someone either orally or in writing when you
weren’t really clear about those ideas yourself? In most cases, these efforts are not successful because
expressing your ideas clearly means you must first understand them clearly. At the same time,
developing our abilities to use language clearly and precisely also helps us think more clearly and
precisely. Thinking and language work together to produce effective thought and communication.
Finally, improving our thinking abilities should help us in our personal lives as well. Each day we are
confronted with problems to solve, decisions to make, information to understand, and goals to strive
for. Our ability to meet these challenges depends in large measure on the quality of our thinking
abilities.
In summary, it is our hope that by taking this course you will learn about the cognitive process while
improving the thinking and language abilities required for academic study and career success, acquiring
the intellectual tools needed to be powerful thinkers and informed citizens.
History of the Course
The book Thinking Critically is based on a highly successful course developed at LaGuardia College, a
branch of the City University of New York, and replicated at colleges and universities around the
country. The original course, Critical Thinking Skills, was developed to explore the cognitive process
and promote higher-order thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities. In addition, the course
was designed to explore these thinking and language abilities within students’ lives, giving them the
opportunity to apply these evolving abilities to issues and problems in their own experience. As one
student expressed it, “The words critical thinking will never leave my vocabulary because by learning
how to think critically, I am learning how to organize my ideas, support my point of view with reasons,
and solve my problems rationally. I have learned more effective ways of dealing with my life, my
children, and my schoolwork.”
This course will introduce you to the field of critical thinking, an area of study that involves the
contributions of many disciplines. The field of critical thinking is of necessity interdisciplinary because
the human mind is far too complex to understand itself in any one-dimensional way. We will never
understand how we see a sunset, speak a language, solve a problem, write a poem, swallow our pride,
17
or even add two numbers merely by following a single line of inquiry. As a result, the goal of critical
thinking is to integrate the methods of the various disciplines into a comprehensive picture of the mind.
SAMPLE SYLLABI
Critical Thinking
M W TH 9:15–10:15
Fall
Instructor:
Office Hour: W 11:30–12:30
Office: Hum Dept. Room 202
Course Description
The goal of this course is to sharpen your ability to think effectively. Critical thinking helps us to
understand ourselves and the world around us. We may use our critical thinking skills in a wide range
of situations from identifying and correcting problems on a national or global scale to achieving our
personal goals. Critical thinking enables us to solve problems and to make the best choices in our
academic, professional, and personal lives. Effective thinking involves close attention to detail, an
ability to stand back from situations, weighing of pros and cons (the positive and negative attributes
involved in every situation), and ultimately a willingness to make decisions on the basis of information
that has been collected and to take responsibility for those decisions once they have been made. In this
way, critical thinking involves how we see the world, how we organize what we see, and how we
behave in the world.
In our society, the skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening are essential to critical thinking.
The exchange of ideas with others is a crucial component of critical thinking in action. For this reason
you will have extensive reading and written assignments in this class. Class discussions will be frequent
and lively. Everyone will be expected to contribute. Your success in this course depends on your
willingness to commit yourself to developing the thinking potentials that you possess.
Course Requirements
Attendance
All students registered for this class must be available to be in class every day for the duration of the
class. If you are not able to be here for the whole class, you shouldn’t be taking it. Four absences from
class are allowed. Anyone missing five or more classes will receive a failing grade. Persistent lateness
will not be tolerated. Anyone not present when attendance is taken will be marked absent. It is your
responsibility to talk to the instructor after class about the reasons for your lateness. If a student is late
four times, he or she will be credited an absence.
Text
Thinking Critically, Ninth Edition, by John Chaffee is available at the LaGuardia Bookstore.
Recommended: a good portable dictionary (that you can bring to class).
Grading
Student performance and progress will be evaluated on the basis of attendance, homework, class
participation, quizzes and tests, debate performance, papers, and a final examination.
18
Note Taking
You are expected to take notes during all classes and encouraged to take notes on the reading
assignments. It is crucial to your success as a student that you learn to take notes that are adequate and
precise. The ability to take good notes requires that you use two clearly defined skills: summarizing—
being aware of the main idea or theme of the topic being discussed and of the major points offered in
support of the main theme—and paraphrasing—restating these ideas in your own words. The best way
to develop these skills is through practice, and we will do some activities in class to help you develop
them.
Class Participation
The aim of this course is to develop your interest and ability to think. Bertrand Russell once said, “Most
people would rather die than think—and most do!” Thinking and reflection are essential for our
survival and for our development as mature, aware human beings. The best way for you to develop and
sharpen your capacity to think is for you to be actively involved in the classes. This means not only
being attentive in class but also participating in the class discussions. Thoughtful participation in class
will be an important consideration in the final grade you receive in the course.
Homework
There will be frequent reading and writing assignments in this class. Homework is an important part of
the course in terms of learning and also your grade, and it must be completed before the beginning of
class.
Examinations
There will be two examinations during the course. The questions will be in the form of short essays and
will require that you demonstrate the thinking abilities that you have acquired. They will test for your
understanding of important concepts that we have studied, the ways that you work with ideas, and your
ability to express your thinking clearly and coherently.
Writing Assignments
In all of the written work that you do for this course, you should make certain that (1) your work is
typed, on a computer with word-processing software if possible; (2) spelling and punctuation are
accurate; and (3) grammar and syntax are correct. Before you hand in any written assignment, be sure
to proofread your work, paying particular attention to the errors you know frequently occur in your own
writing.
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CRITICAL THINKING
LaGuardia College
Fall
David Ting Yih
Syllabus
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”—Socrates
Homework refers to reading; HW refers to written assignments.
1.
(Tuesday, September 7) Introduction
•
Introduction.
•
Class responsibilities and requirements.
•
Why is the mind a terrible thing to waste?
•
What is thinking?
Homework: Read the Preface and from The Autobiography of Malcolm X in Chapter 1 of your
textbook. HW1: Write a one-page response to the passage with the following question in mind:
Are Malcolm X’s experiences similar or different from your own? Use Questions for Analysis to
help formulate your response.
2.
(Thursday, September 9) Defining Goals
•
Why are you here today?
•
How are Malcolm X’s experiences similar to or different from your own?
•
Working toward goals.
•
Thinking Activity 1.1: Analyzing a Goal That You Achieved.
Homework: HW2: List five short-term goals you would like to achieve by next week. Rank them
in order of importance, estimate how much time each will take to accomplish, and fit them into
your daily schedule. Use “Achieving Short-Term Goals” as a guide. Hand in a Xerox copy; keep
the original for your record. You will share in class next week your reasons for achieving or not
achieving your goals.
3.
(Monday, September 13) Working Toward Your Goals
•
Working toward short- and long-term goals.
•
Project One discussion (see handout).
•
Thinking Activity 1.2: Analyzing an Important Future Goal.
Homework: Read “An Organized Approach to Making Decisions” and “Deciding on a Career” in
Chapter 1. HW3: Do Thinking Activity 1.4. Start research for Project One: Go see a movie.
4.
(Tuesday, September 14) Making Decisions
•
Impulsive, intuitive, and analytic decision-making.
•
Five steps to organized decision-making.
•
Thinking Activity 1.4.
Homework: HW4: Do Thinking Activity 1.5.
20
Monday, September 20, no class
Tuesday, September 21, no class
5.
(Thursday, September 23) “Be All That You Can Be”
•
Fulfill your potential.
•
Thinking Activity 1.6: Identifying Your Abilities.
Homework: Read “What Are Your Abilities?”
6.
(Monday, September 27) “Discovering ‘Who’ You Are”
•
Who are you? What do you like to do? What are your abilities? Thinking Activity 1.7.
Define your interests.
Homework: Read the entire section “Living Creatively” in Chapter 1.
7.
8.
(Tuesday, September 28) Analyzing Issues
•
Thinking Activity 1.7: Describing Your Current and Future Self.
•
Homework: Read the rest of Chapter 1. HW7: Choose any of the remaining Thinking
Activities, and be prepared to discuss overcoming blocks to creativity and sharing strategies
in class.
(Thursday, September 30) Summary
•
Summarize Chapter 1.
•
Thinking critically and thinking creatively.
•
Project One due.
Homework: HW8: Get a copy of the New York Times (or log on to the website; registration is
free). Clip or print out the article that interests you the most and one that bores you. Write a brief
explanation as to why you feel the way you do about each.
“Thinking Critically is thinking about your thinking so that you can clarify and improve it.”─John
Chaffee, Thinking Critically.
9.
(Monday, October 4) Oral Presentation Activity
•
Newspaper article presentation and oral presentation activity.
•
Expand your vocabulary by listing words you are unfamiliar with from various reading
materials (textbooks, newspapers, magazines, or books) and see if you can utilize the words
in your writing assignments. List the new words and their definitions on the bottom of the
page.
•
Read the New York Times regularly, clipping or printing out articles that interest you for
class discussion.
Homework: Read the first part of Chapter 2 (up to the section titled “Thinking Actively”) and the
Thinking Passages: “Jurors’ and Judges’ Reasoning Processes” at the end of the chapter. HW9:
Do Questions for Analysis at the end of the chapter.
10. (Tuesday, October 5) Active Thinking
•
Be an active thinker: Get involved, take initiative, follow through, and take responsibility.
•
Discuss Questions for Analysis at the end of the chapter.
•
21
Discuss Project Two (see handout).
Homework: Read the Thinking Actively section in Chapter 2. HW10: Do Thinking Activity 2.3.
11. (Thursday, October 7) Active Learning, Active Questioning
•
Six categories of questioning: fact, interpretation, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and
application.
Homework: Read “Carefully Exploring Situations with Questions” and “Thinking Independently”
in Chapter 2. HW11: Do Thinking Activity 2.5.
Monday, October 11, Columbus Day, no class
12. (Tuesday, October 12) Thinking Independently, Understanding Others
•
Is the way you see things the way things really are?
•
Thinking Activity 2.5. We could all be wrong.
Homework: Read “Viewing Situations from Different Perspectives” and “Supporting Diverse
Perspectives with Reasons and Evidence” in Chapter 2. HW12: Do Thinking Activity 2.7.
13. (Thursday, October 14) Different World Views
•
Diverse perspectives.
•
Reasons and evidence.
•
Agree to disagree.
Homework: Read “Discussing Ideas in an Organized Way” in Chapter 2. HW13: Do Thinking
Activity 2.8.
14. (Monday, October 18) Organized Discussion
•
See beyond our “lenses”: Do you have a dialogical or a monological relationship to the
world?
•
Strategies for discussing ideas in an organized way: Listen; support views with reasons and
evidence; respond appropriately; ask the right questions; and increase understanding.
•
Dialogue as a continuous process.
Homework: Read the rest of Chapter 2. HW14: Respond to Questions for Analysis at the end of
the chapter.
15. (Tuesday, October 19) The Practice of Critical Thinking
Discussion of Project Two with class.
Homework: No homework; concentrate on Project Two.
16. (Thursday, October 21) Becoming a Critical Thinker
•
Discuss HW14: Questions for Analysis.
Homework: No homework; concentrate on Project Two.
17. (Monday, October 25) Dialogue Enactment
•
Project Two due.
Homework: Read “Thinking Critically About Problems” and “Introduction to Solving Problems”
in Chapter 3.
22
18. (Tuesday, October 26) Continue Dialogues and Course Review
•
Course review.
Thinking is problem-solving.
19. (Thursday, October 28) Introduction to Problem-Solving
•
My friend with a drug problem.
•
Five steps to approach the problem: (1) What is the problem? (2) What are the alternatives?
(3) What are the advantages or disadvantages of each alternative? (4) What is the solution?
(5) How well is the solution working?
•
What’s your problem?
Homework: Read “Solving Complex Problems,” “Accepting the Problem,” and Steps 1 to 5 in
Chapter 3. HW15: Do Thinking Activity 3.2.
20. (Monday, November 1) Solving Complex Problems
•
The advanced version of the five-step method of problem solving.
Homework: Read the rest of Chapter 3.
21. (Tuesday, November 2) Money Management and Time Management
•
Five steps to better money and time management.
•
Prepare for the “Liberty Versus Security” team discussion.
Homework: Read “Young Hate” and “When Is It Rape?”
22. (Thursday, November 4) “Liberty Versus Security” and Solving Nonpersonal Problems
•
Discuss “Young Hate” and “When Is It Rape?”
23. (Monday, November 8) “Liberty Versus Security,” continued discussion
•
Discuss Project Three (see handout).
Homework: Respond to “Who am I?” part 1 of Project Three (see handout).
24. (Tuesday, November 9) Who Are You?
•
Discuss “Who am I?”
•
Discuss Project Three.
Homework: Research part 2 of Project Three (see handout). Read the beginning of Chapter 4
through Thinking Activity 4.2.
Understanding Perception
25. (Thursday, November 11) Introduction to Perception
•
What do you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste?
•
Which do you see: young woman or old woman?
•
What is the guy doing?
•
What is the monkey doing?
Homework: Read “Viewing the World Through Lenses,” and “Analyzing Different Accounts of
the Assassination of Malcolm X” in Chapter 4.
23
26. (Monday, November 15) World of Different Perceptions
•
What is your area of expertise? How does your knowledge differ from others’?
•
“Five accounts of the Assassination of Malcolm X.”
Homework: Read accounts of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the student website at
www.college.hmco.com/pic/chaffeetc9e.
27. (Tuesday, November 16) Your Experience, Your Perception
•
Thinking critically about perception.
•
Your perception, my perception, watch out for stereotypical perception.
Homework: Prepare for part 2 of Project Three.
28. (Thursday, November 18) Project Three, part 2: Essay Presentation
•
Group presentation of assigned essays.
Homework: Complete part 3 of Project Three. Read Thinking Passages: “Perceptions and Reality
on Reporting About Hurricane Katrina” in Chapter 4.
29. (Monday, November 22) Global Conflict
•
Class discussion: Perceptions of Hurricane Katrina.
•
Part 3 of Project Three due.
Homework: Answer Questions for Analysis at the end of Chapter 4.
30. (Tuesday, November 23) Your Perceptions on Hurricane Katrina
•
Class discussion: Personal approaches to Hurricane Katrina.
Thursday, November 25, Thanksgiving, no class
“You can believe what is not so, but you cannot know what is not so.”
31. (Monday, November 29) “Believing and Knowing”
•
Perceiving and believing.
•
Believing and perceiving.
Homework: Read Chapter 5 up to Thinking Activity 5.6. HW18: Do Thinking Activity 5.6.
32. (Tuesday, November 30), Art Trip
•
Class visits an art museum exhibit.
33. (Thursday, December 2) Knowledge and Truth
•
Knowledge and truth.
•
Believing and knowing.
Homework: Read the rest of Chapter 5.
34. (Monday, December 6) Belief and Astrology
•
Belief based on indirect experience.
•
Astrology.
35. (Tuesday, December 7) Conclusion
•
What is thinking?
36. (To be announced) Final Exam
24
CRITICAL THINKING
LaGuardia Community College
David Ting Yih
Project One
Write a three-page letter, telling me about a movie you saw and liked a lot, and try to convince me to go
see it. This is not a film report, so limit your description of the film to one page only. On the second
page you want to explain what the film means to you (for example, “The movie Saving Private Ryan
meant a lot to me because my grandfather fought in World War II. After seeing the film I feel that I can
understand what he went through”). The final section must include thoughtful reasoning about why I
should go see it (for example, “Even though you do not know my grandfather, seeing this film will
allow you to witness the horror of war”). Sometimes, personal reasons are more meaningful than purely
aesthetic ones. You have no idea what my taste is in cinema, but it does not matter, because it is not
about what I like; rather it is about why I should like it.
The letter must be typed, as all project papers must be typed. I will not accept handwritten work. All
projects should be double spaced with your name and class on the upper left corner. You may start with
Dear David.
25
CRITICAL THINKING
David Ting Yih
Project Two
There are different ways of conveying ideas. One of the oldest is by a method called dialogue. The
passage I read to you in the first day of our class was by the ancient Greek thinker named Plato whose
many philosophical treaties were written in the dialogue form around 400 B.C.E. In fact, it was not until
the sixteenth century that the essay as a style of writing became the dominant means of expositing ideas
or opinions.
Part 1
For this project, find a partner in your class and create a dialogue dealing with any topic you wish. Each
of you will take a different position regarding this topic and engage in a thoughtful discussion. You
may want to approach the project as if it were a dialogue for a movie or a theater piece consisting of
dramatic effects, such as: Two old friends confronting certain deep disagreement over a family issue; or
two strangers involved in a discussion by chance, over a public incident about which they hold
conflicting opinions.
You may want to imagine a setting such as a cafe in the Village, on the #7 train going to Flushing for a
dinner, a hallway in LaGuardia College, or anywhere you want. Make sure you and your partner
express two opposing sides of the same issue. Other important points to consider: Depict the partners as
careful listeners by having them respond directly to what is said; show the partners answering and
asking sincere questions in an attempt to attain a richer understanding of the subject matter.
The dialogue must be more than five pages.
Part 2
You will enact the dialogue in class, and the class will help me grade it.
Part 3
After completing the dialogue, each of you will write an essay summarizing your partner’s point of
view. You want to offer a detailed explanation of the viewpoint that is different from your own to
demonstrate that you understand the reasoning behind the other viewpoint, even though you disagree
with it.
(Part 1 of this project is based on lesson 15 and on the textbook Thinking Critically. If you have any
questions please refer to the guidelines for “Discussing Ideas in an Organized Way,” in Chapter 2 of the
textbook, or talk to me.)
26
CRITICAL THINKING
David Ting Yih
Project Three
We have so far explored the various mechanics of our thinking process. We have also learned
constructive ways to ask questions and different methods of examining issues and problems from
multiple perspectives. There are many things in this world we cannot know, but what we can be certain
of is our existence, that we exist and that we are here. Two questions have perplexed the minds of
thinkers since the beginning of human consciousness: “Why am I here?” and “Who am I?” The answer
to the first question is nearly impossible for us to know; it begs for metaphysical explanations, which
we are not equipped to explain here. But we can consider the second question because we are able to
draw an answer from our experience on the basis of social, political, and historical norms. As we have
learned, however, our perception colors our experience, and our experience in turn affects our
perceptions; we cannot rely uncritically on either.
The objective of this project is to apply the strategies of critical thinking to the questions of our identity:
Who are you as a specific person? Why do you think so?
Part 1
Select one (only one) from the four categories of identity below and write a short essay (two typed
pages) offering reasons and evidence for your choice.
Start by asking yourself “Who am I?”
1.
I am a person defined mostly by race, ethnic group, or country of origin. I am an essentialist.
2.
I am a person defined mostly by a social community such as a church group, social club, gang
affiliation, or a particular neighborhood. I am a communitarian.
3.
I am a person who is at ease no matter where in the world or in what local communities I may be
involved. I am a cosmopolitan.
4.
I am a person who is uncomfortable everywhere in this world. I am a stranger on this earth.
Part 2
After responding to the question of “Who am I?” we turn our attention to two prominent intellectuals
writing about problems in African American identities. The class will be divided into two groups; each
group will be assigned an essay to read (the two books are on reserve in the library). You have a week
to read the essay on your own; then you will meet with your group in class and spend twenty-five
minutes discussing the article. Afterward, each group will do a presentation of their article. Each
member will be asked to say something: you want to explain the main ideas of the article, what you
have learned from it, whether it affected your answer to the “Who am I?” question, if these ideas carry
any applicability to your own life experience, and so on. Once the presentation is done, each side will
ask the other side questions, give feedback, and offer their thoughts.
Part 3
Conclude the project by writing an essay that summarizes what you have learned from this project and
offer your final thoughts regarding the question of identity and racial politics today.
27
CRITICAL THINKING
David Ting Yih
Project Four
This project involves sending the class to a current art museum exhibit. Because the exhibit changes
each semester, each semester’s project description handout changes as well. The aim of this project is to
expose students to the perplexing world of modern (or postmodern) art: from an exhibit of a video
installation artist at the Whitney Museum of American Art, to the barn-size splatter paintings of
Jackson Pollock at the Museum of Modern Art, the experience of which often disarms the students’
more conventional understanding of art and forces them to take up the semester’s lessons and to think
critically about what they are seeing. Handouts for this project in the past have varied from a page of
detailed instructions to a simple question: “What do you think?” without any instructions. The class
meets back in school for discussions, and a paper is produced in the end.
28
Sample Syllabus for a Six-Week Course
Santa Fe Community College
Dawn Graziani
REA 2205
CRITICAL THINKING AND COLLEGE READING
SYLLABUS
Section:
Instructor:
Phone:
Email:
Term:
Office:
Introduction
Welcome! Critical Thinking and College Reading is developed and offered by the reading faculty in
Academic Foundations. We continually revise and improve this course by reflecting on the following
questions each semester:
What knowledge and skills are required for reading effectively and thinking critically and creatively in
college and in a democratic, digital society?
How can students and teachers best construct that knowledge and develop the above skills in ways that
will have a lasting impact on the learning process?
Why are creative and critical thinking important? What are the academic, professional, and personal
contexts to which creative and critical thinking can be applied?
What does current research and expert opinion offer about the knowledge, skills, and applications of
reading and creative and critical thinking?
Who are our students? What individual circumstances, backgrounds, interests, and goals do you bring
to our classes that enrich and enlighten our collective learning experience?
This course assumes that effective thinking and communicating are fundamental to successful college
learning and everyday living. Thus, we will begin by constructing understandings of thinking critically
and creatively, learning actively, and communicating effectively. We will examine the general
characteristics and practices of advanced learners, with a major focus on self-monitoring, self-assessing,
and self-correcting thinking and learning patterns. We will also examine the specific attitudes,
structures, processes, and applications of thinking central to comprehending and communicating ideas,
solving problems, and making decisions. We will improve skills in analyzing and evaluating
information, asking probing questions, and drawing logical conclusions with improved accuracy and
fair-mindedness. We will also practice reading and listening with heightened awareness and empathy,
writing and speaking with improved clarity and precision; and thinking and inquiring with originality.
This course promotes making connections within and between academic disciplines, career areas, and
personal life. The course applies core thinking and learning processes to college content areas and reallife scenarios, and it promotes the development of lifelong-learning habits. With these questions as
guides, we can work together this semester to have a stimulating, informative, and enriching experience
that will be valuable and lasting for each of us!
29
Prerequisites: College-level reading placement score or successful completion of REA 0010
Outcomes
This course is designed for students to achieve the following outcomes. Use the column at the right to
list specific activities that show how you know you have achieved each outcome:
You should be able to
Construct and articulate operational definitions of the
processes of critical thinking, creative thinking, active
learning, and communicating.
Articulate the significance of the above processes to
successful college learning and everyday living.
Make explicit connections between communicating,
thinking, and learning, with emphasis on the transaction
between reader/listener and writer/speaker.
Recognize and develop attitudes and characteristics (traits)
of effective thinkers, learners, and communicators.
Evaluate and improve structures and processes of thinking,
learning, and communicating by practicing systematic
reflection, establishing intellectual standards, and striving
for originality.
Apply critical and creative thinking skills to problem
solving, decision-making, and meaning making in various
contexts.
Assess and improve the effectiveness of interpretations,
solutions, and decisions, or other outcomes of thinking by
evaluating them according to standards of thinking.
Use language to clarify thinking and communicate
effectively by attending to the perceptual and contextual
dimensions of language use.
Understand words in context, interpret denotative and
connotative language, and interpret inferences by attending
to the perceptual and pragmatic dimensions of language.
Recognize and understand topics, explicit and implicit main
ideas, supporting details, and patterns of organization of text
by representing them in notes, outlines, annotations, mind
maps, and summaries.
Recognize other's and one's own purpose, point of view,
tone and style as represented in linguistic text.
Distinguish between fact and opinion and detect bias.
Draw valid inferences and conclusions.
Recognize, understand, develop, and demonstrate ability
with deductive and inductive reasoning processes.
Assess the credibility of other's and one's own reasoning.
You have done this by
30
Evaluation
The following points will determine your course grade. Your instructor makes the final determination
of awarding credit on the basis of assignment criteria and deadlines. Your instructor is not obligated to
provide extra credit or to accept late work. You are encouraged to attend all classes, complete all
assignments, and meet all deadlines. Avoid making assumptions or neglecting expectations. Instead,
ask questions and clarify expectations on all assignments. The information below provides more
specific criteria for each component of the course.
A. Attendance & Activities
100 pts.
B. 3 Projects
300 pts.
C. 3 Tests & Final Exam
400 pts.
D. Portfolio & Reflection Paper
200 pts.
TOTAL =
1,000 pts.
Attendance & Activities
100 pts.
Attendance is required for this course! You will receive points per day attended as determined by
your instructor. Use the chart below to keep track of your attendance. For daily class work and
homework, you will be assigned a variety of activities worth various points in which you apply course
content to specific readings, writings, and/or situations. Activities may require individual assessment
(such as quizzes), participation in class, individual work outside of class, and/or participation in WebCT
emails and discussions. Use the chart below to keep track of your activities points. File all
assignments in your portfolio. NOTE: You are responsible for completing assigned readings and
activities and studying class notes on a regular basis. If you miss class or any portion of class, you
are responsible for contacting your instructor and classmates to get any missed notes and
assignments and to be prepared for the next class meeting. Your instructor makes the final
determination of awarding attendance credit, accepting late work, or allowing makeup work based
on her assignment policies as well as communication with individuals.
Days Present and On Time
Your total days =________/________ total days possible = _________ pts. (*Add to total below.)
Activities
*Attendance = ___/___ pts.
Your total points =________/________ total days possible = _________/100 pts.
Projects
300 pts.
31
You will complete three projects worth 100 points each in which you apply the reading and critical
thinking concepts and skills that you learn in class. Specific guidelines for each project will be
provided separately. You are responsible for meeting all the guidelines and turning in each project by
the scheduled due dates to be eligible for full credit.
Tests & Final Exam
400 pts.
You will take three multiple-choice tests worth 100 points each on which you will demonstrate
understanding of the reading and critical thinking concepts and skills for each portion of the course.
Specific content for each test will be discussed separately. The final exam is comprehensive, testing all
of the reading and critical thinking concepts covered throughout the entire semester. It is given on the
prescheduled exam date and time. **See the Final Exam Exemption option below.** You are
responsible to know the designated material by the test date. You must attend the scheduled tests to be
eligible for full credit. NO MAKEUPS!!!
**FINAL EXAM EXEMPTION**
If you have an A- average on your tests (min. 270 points, calculated after Test 3), you do not have to
take the final exam. If you exempt the final exam, your A-average will be used as your exam score, or
you may opt to take the exam and use your score if it improves your overall grade.
Day: __________ Date: _______ Time: _________ Room: _______ Bring: __________
Course Portfolio & Reflection Paper
200 pts.
The course portfolio is a collection of and reflection on your learning experience in this class. It is a
three-ring binder with dividers in which you organize handouts, notes, quizzes, activities, projects, and
reflections. Thus, be sure to save everything from this class! Everything that you do for this class,
including taking class notes and saving returned papers, counts as a portion of your portfolio grade.
You will write a final reflection paper to synthesize your learning experience in this class. You will
receive additional specific guidelines for the portfolio and reflection paper separately.
32
Dropping & Withdrawing
Don't receive a failing grade for a course you stop attending. You need to drop or complete a
withdrawal form (Office of Records R-110) by the scheduled deadline. If you don't, you will receive a
failing grade for the class and this failure becomes part of your permanent record.
Drop Date: _____________ Withdraw Date: ___________
Required Materials
Text:
John Chaffee, Thinking Critically, 9th ed. (Houghton Mifflin 2009)
Also:
pocket dictionary
three-ring binder, dividers
loose-leaf paper
pens, #2 pencils, highlighters
stapler, hole-puncher
index cards
other:_____________________
You can find the required textbook and supplies at the Santa Fe Bookstore in S-003. You are
encouraged to find an unmarked copy of the text so that you can make your own annotations.
Expectations
You, your classmates, and your instructor will collaboratively construct any additional expectations on
this syllabus. Each student is responsible for upholding and meeting the requirements of this syllabus
as well as additional expectations developed by you and your instructor throughout the semester.
33
Academic Integrity & Student Conduct
SFCC students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that will reflect favorably on the
college, the community, and themselves. Cheating, plagiarism, or any act of academic dishonesty of
any kind is grounds for failing the course and/or further disciplinary action as appropriate according to
the Student Conduct Code. Each student is advised to become familiar with and to abide by the general
regulations and rules of conduct listed in the SFCC Student Handbook.
Special Circumstances
If you have any special circumstance such as a learning disability, religious, military, or intercollegiate
athletics obligation that could affect your participation in this course at any time throughout this
semester, it is your responsibility to bring it to your instructor’s attention and review the appropriate
documentation and procedures for each circumstance.
You
Your Peers
Your Instructor
Statement of Commitment
This syllabus is a contract that prescribes the expectations and standards required for completion of this
course. Thus, I understand that it is my responsibility to be aware of, uphold, and meet all of the
expectations, standards, and requirements herein prescribed in order to complete this course.
Furthermore, this syllabus is a working document that requires students and instructors to
collaboratively complete certain components throughout the semester. Thus, I understand that it is my
responsibility to regularly review and keep records in this document and to maintain communication
with my instructor about my progress.
Sign:_________________________ Date: ___________
34
Progress
Use the charts below to record your grades, take notes on communication with your instructor, and/or
keep track of your participation in SFCC learning labs throughout the semester. You are encouraged to
meet at least once with your instructor to discuss your needs, goals, and/or anything related to your
progress in this course. You are also encouraged to visit the Critical Thinking/Reading Lab, Writing
Lab, and/or ESL Lab to review material before each test and exam, practice skills for reading projects,
and get individual feedback on your writing.
Critical Thinking & Reading Lab G-36
Writing Lab G-006
ESL Lab I-001
Date
Summary & Recommendations
Initial
Course Grade
Description
Date
Your
Points
Possible
Points
Attendance & Activities
100
Project 1
Project 2
Project 3
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
Final Exam
Portfolio
Reflection Paper
TOTAL GRADE
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
1,000
Grade Scale
Letter
Grade
Percentage
GPA
Points
A
900 –1,000
4.0
B+
860 – 899
3.5
B
800 – 859
3.0
C+
760 – 799
2.5
C
700 – 759
2.0
D+
660 – 699
1.5
D
600 – 659
1.0
F
599 – below
0.0
35
36
TEACHING STRATEGIES
Integrating the Textbook, Homework Assignments, and Class
Discussions
Learning is a process of making connections and constructing relationships. Thus, when all the
elements of a course work together harmoniously, the result is synergistic. Consider, for example, the
opening section of Chapter 3, “Solving Problems.” The chapter begins with an example that students
may find familiar—a friend with a drug problem—and asks them to analyze it in a systematic fashion.
This is a useful project for the class to work on together, either as a whole or in small groups. The goal
of this activity is for students to see that thinking is something that we do all the time (though we are
often not aware of it) and that effective thinking is usually organized. By carefully examining effective
thinking, we can abstract the key concepts and methodologies and then apply them to our own thinking
processes.
Thinking Activity 3.1, which can be assigned for homework, asks students to describe a problem that
they have solved recently and then to analyze how their minds operated in solving the problem by using
the same five-step method they have just examined in the class discussion. This Thinking Activity is
particularly valuable because it demonstrates to students that they already think effectively and that the
purpose of the course is to develop their thinking abilities further by carefully examining the thinking
process.
If this assignment is completed for homework, it can be used as a basis for class discussion. This
approach gives students the opportunity to present their ideas to their classmates and have them respond
to their thinking. One productive strategy is to have each student describe his or her problem to the
class. The class as a group can then analyze the problem as you record their responses on the board.
Finally, the student can share his or her analysis and solution with the class. This approach places the
class in a much more active role and introduces the concept of group discussion, which you will want to
develop as the course progresses. This first sequence of activities illustrates a pattern that is repeated
throughout the book.
•
A thinking concept is introduced (problem solving).
•
The concept is illustrated and analyzed (the drug-addicted friend).
•
Students generate an example from their own experience and analyze it in the same way (the
unsolved problem).
•
Students discuss and analyze their ideas in class.
This sequence gives students the opportunity to understand the concepts clearly, to practice applying
them, and to internalize the mode of thinking embodied in the examples. By using Thinking Activities
such as this one as the basis for class discussions, students are engaged naturally because they are
sharing and analyzing the thinking they did outside class. It also encourages them to think about and
practice using the thinking abilities that the course is addressing both within and outside the classroom.
Class Discussions
It is a good idea to keep the following strategies in mind when conducting class discussions:
•
Use writing and/or reading assignments as a basis for discussions. This encourages thoughtful
participation because students have had the opportunity to think about the issues and express their
thinking outside class.
37
•
Try to involve all members of the class on an ongoing basis. Call on quiet members if they don’t
volunteer, and give them whatever encouragement or support they need.
•
Try to remove yourself as the dominating force in the discussion. Students should be speaking and
listening to one another, not simply waiting for you to provide the “correct” response. When
someone asks you a question, instead of simply giving an answer, ask the questioner or the class
to try to answer it. One of your key roles is that of facilitator, guiding the discussions but having
students explore the issues and work for insights themselves. Once you give your view, the
discussion usually ends, as students believe that they have the “answer.”
•
Develop the habit of presenting ideas by asking questions. As students respond to your questions,
you can use their responses to elicit and illustrate the points you want to make. This format
encourages students to be more active learners. Of course, students must be given enough of a
framework regarding the subject so that they have the ability to relate to your questions.
•
Encourage students to be specific in their responses and to provide cogent reasons to support their
positions. When a student gives a vague or general response, ask him or her to rephrase it in more
specific terms, to give an example that illustrates the point, and to cite reasons that support his or
her view.
ADDITIONAL CRITICAL THINKING ACTIVITIES
To supplement the Thinking Activities in the book, faculty members teaching the Critical Thinking
course often create additional activities. I have included a sampling below (handouts follow these brief
descriptions).
If you would like to share activities you have developed via the websites for Thinking Critically, please
forward them to me at JCthink@aol.com or LaGuardia College, 31-10 Thomson Avenue, Long Island
City, NY 11101.
Career Exploration Project
This activity is designed to help students synthesize their career exploration activities in Chapter 1 and
provide them with a research document that they can use to guide their search for a fulfilling career.
Arguing a Position
This activity (developed by Ray Robbennolt) is an effective way to help students prepare for the more
dynamic give and take of organized debated.
Debate Activity
Student debates are powerful vehicles for applying many of the principles of critical thinking and
critical literacy, while engaging students in a fascinating and challenging activity. If the debates are to
result in the presentation of substantive, well-supported views, however, careful preparations must be
made before the debates take place. The format that I use for class debates is detailed in this activity
sheet.
Thinking Critically with Oprah
A productive variation of the debate format is the talk-show format, a cultural form with which students
are intimately familiar.
38
Oral Presentation Activity
This activity (contributed by Eric Bienstock) is designed to reinforce the students’ ability to think on
their feet and present their ideas clearly and succinctly.
Concept Collage
This activity (created by Dawn Graziani) encourages students to use mixed media and visual
learning skills to express and articulate an abstract concept.
Research Project: The Holocaust
This project was developed in coordination with Richard Lieberman, a historian who created the
LaGuardia Archives. In addition to challenging students to think about the pervasive evil of genocide, it
also provides the opportunity to conduct research with historical documents and to synthesize their
findings into a carefully reasoned paper.
Conceptualizing Activity
This activity (contributed by Stephen Brauch) is designed to work in conjunction with the articles
“Femininity” and “The Return of the Manly Men” in Chapter 7, “Forming and Applying Concepts.”
The goals of the activity include helping students make explicit their understanding of complex
concepts and develop insight into the way concepts are formed and evolve over time.
Constructive Analysis of an Institution
This activity (developed by Ray Robbennolt) encourages students to take an analytical look at an
institution in their lives and to make constructive suggestions to improve its functioning.
Creating a Video for Social Commentary
This activity (contributed by Ray Robbennolt) is an innovative way for students to engage in critical
analysis through a visual medium. One powerful student video on homelessness included moving
interviews with homeless people accompanied by a soundtrack of John Lennon singing his song
“Imagine”—a truly Emmy-worthy creation! Project guidelines are included.
Newspaper Journal
This activity (developed by Lorraine Kenny) encourages students to read carefully and critically
evaluate relevant articles in newspapers and provides the foundation for composing meaningful “Letters
to the Editor.”
Letter to the Editor
Letters to the Editor are productive ways to encourage students to think analytically and express their
ideas cogently. The activity (developed by Ray Robbennolt) provides a well-structured framework for
students.
Civil Disobedience
Civil disobedience has a long and respected history in the United States, and it relies on people thinking
critically about social laws that they consider to be unjust. This activity provides the opportunity to
envision a circumstance in which students might consider civil disobedience in response to laws that
violate their moral sense of right and wrong.
39
Tiananmen Square
These two activities provide opportunities to extend Thinking Activity 5.6 in Chapter 5 dealing with
conflicting accounts of the confrontation at Tiananmen Square. The first activity makes use of the video
“Tragedy at Tiananmen,” while the second relates these events to analogous protests in Ireland and the
United States.
Horoscope Activity
This ingeniously designed activity (developed by Alice Rosenblitt) encourages students to think
critically about the truth of horoscopes and astrology by engaging them in an “experiment” to “test” the
validity of daily horoscope predictions.
Writing a Speech
This activity extends the idea of writing a Letter to the Editor to writing a speech for a specific
audience.
Priorities, Evidence, and Arguments
This activity (developed by Gary Richmond) challenges students—individually and in a group—to
prioritize social problems and then construct arguments to support their ranking.
Analyzing Perceptual Lenses
This activity (developed by Alice Rosenblitt) introduces students to the active nature of the perceiving
process by having them identify some elements of their perceptual “lenses” and then compare their
lenses with those of other students.
Peer Evaluation of Group Project
This form (developed by Karen Cantrell) provides a structured framework for students to evaluate and
provide feedback to their classmates when presenting group projects.
40
CRITICAL THINKING
Dr. John Chaffee
Career Exploration Project
The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with an opportunity to synthesize your explorations
regarding your career choice. This is one of the most important decisions you will have to make, and
this project will serve as an important point of reference.
Cover Page: Design a cover page that includes your name, address, phone number, and the date. Also
include a recent photo of yourself (this can be a photocopy of your student I.D.).
Dream Job: Describe your dream job by completing Thinking Activity 12.2.
Personal Interests: Identify a list of interests in your life and match them with potential careers by
completing Thinking Activity 1.7.
Personal Abilities: Identify special abilities you have by completing Thinking Activity 1.8.
Career-Transfer Resource Center: Based on the research you did in the previous activities and your
visit to the Career-Transfer Resource Center, identify careers that you believe match your interests and
abilities. For each potential career,
•
Describe the career
•
Explain why you believe your interests and abilities match the career
•
Describe what additional information you will need to make a final career decision, and identify
the sources you can use to get this information
41
ARGUING A POSITION
Thinking Exercise
“We live in a complex world filled with challenging and often perplexing issues that we are expected to
make sense of. Usually the media or others in authority will define these issues for us; as effective
thinkers we have an obligation to develop informed, intelligent opinions about these issues so that we
can function as responsible citizens and also make appropriate decisions when confronted with these
issues in our lives.”
“Almost everyone has opinions about events and their meaning. Some opinions, however, are more
informed and better supported than others.” We must be aware of how we form our opinions and see if
we can support our opinions with well-constructed arguments and evidence.
Your assignment is to identify an issue, name it, take a position, and argue for that position. You will
participate as a member of a debate team.
Remember the steps to take.
1.
Name the issue.
2.
State the arguments.
3.
Support each argument with evidence. Evidence is not an opinion; it is experience that can be
confirmed by others and is used to support an argument. Evidence can take the form of first-hand
experience, statistical analysis, or expert testimony.
You will give a two-minute oral presentation in class. It will consist of the following:
1.
Statement and definition of issue
2.
Statement of position on issue
3.
Argument 1—argues for your position on issue
4.
Evidence 1—supports Argument 1
5.
Evidence 2—supports Argument 1
Example:
1.
There is a current debate among educators about what should be taught in humanities courses such
as literature and history. One faction seeks a return to the classics, while another faction believes
we should diversify our cultural studies to include a variety of expressions from many cultures.
The emphasis for both groups is what to study. I believe that they both have it wrong. The issue is
not what we should teach but instead is how we should teach.
2.
I believe that the emphasis on cultural studies should be placed not on content of lessons but
instead on the critical thinking skills needed to accumulate knowledge, regardless of content.
3.
My first argument is this: students who are given information without the critical skills to analyze
it will not be able to apply this information; therefore they will not be educated in either classical
or multicultural studies.
4.
As an instructor for the last several years, I have observed that students who do not have critical
thinking skills become frustrated with their studies, no matter what the content. After twelve
weeks of attending my class, 85 percent of all students completing my class indicated that the
skills they had developed made studying easier and more relevant to their lives. This information
42
was obtained by end-of-the-year reviews taken by the LaGuardia Community College Faculty
Assessment Questionnaire.
5.
According to Kevin O’Reilly, author of Evaluating Viewpoints: Critical Thinking in United States
History, Book One, Colonies to Constitution, students who use traditional methods of rote
learning do not retain information beyond testing dates, while those who apply a critical analysis
to the information given to them retain information for longer periods of time, because of their
ability to synthesize this information into their preexisting body of knowledge.
43
DEBATE ACTIVITY
1.
Divide into groups of four.
2.
Each group should select a topic to analyze and discuss, chosen from the list produced by the class
or developed by the group.
3.
Two members of the group will be identified as supporting the issue, and two members will take
the opposite position. (Your personal views need not correspond to the position you will be
defending.)
4.
Each two-member team will spend approximately twenty minutes developing reasons, arguments,
and evidence that support its position. Keep a record of these ideas and information.
5.
For homework, each person will locate an article that relates to the issue being discussed.
Photocopy this article and bring it to class to enrich your deliberations.
6.
The two teams in each group will then discuss the issue being analyzed. As you discuss these
issues, pay particular attention to the following:
a.
Listen carefully to the points that are being made.
b.
Comment directly on the points that are being made by the opposing team.
c.
Keep a record of the additional insights regarding the issue that your discussion uncovers.
These notes can be used for reference during your debate.
7.
At the next class, each group will have twenty minutes to present a debate to the class. Following
the debate, class members will have ten minutes to ask questions and make comments regarding
the topic being discussed.
8.
At the class following your groups’ debate, hand in a two-page paper that analyzes the issue from
your viewpoint. Describe arguments for both sides of the issue and conclude with your
perspective and the reasons that support it. Attach the copy of the article that you researched.
44
CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
Professor Alice Rosenblitt
LaGuardia College
HUP100.04, Humanities Dept., Fall Semester—Session I
Guidelines for the In-Class Debates and the Debate Analysis Paper
Participation in an In-class Debate is required once of every student during the semester. Debaters
should obtain a research article on their debate topic prior to the day of their debate. Students in the
audience are required to participate actively by taking notes during the debates (to be used for the
debate analysis papers) and by critically questioning the debaters afterward. The notes you take during
the debates will help you to answer the questions listed below, which must be discussed in your debate
analysis paper.
1.
How is listening being demonstrated or not demonstrated here?
Are people responding to the ideas of others?
How are the debaters succeeding and/or not succeeding in looking at the issue from many
different perspectives? Are they demonstrating an attempt to think about the issue from the
opposite side’s perspective?
Are people thinking for themselves, yet still considering others’ ideas?
2.
How are the debaters supporting what they believe with arguments based on facts and evidence?
What are the sources of their facts and evidence?
Are they relying solely on personal experience?
3.
Do the debaters show an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the sources of their
information (including personal experience)?
What is your evaluation (judgment) of the strengths and weaknesses of these sources of
information (including personal experience)?
4.
What types of questions are the debaters asking one another?
What types of questions are people in the audience asking the debaters?
How do these questions help to create a meaningful discussion of the debate topic?
What categories (from the six types of critical questions) do they fall into?
5.
What did you learn about the ways that other people think from this debate?
What did you learn about the ways that you think?
How did you become more aware of your own thinking processes, and those of others?
In general, think about the ways in which others seem to be thinking and how you are thinking
during the debates. How is this critical thinking?
These debates are not win-or-lose contests; rather, they give us a chance to learn about the thinking
process through the exercise of it.
45
Please remember that attendance is required on debate days even if you are not a member of the group
debating. In preparation, audience members are required to write two critical questions on the debate
topic and to identify which of the six categories of critical questions these questions belong to.
Be careful to represent the information your source provides in an accurate way. For example, if your
book or magazine says, “A scientist named George Romane in the eighteenth-century tried to prove that
women had smaller brains than men, but today, this is recognized to be scientifically untrue,” do not
quote this source as saying that a scientist named George Romane showed that “women had smaller
brains than men,” since this would be a misrepresentation of your source’s information.
The debate analysis paper must be at least four typed pages (double spaced). A copy of the research
article you consulted for your debate should be attached. Students should write on the copy of the
article the following information:
•
The author’s name
•
The name of the book, magazine, or newspaper containing this article
•
The editor of the book or magazine (if applicable)
•
The publisher’s name
•
The date (or year) of publication
•
The page numbers of the article
For your debate analysis paper, do not merely summarize your research article nor simply type up your
opening statement from the debate you were in. Rather, your paper must address both sides of the two
debate topics you are writing about.
Remember to discuss the debate you participated in and one other debate from our debates this
semester. Your paper should address all of the five categories of questions listed on the first page of this
handout, and your grade will be based on how well you discuss these five categories of questions.
Remember to give specific examples in your paper of how critical thinking occurred (or did not occur)
during these debates to illustrate and support your analysis of these debates.
46
THINKING CRITICALLY WITH OPRAH
1.
Each group of four will select an important social problem to discuss and try to solve, for
example, racism, sexism, or homophobia; spread of AIDS among young people; date rape; and so
on.
2.
In each group there will be
a.
One moderator who conducts the discussion, asks relevant questions, and tries to get all
perspectives on the problem
b.
Two guests, each holding contrasting views on the problem
c.
One expert who comments on the topic and applies his or her knowledge and experience to
what the guests are saying
3.
For homework, each person will locate information that relates to the topic. This information can
be obtained from magazines, newspapers, or books. Photocopy one source of information and
bring it to the next class to use as reference material during your discussion.
4.
Each group will have twenty minutes to present their program, followed by a ten-minute question
and comment session with the audience. Each person must be an active participant.
5.
a.
The moderator introduces the topic, gives an overview of the issue, and presents the guests.
It is the responsibility of the moderator to ask pertinent questions and to keep the discussion
on track. Also, the moderator fields questions from the audience and refers them to the
appropriate participants.
b.
Each guest, engaging in role-playing, acts the part of an individual who has a particular
point of view on the topic. (You can be young, old, professional, amateur, mother, father,
recovered alcoholic, drug addict, etc.) You must fully adopt the role you are playing and
portray the viewpoint of that person (though it may not be your own viewpoint).
c.
The expert comments on the information presented by the guests. To avoid an unbalanced
discussion, the expert should be as impartial as possible.
At the class following your program, hand in a two-page paper that analyzes the issue from your
viewpoint. Attach a copy of the material that you researched.
47
ORAL PRESENTATION ACTIVITY
In advance, prepare twenty slips of paper, fold them, and place them in a large envelope. On each slip
write a provocative question such as “What do you think of blind dates?” and “Is there any point to
studying history?”
One at a time the students come to the front of the room, reach into the envelope, and remove one of the
slips of paper. He or she then has two minutes to talk, during which time he or she must make four
intelligent points. The points can be pro, con, or neutral (or some of each); they can reflect the student’s
own opinion or his or her understanding of some other opinion.
Tell the students to imagine that they are out on a date with someone they like and want to impress and
who is of above-average intelligence; that person would expect to hear an intelligent response from
someone who is a college graduate.
Most students have no trouble coming up with two points. Some have trouble with the third, and most
have trouble with the fourth. A common problem is that they get locked into one train of thought
(established by their first point) and then have difficulty switching to another track to make a new point.
Furthermore, most of them seem to experience a good deal of anxiety. Only one or two students in each
section will be able to do the exercise with ease and comfort. You will likely, however, notice general
improvement as the quarter progresses.
There is a tendency for the other students to try to help out a struggling speaker. This may be due to
their own discomfort triggered by the speaker’s anxiety when she or he appears to be struggling.
Prepare the students for this in advance and ask them to resist the temptation to interfere. (There is
always spontaneous applause at the end of the two minutes!)
Despite these difficulties, the students overwhelmingly are in favor of the exercise. They see the value
of it and realize that it gives them needed practice in thinking on their feet, verbalizing their thoughts,
and becoming more comfortable with thinking and speaking under pressure.
This exercise works well as Part II of each of the course’s two exams. One can comfortably go through
an entire class of eighteen students in seventy minutes.
Following are suggestions for topics:
How does your college rate academically?
At what age should a person get married?
At what age should a couple have children?
Should a couple be married before having children?
Is there any value to studying history?
Is there any value in reading romance novels?
Should a person be allowed to commit suicide?
How do you feel about a person quitting high school and going to work?
At what age should a person be allowed to drink alcohol?
What is your opinion of politics and politicians?
Are beauty contests a good idea?
What is the value of watching sporting events?
48
What is your opinion of the welfare system?
What should be considered cheating in a romantic relationship?
At what age should a person be required to retire from work?
At what age should a child start school?
Is there any value to watching television?
What do you think of vouchers––that is, providing taxpayer funds to families of children in lowperforming school districts so that they can send their children to private, including parochial,
schools?
Should we be spending billions of dollars on exploring space when there are still people on Earth
who are starving?
Is there anything good about graffiti?
Is the easy availability of online pornography dangerous?
Some people say that all the world’s problems are caused by the fact that there are just too many
people. What do you think?
To reduce traffic congestion in Manhattan, someone has proposed that private cars be charged $20
a day to enter Manhattan. What do you think?
How can we reduce littering in our city?
Train and bus fares keep going up, but it seems that the service keeps going down. Is that fair?
Should we try to negotiate with terrorists or be tough with them, even though this might risk
lives?
How much of your personal privacy would you be willing to sacrifice in the name of national
security? For example, the PATRIOT Act allows law enforcement agencies to monitor the books
an individual borrows from the library. Is that safe, effective, and fair?
Some people believe that no one should live in cities, that everyone should live in the country.
What do you think?
Should high schools be permitted to distribute contraceptives to students without their parents’
knowledge?
Most people do not vote. Is this a serious problem?
The standard workweek is eight hours a day for five days a week. An alternative might be ten
hours a day for four days. What do you think?
Should men and women always be paid the same amount for the same job?
Suppose that instead of being married forever, people would get married for a five-year period
with an option to renew. What do you think of this idea?
The city is a very noisy place. What can be done to reduce the noise level?
More and more, robots are replacing human beings, especially those who do repetitive, tedious
work in factories. Is this a good idea?
It seems that people are less polite to one another than they used to be. Is this a serious problem?
What can be done about it?
49
CONCEPT COLLAGE
Language & Perception
Created by Dawn Graziani
This project is designed for students to synthesize and apply material and skills related to:
1.
Chapter 4, “Perceiving and Believing”
2.
Chapter 5, “Constructing Knowledge”
3.
Chapter 6, “Language and Thought”
4.
Chapter 7, “Forming and Applying Concepts”
5.
Unit 2 Class Notes, Discussions, Activities, Homework
The object of this project is for students to use mixed media (images, text, objects, etc.) to express a
comprehensive meaning of a concept. This is done by selecting explicit images from a variety of
sources and organizing them in a deliberate way to represent a dynamic interpretation of the concept.
As students explore a variety of linguistic and nonlinguistic sources and create their own collages, they
explicitly experience the way perception and language work together to form and apply concepts.
Additionally, students concretely observe the relationship between beliefs, knowledge, and concepts as
they compare their own understandings and examples of their concepts with the ways in which their
concepts are represented in their environments and understood by others.
Part A: Create a Concept Collage
1.
2.
Choose a concept (a word that symbolizes an object, emotion, idea, or experience).
a.
The concept can be tangible such as a telephone, car, pen, and so on, or intangible such as
love, femininity, criminal, and so on.
b.
You may work with a partner if you choose dueling concepts such as love/hate,
feminine/masculine, criminal/hero, and so on. And if you choose this option, you must have
a double collage (twice the size of a single collage).
Brainstorm all the following dimensions of meaning and style of your concept:
a.
Semantic meaning: Look it up in three dictionaries, a thesaurus, and at least one other
meaning resource to outline the essential properties and most common referents.
b.
Perceptual meaning: Search the concept on the Internet to see what kinds of hits you get
(this reveals how the concept is perceived and used), have three or more people (including
yourself) describe the personal experiences, examples, and emotions they have related to the
concept.
c.
Syntactic meaning: Outline all parts of speech and grammatical uses the concept has.
d.
Pragmatic meaning: Explore any applicable language styles (slang, dialect, jargon,
euphemism, emotive language) related to your concept.
50
3.
Show all the dimensions of meaning and style on a poster.
a.
Collect visual artifacts and linguistic blurbs to symbolize, represent, illustrate, explain, or
otherwise communicate each of the four areas listed above.
b.
You may move to a three-dimensional design if you wish (such as a mobile). You may use
mixed media such as sound and movement as well (such as a PowerPoint or performance).
c.
The minimum size is half of a standard poster, and the maximum size is whatever will fit
through the door to the classroom.
Part B: Concept Collage Exhibit
1.
2.
3.
Create a title and brief abstract for your exhibit.
a.
Write this, along with your name(s) on a 4 x 6 index card.
b.
This card will be posted beside your exhibit.
c.
It should give gallery guests an overview of your collage and a bit of insight into your
design and theme.
Bring your collage and abstract to class on the scheduled exhibit day.
a.
Bring any necessary materials (tape? string?) for posting your collage in the gallery (the
classroom).
b.
Set up your collage and abstract so that it can be adequately “read” by classmates.
On exhibit day, visit each collage.
a.
b.
“Read” each collage by asking
(1)
What are the selected images communicating about the concept’s meaning?
(2)
What does the organization of the images communicate about the concept's meaning?
Develop knowledge about concepts by choosing three collages to examine and understand in
depth.
(1)
Write your interpretation of each collage by summarizing your responses to the above
questions.
(2)
Write a question to ask the author of each of the three collages.
(3)
Go find your authors. With each, use your question to have a discussion about the
concept.
(4)
Write a summary of one author interview.
51
RESEARCH PROJECT: THE HOLOCAUST
Dr. John Chaffee
Creative and Critical Thinking Studies
Dr. Richard Lieberman
LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
The Holocaust exhibit entitled “French Children of the Holocaust” will be shown at LaGuardia from
April 12 to May 11. One of the survivors, Ernest Nieves, will speak at the opening of the exhibit on
April 13, at 10:30 A.M. in the Little Theater. Using this exhibit as a touchstone, I would like Critical
Thinking faculty members to incorporate a unit on “Thinking Critically About Genocide,” which will
be based on materials Dr. Lieberman and I are assembling. We will distribute and explain these
materials at a meeting on Monday, March 29, at 3:00 P.M.
The aim is for students to think critically about the Holocaust, and genocide in general, by doing
research with original and secondary sources housed in the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives. This
model is based on a previous collaboration in which students in Critical Thinking sections explored
historical events such as the Harlem riots of 1943 and discrimination in public housing. Typically,
students work in groups and produce research papers analyzing the event being explored. We are
planning to select the best papers and recognize the authors in some appropriate way. In addition to a
research paper, we are also planning a speech contest based on the project in conjunction with the
speech/communication area (Will Koolsbergen is coordinator) and organized by Gary Richmond.
In addition to the exhibit and guest speaker, here are some of the resources that will be available for
Critical Thinking faculty and students.
Personal accounts: Autobiographical accounts by survivors; these include photographs, letters, diaries,
and drawings by the forty-four children who were taken from a house in Izieu, France, by Klaus Barbie
and murdered in concentration camps. These materials are included in a book by Serge Klarsfeld
entitled The Children of Izieu: A Human Tragedy. Serge Klarsfeld is the person who organized the
exhibit that will be at LaGuardia.
Historical accounts: These include official documents related to these events and media accounts at the
time.
Secondary sources and texts: These include a resource book Facing History and Ourselves, which
focuses on the Holocaust and human behavior.
Videotapes: These include “Children Remember the Holocaust.”
CD-ROMs: These include “Survivors: Testimonies of the Holocaust,” produced by Steven Spielberg.
Museums: These include the Holocaust Museum in Battery Park.
52
CONCEPTUALIZING ACTIVITY
1.
Ask students to take out paper and write their answers to the following questions:
•
What attributes or qualities do you think it is important for a man to have?
•
What attributes or qualities do you think it is important for a woman to have?
•
After listening, rank the attributes or qualities in order of importance.
2.
Split students into groups of three or four; each group should consist of all men or all women. Ask
each group to reach a consensus of five to fifteen qualities for each gender and then prioritize
them.
3.
Process the group outcomes according to the following categories, recording results on the board:
4.
•
“Men” by men
•
“Men” by women
•
“Women” by men
•
“Women” by women
Analyze the differences and similarities of the various lists, and have students discuss how these
concepts developed. Are some concepts more accurate than others? What role do values play in
constructing our concepts? Should we try to influence changes in these concepts?
53
CONSTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS OF AN INSTITUTION
Project Guidelines
Critical Thinking HUP 100
Your assignment is to analyze an institution. You are to evaluate how well this institution serves the
needs of its constituents, and give recommendations about how their service or organization can be
improved. You will communicate your recommendations to the appropriate department head via letter.
Your letter should be typed and double-spaced, with 1-inch margins on top, bottom, and sides. This
letter should be a minimum of two pages and a maximum of three. You should follow a
traditional business letter format. When you hand in your assignment, you should have the following
items:
1.
One typewritten letter to the head of a department at any institution of your choice. This letter
should be enclosed in an envelope with proper postage and addresses. (Please do not seal the
envelope.)
2.
A photocopy of this letter enclosed in a clear plastic folder with binder and cover page.
3.
A list of twenty questions you asked of this department to gain the information to write a wellinformed letter.
It is extremely important that these three items be turned in simultaneously on the due date.
Due Date: _______________________.
Recommended Steps for Completion of Thinking Activity 2
1.
Please make a schedule with all the minor goals that you will need to accomplish and how long
they will take. (This is basically what was done in Thinking Activity 3.) Try to include those
activities that you may have forgotten on your previous Thinking Activity.
2.
List twenty questions relevant to your topic. If, for example, you are analyzing the registration
process at LaGuardia Community College, please come up with questions that you feel need to be
answered before you can make an informed recommendation to the head of the registration
department at LaGuardia. Remember this is not a letter of complaint; your goal is to make an
informed recommendation to improve services at LaGuardia.
3.
Through interviews with students, faculty, and administration as well as visits to the library,
please answer as many of the questions as you possibly can. This information will serve as the
raw material for your letter; it will be the evidence for your arguments.
4.
After obtaining this information please organize an outline for your material.
a.
What is your issue? (Remember to state your position.)
b.
What are your arguments? (List your arguments in your introduction, and detail your
arguments in the body of your paper.)
c.
What is your evidence to support your arguments? (Please make sure that for each argument
you have at least one piece of evidence to prove your point.)
d.
What is your conclusion? (How do all of your arguments work together to prove your
position?)
54
5.
After outlining your information please use the Thinking Activity 1 Guideline to write your paper.
I recommend that you write a rough draft and then rewrite this draft, to refine your points.
Remember the goal is to refine your communication skills constantly.
Paragraph 1: Briefly explain what is wrong with current department practices. List at least three
activities or procedures that could be improved. The last sentence in this paragraph should state how
your recommendations will solve these shortcomings.
Paragraph 2: Please describe and criticize one aspect of this department’s procedures. After you have
shown what is wrong, then describe how this situation can be fixed.
Paragraphs 3 and 4: Same as above.
Paragraph 5: Please explain how your recommendations taken together will improve life at LaGuardia
Community College.
55
CREATING A VIDEO FOR SOCIAL COMMENTARY
Project Guidelines
Your assignment is to participate in and organize the recording (on either video or audio tape) of a
commentary on how perceptions are affected by the media.
Instructions
Class 1
1.
Please brainstorm at least two solid ideas for a video.
2.
As a group, please storyboard the idea that you have decided on. Please assign each member of
the group a specific part of the video to develop.
Class 2
3.
Please synthesize each member’s contribution, and storyboard the entire video piece. Please
consider where you will be shooting, what props you will need, what roles everyone will play, and
so on. Please organize every aspect of your production.
4.
Please have a dress rehearsal so that you are prepared to correct any problems that may arise.
Class 3
5.
Please shoot on this day.
6.
At our next class please turn in to me the following:
a.
Explanation of what your video is about; this should be typewritten.
b.
Cover page including all members of the group.
c.
Each member’s storyboard section (the section that was developed on day 1).
d.
The video or CD-ROM, with proper title and identification of each group member.
Due Date: _______________________
56
CREATING A VIDEO FOR SOCIAL COMMENTARY
Thinking Activity Guidelines
Your assignment is to organize the recording (on either video or audio tape) of a perspective that you
feel is missing from television or radio. In Thinking Activity 12 we analyzed how the media affected
viewers’ perceptions and how in turn advertisers affected what could be shown or heard on the
electronic media. Using this information, please offer an alternative perspective that you feel is missing
from your television screens or radio waves. You will submit this video or audio to the Student Life and
Affairs Office at room M-115; please include a letter describing your project and explaining why it
should be shown over the LaGuardia Television or Radio system.
Instructions
Class 1
1.
Please use Thinking Activity 13 to help you brainstorm and come up with at least two solid ideas
for a video.
2.
As a group, please storyboard the idea that you have decided on. Please assign each member of
the group a specific part of the video to develop.
Class 2
3.
Please synthesize each member’s contribution and storyboard the entire video piece. Please
consider where you will be shooting, what props you will need, what roles everyone will play, and
so on. Please organize every aspect of your production.
4.
Please have a dress rehearsal so that you are prepared to correct any problems that may arise.
Class 3
5.
Please shoot on this day.
6.
At the end of class please turn in to me the following:
a.
Explanation of what your video is about; this should be typewritten
b.
Cover page including all members of the group
c.
Each member’s storyboard section (the section that was developed on day 1)
d.
The video or CD-ROM, in with proper title and identification of each group member
Due Date: _______________________
57
VIDEO ON HOMELESSNESS
Student Affairs Office
Fiorello H. LaGuardia College
31-10 Thomson Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101
Dear Luis Merchant,
Hi, my name is Isidro Suriel, and I am a student at LaGuardia College. I am writing this letter because
one of the courses I am taking this semester requires a group of my classmates and me to create a tenminute video that will have a positive impact on the students and staff of LaGuardia College. The video
that my group and I have produced is on the homeless, especially on the everyday struggle a homeless
person goes through to find a bed and a meal. In the following letter, I will state some reasons why the
Student Affairs Office should show our video to all students and staff throughout the school.
Not too long ago I was walking down 34th Street at about 11:00 P.M., and I noticed two children,
probably both under ten years of age, with their mother sitting on the sidewalk holding a sign that said,
“We are homeless and hungry and our government doesn’t care.” I actually kept walking by, but I had
to return to give them two dollars because I kept seeing images of myself in their situation. I told this
story to my classmates, and they were moved; this is one reason we chose to make this video on the
homeless. We know that if the public or, in this case, the students and staff at LaGuardia College see
what homeless people go through every day, we can come together and help in many ways. I believe
this video will help open the eyes of many close-minded people that don’t think they could end up
homeless. This video will give people an awareness to budget their money so that they will not end up
homeless; also, this video will convince students to help by giving food, money, or clothing to the
homeless at their nearest City Harvest or at the United Homeless Organization.
Another reason why the Student Affairs Office should air this video is that recently LaGuardia College
participated in a homeless drive to help feed the homeless and is currently collecting canned foods for
the City Harvest. Many students at LaGuardia, however, are not informed about the collection of
donations, and this video will be a great way to inform them. If students and staff learn about how
LaGuardia is helping the homeless, LaGuardia will be able to maintain a bigger support staff to face the
homeless crisis.
I strongly believe the Student Affairs Office should allow every member of the LaGuardia Community
College family to view this video on the homeless. The homeless situation is a very big problem facing
the world, and the only way to solve it is to start dealing with it. By allowing this video to be seen, the
students and staff will get a better picture of how hard it is to be homeless, and what we can do to help.
The video consists of various materials, from images of homeless people living on the streets to
portrayals of places where people can go to help.
Thank you for your time, and I hope this letter and our video will convince you that everyone must be
aware of the homeless problem and that we need to be a part of the solution.
Sincerely,
Isidro Suriel
Lusenia Beato
Altaira Aragones
Enilda Vasquez
George Papagiannopoulos
58
NEWSPAPER JOURNAL
Critical Thinking
Professor Lorraine Kenny
WEEK 7
Monday, May 5
This is a week-long assignment to be done once a day from Monday, May 5, through Friday, May 9.
Every day this week, you are to read at least one newspaper (in print or online) and find at least one
story each day that you think relates to your life. This can be, for example, a story about college
students, about your neighborhood, about riding the subways, about the country from which you
immigrated or in which you have relatives living, about something going on in New York City that
affects you directly, about the career you are pursuing, or about anything that you feel is relevant to
your life. You should clip or print out the article and paste or staple it in your Critical Thinking
notebook, noting the title and date of the newspaper from which you got it. Then, each day you are to
write a brief essay about this article, answering the following questions: Why did you choose this
article? How does it relate to your life? Is the article telling the whole story? Is your point of view
represented? What information does the article emphasize and how does it do this? What information
do you think the article is leaving out? By Friday you should have at least five entries in your
notebooks. I will check on Wednesday that you have at least two done and on Thursday that you have
at least three done.
Note: Assignment 16 will be the basis of Writing Assignment 2, which will be due Monday, May
19. This will be a three-page, typed, double-spaced with 1-inch margins “Letter to the Editor.”
We will be working on this letter next week in class. Do not fall behind. And start planning your
time now. AS ALWAYS, NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
59
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Project Guidelines
Your assignment is to analyze an article from a current newspaper or magazine. You will evaluate your
response to this article and then write a letter to the editorial board of your chosen publication. It should
be typed and double spaced, with 1-inch margins top, bottom, and sides. You should follow a
traditional business letter format. When you hand in your assignment you should have the following
items:
1.
One typewritten letter to the editor enclosed in a stamped envelope
2.
A photocopy of this letter enclosed in a clear plastic folder with binder and cover page
3.
All outlines and preparation for this paper
4.
The original article to which you are responding
Step 1. Please skim your article carefully. After skimming the article write a one-paragraph summary of
the article. Use this summary to focus your detailed reading.
Step 2. After skimming your article and writing a brief summary, please do a detailed reading of your
article. While doing this reading, please map your article. In your mapping, please indicate the
following: What is the issue? What are the arguments and what reasons and evidence are given to
support these arguments? What is the conclusion of the article as supported by its arguments? Also,
while doing a detailed reading of your article (this is very important), please write questions in the
margins that you feel need answering. Please write personal responses in the margins (these will form
the basis for organizing your response later on). I also recommend that you write the definitions of any
words that you do not know in the margins.
Step 3. After mapping your article, please form an outline of the information you have noted. It should
consist of three columns: Column 1—list issue, arguments, reasons, and evidence and conclusion of
article; Column 2—list all questions that you could ask of this article; and Column 3—list all of your
comments and personal responses to this article.
Step 4. To form a response to this article, you must first analyze how you will respond on a point-bypoint basis to the arguments given in the article. To do this, list your issue in response to the article’s
issue. How does it differ? Then file counterarguments to each argument given; do the same with
reasons and evidence. Either take issue with the specific nature of the information given, or give
alternative reasons and evidence to support your issue. Finally, organize your arguments cohesively to
come to a conclusion.
Step 5. Answer any questions you may have had about the article, and use this information to form the
basis for your response. Either use direct experiences or indirect experiences (books, articles) to answer
these questions. Remember, “Knowledge is a belief that can function within a context.” If the article
you are reading is based on direct experience, you can respond with direct experiences, but if your
article consists mainly of indirect experiences to form arguments, you must do so as well.
Step 6. Use the information from step five and the outline from step three to start writing your paper.
Paragraph 1 should consist of a detailed description of the article’s issue and your response to it. The
last sentence in this paragraph should explicitly state your position.
Paragraph 2 should state your first argument. Your argument should consist of reasons and evidence
derived through direct or indirect experiences.
60
Paragraph 3 should state your second argument, again supported by reasons and evidence.
Paragraph 4 should state your third argument, supported by reasons and evidence.
Paragraph 5 should state your conclusion. It should show how all your arguments work together to
lead to this conclusion.
After doing this, your paper should be complete. To double-check your paper, you should ask yourself
the following questions: Have you supported your arguments clearly with reasons and evidence? Can
your arguments be verified by other sources? Are your arguments responding to points being made in
the article?
Due Date: _______________________
61
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
Critical Thinking Unit
When Do You Take a Stand?
As a journal prompt, have students react to the following question:
When is it okay to break the law?
In class, students will gather in small groups. Each group will have a different set of reading
assignments, which will each cover a time of civil disobedience. Some examples are the Revolutionary
War, the Mexican Revolution, the Civil War, the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and the
struggle of environmental rights activists versus government or industry, or Green Peace versus
industry.
In the groups, the students are to read the material, then work on the following:
•
Definition of the conflict
•
Evaluation of the components of the conflict
•
Judgment of the validity of the conflict or disobedience
•
Summary of the above elements for the class
Each group will report to the class its summary of the group work. The class will discuss the
summaries.
Follow-up writing assignments for each student:
Write a scenario in which you envision the government attempting to impose a law or act in a way that
goes against your constitutionally guaranteed rights or moral principles. After you have written the
scenario, write how you would respond in such a situation.
62
TIANANMEN SQUARE
Lesson Plan for Critical Thinking Activity
Strategies for fostering critical thinking abilities
•
Identify the critical thinking abilities to be developed.
•
Stimulate active learning.
•
Encourage well-supported conclusions.
•
Encourage perspective-taking.
•
Stimulate thinking at all cognitive levels.
•
Promote critical literacy.
•
Build from students’ experience.
Goal: To establish awareness of different perspectives
1.
Locate and show video of events at Tiananmen Square without narrative or commentary! (An
example is “Tragedy at Tiananmen,” Frontline.)
2.
Ask students to take notes and write their own versions of what they think happened. Share ideas
and divide students with similar versions into groups.
3.
Read “Several Accounts of Events at Tiananmen Square, 1989” in Chapter 5 of Thinking
Critically.
4.
Compare the accounts in terms of what actually took place; consider with each account the
language, how the protestors are viewed, and how the soldiers are viewed; that is, how writers and
filmmakers select and organize details and interpret subjects.
5.
Replay video with narrative.
6.
Have student groups compare their individual versions and, as a group with a recorder, rewrite an
account that reflects their flexibility to change or modify ideas on the basis of new information or
better insight. These revised versions can then be shared with the entire class.
As an outgrowth of this subject explored in class, students can relate other violent events involving
students, such as those that happened at Kent State, in Beirut, at the Berlin Wall, in Iraq, in Russia, and
to bring the issue closer to home, violence involving students on local campuses. Or the discussion
might grow into a consideration of the subject of freedom.
Assignment: Each student should locate at least two different accounts of the same event from some of
the ideas suggested, preferably current events, which could be covered in newspapers or magazines
such as Time, Newsweek, or U.S. News and World Report. These could be compared, or students could
work in groups to find as much as possible on the event, to share the information in their group, and to
prepare oral reports for the entire class. Debates may also be considered.
63
TIANANMEN SQUARE
Critical Thinking Activity
1.
Research the historical background of China. Students will work in groups to find information
about education, society, students, government, and media for the following periods:
a.
1900–1920
b.
1920–1940
c.
1940–1960
d.
1960–1980
e.
1980–present day
2.
Read and discuss the selections in the handout materials that relate perspectives on the incident at
Tiananmen Square.
3.
Students will write the following journal entry: Your writing should be based on who you are and
on the research you completed on the history of China. Adopt the persona of one of the following
persons and write about how you feel about the incidents that have occurred:
4.
a.
Student
b.
Government official
c.
Reporter
d.
Sympathetic bystander
e.
Arrested student
f.
PLA officer
g.
American teenager
To bring this issue of student involvement home, show students a video about Kent State
protesters. Discuss the issues involved in the Kent State episode. Students will write another
journal entry, this time adopting the persona of someone involved in the Kent State issue.
a.
Student protestor
b.
Government official
c.
College official
d.
Student bystander
5.
Read Frank O’Connor’s “Guests of the Nation.” Discuss the conflict in Ireland, the role of the
government, and the feelings of the individuals involved. Discuss when it is okay to defy
authority.
6.
Students will write an essay about a time when they stood up for something they believed in.
64
HOROSCOPE ACTIVITY
Critical Thinking Sample Lesson Plan: Critically Evaluating Beliefs
Aim: To review concepts from “Constructing Knowledge,” Chapter 5, in John Chaffee’s Thinking
Critically, Ninth Edition, through an examination of the previous day’s horoscope from a local
newspaper or online astrology site. Adapted from a lesson plan developed by Alice Rosenblitt (Libra),
11/94.
•
Begin by writing the names and dates of the twelve zodiac “sun signs” on the board, leaving a bit
of empty space underneath each one. As students arrive, ask them to sign their names on the board
beneath their astrological signs. Also, write on the board the following brief in-class writing
exercises; allow approximately ten minutes for students to complete:
a.
List three things you did yesterday.
b.
List three things you wish you had done yesterday.
c.
List five adjectives you might use to describe yourself.
•
Once the students have finished their lists, have them divide into small groups (usually of two to
four students each) to meet with the others in their zodiac sign. If a sign has only one student, pair
that student with another who is in the same situation. These pairs may serve as control groups in
the following experiment to test the accuracy of newspaper horoscopes.
•
Ask each group to read their lists to one another and to listen for similarities. A representative
from each group should then come up to the board and write a few of the similar adjectives and
one or two similar responses to exercise a or b beneath their group’s zodiac sign. If there are no
observed similarities, then ask the group to write one or two of the differences they have noticed.
•
Distribute the horoscope for each sign from yesterday’s newspaper. Have each group read their
horoscope and critically evaluate it. Does it seem accurate? Why or why not? Ask each group to
declare, as a whole, their position, pro or con, regarding the validity of astrology, and write this on
the board as well. Tell them to prepare three reasons that support their evaluation of astrology.
What do they believe, and why? After all students have done so, this may be a good time for a
break, as approximately one hour will have elapsed.
•
Begin a class discussion or information debate by examining what has been written on the board
and by listening to the defense each group makes for its position. As facilitator, try to relate issues
that students raise to the concepts of evaluating beliefs critically and, especially, try to lead
students to analyze the arguments presented to them. For example, if a student says that she
believes in astrology because her two cousins and her best friend are in the sign of taurus and
they’re all stubborn, perhaps ask the students, “What kind of evidence is that?” Then discuss the
strengths and weaknesses of the use of personal experience as evidence to support a belief.
Another useful tool may be the terminology for evaluating the degree of accuracy of beliefs:
completely accurate, generally not accurate, and so on (see Thinking Critically, Chapter 5).
65
USING HOROSCOPES TO EVALUATE SOURCES OF INFORMATION
AND EVALUATE OUR OWN BELIEFS
Each person should read his or her horoscope in two daily papers from the day before.
This exercise asks you to critically evaluate (judge) the two.
1.
Which of your two horoscopes seems more accurate? Why? If you do not think either one is
accurate, explain why not. What are the differences between the two horoscopes? How do these
differences lead you to evaluate these two different sources of information?
2.
What is your final position, pro or con, regarding the validity of astrology? Give three reasons that
support your evaluation (judgment) of astrology. What do you believe, and why?
3.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the use of personal experience as evidence to support
your belief for or against the validity of these horoscopes?
4.
Use the terminology for evaluating the degree of accuracy of your beliefs about horoscopes:
completely accurate, generally not accurate, and so on (see Chapter 5, Thinking Critically).
When you have completed this assignment, give it to the designated class representative, who will take
all of the assignments to the Humanities Department Office, E202, at the end of today’s class, and leave
them for me in my folder in the adjunct faculty mailbox (under the name Rosenblitt in the file cabinet
on your right). I will be grading these as another homework assignment, so you may increase your total
number of homework points through this exercise!
66
WRITING A SPEECH
Paper Assignment
Due date: _______________________
(Your grade will be lowered for each day it is late. If you need an extension, see me about it now.)
Length: Two to three pages (If it is not two full pages, it is not long enough.)
Other requirements
Paper must be typed (if there is a problem with this, see me about it now).
Double spaced.
10- to 12-point type.
1-inch margins.
Excessive grammatical or spelling errors will count against you. Proofread.
This is a short paper that doesn’t really require research (although some background reading may be
useful). I am going to be looking very closely at how you express your ideas. Be careful about how you
say what you say. Use words persuasively and descriptively. Be specific. Develop each idea fully.
Organize your ideas.
Select an issue of public concern (like a debate topic, but it must be a different topic from the one you
used in your debate). Talk about how this issue has affected you personally. Use the events of your
own life as evidence in an argument you construct about this issue. Pick one of the following as a
guideline for your essay. (Do not write the question at the top of the page.)
1.
Imagine yourself writing a letter to a politician who has a view opposite from yours on an issue.
Try to convince this person, using your own life experience, to change his or her opinion. The
persuasiveness of your letter may influence public policy.
2.
Write a speech to be delivered to a panel of experts (you won’t actually have to deliver it),
justifying your stand on this issue. Use your personal experience persuasively to convince the
panel that you are knowledgeable enough to be consulted on this subject. How can your personal
experience help educate this panel of experts?
3.
Write a speech that you would give to a group of teenagers who don’t have much experience or
knowledge of your issue. How can you use your personal experience to influence the behavior of
these young people? Can you describe specific events that influenced your behavior around this
issue?
4.
Imagine that most people hold the opposite view to yours on this issue. Write a letter to a public
personality whom you have never met but who has also been personally affected by this issue.
How can your personal experience be used persuasively to influence this person’s behavior (either
to help this person continue on his or her course of action, or change his or her behavior)?
5.
Imagine that the stand that you take on this particular issue has just been declared a crime. Write a
speech that you would deliver to defend yourself in a court of law against your accusers. Use your
personal experience persuasively to convince the court that your beliefs (and behavior) are not
criminal and should not be punished.
67
PRIORITIES, EVIDENCE, AND ARGUMENTS
Name:
Below is a list of contemporary problems. You may add to the list. Homework: What do you consider
to be the five most significant problems facing us today? Prioritize your list, writing 1 next to what you
consider to be the most important problem, 2 next to the second most important, and so on up to 5.
On a separate sheet, analyze each of the five prioritized problems, giving a complete argument (at least
two reasons and supporting evidence) why you consider each to be a crucially important problem.
My List
_______ Educational standards
_______ Terrorism
_______ Government reforms
_______ Racial tensions
_______ AIDS and disease
_______ Health care reform
_______ Crime
_______ Environmental issues
_______ Drug addiction
_______ Unemployment
_______ Overpopulation
_______ War
_______ Family values
_______ Homelessness
Group task (second day): You will be assigned to a group of five people. You are asked to (1) discuss
what each person in the group considers to be the two biggest problems facing us today, using your
completed homework as a basis for discussion, and (2) prioritize for the group as a whole what it
considers to be the five most important problems (attempt to do this by consensus or, failing that,
majority vote).
Group List
_______ Educational standards
_______ Environmental issues
_______ Terrorism
_______ Drug addiction
_______ Government reforms
_______ Unemployment
_______ Racial tensions
_______ Overpopulation
_______ AIDS and disease
_______ War
_______ Health care reform
_______ Family values
_______ Crime
_______ Homelessness
One (or two) member(s) of each group will present the conclusions of the group in a panel discussion
during the next class meeting, including arguments and evidence to support the group’s conclusions.
68
ANALYZING PERCEPTUAL LENSES
LaGuardia College
Humanities Department
Goal: Perception as an Active Process—Selecting, Organizing, and Interpreting.
Motivation: Ask the students to name the five senses; write them on the board.
Begin with in-class writing.
Write on board:
1.
List three things you perceive about this room.
2.
Give an explanation of how your lenses might have influenced you to perceive one of these three
things.
Talk about some examples, such as
Perception:
I smell the coffee José has on his desk.
My lenses:
I didn’t have time this morning to get a cup of coffee, and I’d really like one!
Perception:
I see the windows are closed.
My lenses:
I like fresh air.
Ask the students to come up to the board and enter their responses in the following chart:
Explanation (What are your lenses like?)
Name
Perceptions
Go around the room and have each student read aloud his or her entry in the chart.
Discuss the entries in the chart as illustrations of the concept of lenses, to explain why different people
notice different things in the same room.
Afterward:
Ask the students to stand and move to the opposite side of the room.
Ask them to say what new things they now notice about the room.
Conclusion: Make the analogy between literally changing one’s perspective (by moving to another
place in the room) and thinking critically, which involves attempting to look at an issue from a different
perspective and becoming more aware of one’s lenses.
PEER EVALUATION OF GROUP PROJECT
Group Member’s Name: __________________________________
Please evaluate the group member on the following scale:
5
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
Outstanding
More than satisfactory
Satisfactory
Less than satisfactory
Minimal effort
No effort
Inadequate opportunity to observe
Work-Related Performance
Comprehension
5
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
3
2
1
0
N/O
—seemed to understand the requirements for the assignment
Problem identification and solution
5
4
—participated in identifying and defining the problem and worked toward a solution
Organization
5
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
—approached tasks (like time management) in a systematic way
Acceptance of responsibility
5
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
—shared responsibility for tasks to be accomplished
Initiative and motivation
5
—made suggestions, sought feedback, showed interest in decision making and planning
Creativity
5
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
5
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
2
1
0
N/O
—looked at ideas from different perspectives
Task completion
—followed through in completing own contributions to group project
Attendance
5
4
3
—attended planning sessions, was prompt, and participated in decision-making process
Work-Related Interactions with Others
Collaboration
5
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
5
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
5
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
—worked cooperatively with the group
Participation
—contributed fair share to group project
Attitude
—displayed positive approach and made constructive comments in working toward goal
69
70
Independence
5
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
—carried out tasks without overly depending on group members
Communication
5
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
5
4
3
2
1
0
N/O
—expressed thoughts clearly
Responsiveness
—reacted sensitively to verbal and nonverbal cues of other group members
Add total score
_____________
Average (divide by number of items)
_____________
Multiply by 2 for final score
_____________
Comments
Name of Evaluator: __________________________________
71
EVALUATING STUDENT PROGRESS
The values and goals of a course are embodied in its evaluation criteria. In a critical thinking course, the
evaluation criteria should assess the extent to which students are developing the critical thinking
abilities that form the structure of the course. In other words, students should be given the opportunity
to use and apply the knowledge they have gained, not merely re-present information they have been
taught.
In my opinion, student grades should be based on a variety of assignments throughout the course,
including homework assignments, quizzes, debates and other projects, examinations, and class
participation. In the course at LaGuardia Community College, students are awarded points in each of
these areas, with the end-of-term total determining their final grade. Students are encouraged to revise
and improve their work on homework assignments to receive a higher grade. This approach is based on
the belief that evaluation activities are primarily learning experiences and students should be given
every opportunity to use them in this way.
Many students are concerned about how faculty can objectively evaluate students’ thinking. They are
worried that they will be penalized if their beliefs do not coincide with their teachers’. To address this
concern, students must understand from the beginning that we are not evaluating what they think, in
terms of their specific beliefs; instead, we are concerned with the way they think, in terms of how
informed their beliefs are, how cogently they are presented, how well they are supported, and so on.
The nature of a critical thinking course renders even more imperative the need to make explicit the
evaluation criteria for each assignment. In addition to delineating the criteria, it is useful to present
students with models of exemplary work that embody these criteria and make them concrete. After each
assignment, I select some of the best student work and have the students share their pieces with the
class, followed by a class analysis of their salutary qualities. It also is useful to give students the
opportunity to critique and evaluate each other’s work, an activity that helps them understand and
internalize the evaluation criteria of the course.
Teaching Critical Thinking Abilities
For students to develop their critical (and creative) thinking abilities, they must be taught by faculty
who are themselves critical thinkers, who embody and stimulate these qualities in every phase of their
teaching. Teaching for critical thinking influences our entire approach to teaching.
•
What are the critical thinking abilities that I want my students to develop?
•
What is the most effective organization for the topics and material in this section that will achieve
these objectives?
•
What teaching approaches and strategies can I employ to meet these goals best?
•
What evaluation activities (homework, quizzes, papers, examinations, projects, oral presentations)
will stimulate students to think about the important issues in the course and give them an
opportunity to display their evolving critical thinking abilities?
Evaluating Critical Thinking Abilities
•
Emphasize the quality of students’ thinking: Make clear to students that you will be evaluating
the quality of their thinking and reasoning processes rather than looking for the “correct answers.”
Instead of simply evaluating students on their ability to re-present information covered in the
course, you will be assessing their ability to apply, analyze, relate, synthesize, and evaluate
information.
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•
Use multiple modes of evaluation: Use multiple modes of evaluation, not just quizzes and
examinations: regular homework assignments, application projects, oral presentations and
debates, research papers, and class participation.
•
Evaluate early and throughout the course: Schedule evaluation activities on an early and
ongoing basis. Evaluations should be used as vehicles for promoting and guiding learning, as well
as keeping students in touch with how well they are performing in the course. Research at
LaGuardia Community College indicates that students often have unrealistically optimistic
appraisals of how well they are doing.
•
Make evaluation criteria explicit: Questions and expectations should be specific and focused,
helping students develop the intellectual structures that form the core of knowledge. Use previous
student projects as models that embody and illustrate the goals you are aiming for. After students
complete the activity, select several exemplary student assignments to be shared and analyzed by
the class.
•
Provide adequate preparation for evaluations: Be sure that students have sufficient practice
developing the abilities required by the evaluation activity. Remember Arturo Toscanini’s insight:
“You do in a performance only what you have done 1000 times in practice.”
•
Permit students to revise their work: Whenever possible, students should have the opportunity
to revise and resubmit their work, based on your comments and suggestions. Evaluation activities
should be vehicles for learning. Developing the ability to respond to feedback and revise our work
is a crucial part of learning.
EXAMINATION QUESTIONS
Following are some sample examination questions from critical thinking faculty. They are grouped
according to the thinking ability being evaluated. (Note: Occasionally, an exam question will refer to
material from another source such as the New York Times. For these questions, you may substitute any
similar material.)
Analyzing Issues
1.
2.
Select one of the following issues for analysis:
a.
Children in public schools should be taught creationism as well as evolution so that they can
make up their own minds about the origin of life.
b.
The U.S. government should closely monitor all students, visitors, and tourists from the
Middle East.
c.
Bilingual education should be abolished, and all U.S. schoolchildren should be required to
speak English at all times.
For the issue selected, create a dialogue between two people that systematically examines both
sides of the issue. Keep in mind the qualities of an effective dialogue.
Listening carefully to the other viewpoint
Raising important questions
Responding directly to the points being made
Supporting points of view with reasons and arguments
______________________________
3.
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Read the article “Our Violent Kids” by Anastasia Toufexis, published in Time on June 12, 1989.
a.
Identify the main idea of the article.
b.
Identify three reasons that support the main idea.
c.
Think of an opposing opinion and give at least three reasons supporting it.
d.
What else can influence the formation of values in children? Give reasons to support this
other view.
______________________________
“The boredom and negative attitude of U.S. workers is causing the breakdown of the U.S. economic
system.”
1.
Analyze this complex claim, breaking it into two simple claims.
2.
Give reasons supporting each of the two simple claims.
3.
Identify the two simple claims that oppose the original claims; offer reasons supporting each of
them.
Recognizing Different Perspectives
To the Editor: It makes me sick to my stomach to see what’s going on today. As fast as our police
catch juvenile delinquents, our bleeding-heart judges let these young punks out on probation, free
to roam the streets in search of new prey. Don’t give me that rot about “It’s not their fault. They
weren’t given a decent childhood.” Every human being is responsible for his own actions starting
at the age of seven. If these hoodlums don’t want to obey the laws of the society around them,
then they should be taken out of that society, not set free to break the laws again and again and
cause the rest of us to live in fear, each wondering if he’ll be the next victim of one of these teenaged monsters.
Critically evaluate this passage by completing the following steps:
1.
Describe different perspectives on this issue and the arguments or reasons that support these
different views.
2.
On the basis of your analysis, present a specific proposal for addressing this issue.
______________________________
You and your friend both think we should again have a military draft. Your friend, however, insists that
women are as capable of modern combat as men and says that any draft should include them. You do
not think women should be sent into combat or even drafted.
Write a dialogue between you and your friend on this topic.
Problem Solving
1.
Describe in clear and specific terms what you think is an important problem facing your city.
2.
Analyze this problem in a systematic and detailed fashion.
3.
Conclude with one or more specific recommendations to solve this problem. Include specific
strategies for implementing your recommendation.
______________________________
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The following is a problem-solving question (contributed by Evelyn Burg):
The town of Redman, population 8573, is nestled by the side of the Alba River. Practically all of
Redman’s water, potable and nonpotable, comes from the Alba. During the summer, the local children
swim, raft, and canoe on it. Many of the town’s sportsmen fish in it.
There is one major industry in Redman; that is the REX chemical plant. REX is a major producer of
chemicals used in room deodorizer. On certain windy days visitors to Redman will wonder at the
overwhelming scent of pine, given that there are no firs of any kind in sight. REX came to Redman
thirty years ago and has employed over two generations of its citizens. Redman does have thriving
support industries like supermarkets, shops, and a brand-new mall sporting a triplex movie theater, but
without the income from the plant Redman would most likely become a ghost town. REX almost pulled
up stakes sixteen years ago when plant workers unionized, but this was finally resolved and REX
stayed.
“Redman needs REX and REX loves Redman,” Mayor Horace Foyce is fond of repeating. Recently,
though, there has been some grumbling about the mayor and some infighting among members of the
town council. REX uses the river in its processing. It seems that REX has been dumping certain
chemicals into it. These chemicals are thought to be not extremely hazardous (REX doesn’t generate
supertoxins), but every day more is being discovered about the dangers of the chemicals it produces.
Dead bass began washing up on shore last year, and there were many more this spring. People who
frequently swim in the river have been coming down with rashes and unexplained low-grade fevers,
which do pass quickly. Some people are beginning to blame the plant.
REX maintains that it follows government standards on waste management responsibly and produces
no life-threatening by-products. Large ads have appeared in the local papers defending REX against
hysteria. They remind the public that EPA standards get stricter all the time and that six years ago REX
underwent expensive air-pollution control modifications. To do more at this time, it is argued, would be
so costly REX would have to shut down and move to another state. This ad is endorsed by Redman’s
Chamber of Commerce and REX’s board of directors.
But some people in the town are very concerned because there have been four cases in Redman of a
rare liver disease among infants. Some speculation has tied it to the water supply. The EPA has not
been able to determine for certain whether this is the case, but the examiner told one council member
that it was a “strong possibility.” “We don’t have the resources or the sophistication to test every
possibility. The public health and the environment are not the only priorities of this administration.”
At a town council meeting scheduled for next Monday the members must decide what action to take.
Following the model in Chapter 3, find a problem in the passage and suggest a solution.
______________________________
1.
Select one of the following problems for analysis:
a.
My fourteen-year-old son has become very difficult to deal with. After school he goes out
with his friends, often not returning home until ten or eleven o’clock in the evening. I’m
worried that he’ll get into trouble; in addition, he is doing poorly in school. Since I am a
single parent, working to support my son and younger daughter, I don’t get home until six
o’clock. How can I make him stay at home? I’m afraid his friends have more influence on
him than I do.
b.
I’m so confused about my major. I selected computer science because I know there are many
good jobs in this field. However, the courses don’t interest me; as a result, I find myself
bored and doing badly in them. My mathematical abilities are not terrific either, and I’m
failing that subject this term. I need training for a good career in which I can surely find a
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job when I graduate, so I can support my child. I’m confused. Maybe I should just forget
college.
2.
Analyze the problem in a systematic and detailed way. Come up with at least two alternatives in
your analysis.
3.
Conclude with one or more specific recommendations to solve the problem and outline the steps
that the person should consider taking to implement your ideas.
______________________________
Suppose you are in the following situation: You are the oldest child in your Mexican American family,
and you have been a very successful student. Your younger sister seems to be following in your
footsteps. She studies and reads a lot, but she is also outgoing and confident, an all-around student as
you were. But now in the eighth grade, she is having a problem. She seems bored by school, says the
teachers rarely call on her, has begun to skip doing her homework, hangs out late, and is even smoking,
you think. Your mother comes to you for advice.
1.
Treat this as a problem to be solved.
2.
Offer a social practice analysis of this situation.
Perceiving
A friend told of an experience she had at a flea market in southern California. She was upset by it. She
overheard a man with a bicycle talking to two women who were working at one of the tables. They
were speaking about the military; one woman had been in the army and so had the man. Another large
man, seemingly older than the first, came striding over and said, “Get out of here and don’t bother these
girls!” The women said nothing. The first man got on his bicycle, shouting, “You only treat me like this
because I am black!”
Choose two characters and give a plausible description of their possible perceptions of each other and
what evidence there is that they are stereotyping someone.
______________________________
Since the time you woke up this morning, you have already perceived many, many things by using your
senses as a bridge to the world. Of course you cannot take in everything around you, or you would be
bombarded with stimuli. Select three sensations or events you paid attention to this morning and discuss
why your personal “lenses” noticed them.
Believing and Knowing
1.
Read carefully the following letter.
2.
Critically evaluate the claims made in the letter. Do you think they make sense? Why or why not?
3.
Describe strategies for investigating the claims made in the letter.
Kiss someone you love when you get this letter, and make magic. This paper has been sent to you
for good luck. The original copy is in New England. It has been around the world nine times. The
luck has now been sent to you.
You will receive good luck within four days of receiving this letter, provided you send it to others.
This is no joke! You will receive it in the mail. Send copies to people you think need good luck.
Do not send money, as fate has no price. Do not keep this letter—it must leave your hands within
ninety-six hours or you will face the consequences.
A British Army officer, Joe Elliot, received $4 million and lost it, because he broke the chain.
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While in the Philippines, Gene Welch lost his wife six days after receiving this letter. He failed to
circulate this letter. However, before her death she won $5 million in a lottery. The money was
transferred to him four days after he decided to mail this letter.
Please send out twenty copies of this letter and see what happens in four days. The chain comes
from Venezuela and was written by Paul Anthony Decnoff, a missionary from South America.
Since this letter must make a tour of the world, you must make twenty copies and send them to
your friends and associates. After a few days you will receive a surprise. This letter is true, even if
you are not superstitious. Do note the following:
Constantine Daise received the letter and asked his secretary to make twenty copies and send them
out. A few days later he won a lottery of $2 million.
Aria Daddit, an office employee, received the letter and forgot it had to leave his hands within
ninety-six hours. He lost his job. After finding the letter again, he mailed out twenty copies. A few
days later he got a better job.
Dolin Fairchild received the letter and, not believing, threw it away. Nine days later he died.
Please send no money. . . . Please do not ignore this. . . . It works. . . .
______________________________
Write two statements, one using the verb believe and one using the verb know. Explain why you chose
each particular word for your sentences, thus exploring the difference between the ideas of knowing and
believing.
Recognizing Inferences and Judgments
Analyze the following inference: “I work very hard. Therefore, I will eventually achieve great success
in the world.”
1.
Show the conclusion, the fact claim, and the inferential gap.
2.
Offer further fact claims to narrow the gap.
3.
Show an alternative inferred conclusion, and list further fact claims that would lead to this
conclusion.
______________________________
Take the following value judgment: “My father/mother (your choice) has been a very good/bad (your
choice) parent.”
1.
Offer three criteria of parenting to support this judgment, as well as facts to illustrate your points.
2.
Explain how a person with different criteria could look at the same facts and come to an opposite
value judgment.
Evaluating and Constructing Arguments
Choose one of the following topics and give three distinct arguments both for and against it:
1.
Should someone have the right to refuse painful medical treatment if his or her life is at stake?
2.
Should there be a compulsory draft for women as well as men?
3.
Should welfare payments increase each time a woman has a child?
4.
Should creation science be taught in public schools along with evolution?
______________________________
Select one of the following issues. Decide whether you are for or against it. Construct an argument
supporting your side of the issue, organizing it into reasons and conclusions. Evaluate the strengths
and/or weaknesses of your argument. Write a well-developed essay that includes valid reasons and
conclusions for the arguments presented.
Drug testing in the workplace
Couples living together before marriage
Condom vending machines in high schools
____________________ for president
Random weapon searches of New York City high school students
______________________________
Look at the following deductive arguments. First, write them out in correct symbolic form. Second,
identify their form by name. Third, tell whether they are valid or invalid and briefly explain why.
1.
The children will be very happy if Santa Claus and his reindeer land on our rooftop. Santa Claus
and his reindeer did not land on our rooftop. The children will not be happy.
2.
If you love Christmas trees, then you really like this holiday season. I know you really like this
holiday season. You must love Christmas trees.
Scientific Method
Select an issue that you would like to poll LaGuardia students about. Describe in specific terms how
you would go about constructing a sample both large and representative enough for you to generalize
the results to the target population accurately.
Identifying Conclusions
An editorial from the New York Times (“It’s Baby-Selling, and It’s Wrong,” June 4, 1988) supports
legislation to “bar surrogate parenting for pay.” The writer has come to three conclusions that uphold
this argument. Identify the conclusions and the reasons the author explores. Second, discuss your own
views in response to this article. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
CRITICAL THINKING EXAMINATIONS
The following section includes sample examinations that faculty members teaching the Critical
Thinking course at LaGuardia Community College have used in their classes.
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Final Exam: Critical Thinking
Choose from the list below the three abilities that you feel you developed in Critical Thought Skills.
Think about this carefully before selecting the three you will write about. In your essay you should
describe how each of the three abilities was taught and reinforced.
Use examples from classes and homework assignments. You can also illustrate how you applied these
abilities in other classes or in your life outside school.
•
Looking beneath the surface of things
•
Taking ideas apart
•
Seeing relationships between ideas
•
Learning how to organize ideas
•
Understanding different points of view
•
Understanding how definitions work and why they are important
•
Supporting your point of view with reasons
•
Asking questions
•
Getting in touch with your past and your memories
•
Getting in touch with and expressing your feelings
•
Thinking carefully about what you read
•
Expressing ideas carefully and specifically
•
Solving problems
•
Exploring ideas with others in an organized way
______________________________
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Critical Thinking Final Examination
Professor Lorraine Kenny
Your final in this class will be to compose a Letter to Self. I will send this letter to you at the beginning
of the fall semester. The letter has two parts. In the first half, you are to evaluate your work in this class.
In the second, you are to identify future goals you have for yourself and devise strategies that will help
you accomplish these goals. Remember to be specific and use evidence to illustrate and support all your
statements.
Instructions
You will have one hour to compose a letter to yourself that will include the following:
1.
2.
3.
Your first task is to evaluate your performance this semester in this class. (Hint: I would write a
separate paragraph for a, b, c, and d below.)
a.
In looking over your work, identify the assignment you think you did best, and describe why
you think this. This assignment can be one you worked on alone or in a group.
b.
Now identify the assignment you think you had the most difficulty with, and explain why
you think this. Describe something you could have done to improve your performance on
this assignment. Again, this can be something you worked on alone or in a group.
c.
Do you think your study habits, your writing, your analytical skills, and/or your ability to
express your ideas verbally improved over the course of this semester? If yes, how so; if not,
why not?
d.
Describe at least one way you will use or already have used something you learned in this
class to help you either in another class, on your job, or in your life in general.
Now that you’ve critically evaluated the work that you completed this semester, I want you to
look ahead. Identify a goal you would like to accomplish by September ___________. This goal
can be related to school, work, or your personal life.
a.
Identify your goal, and explain why it is important to you and how it relates to your longterm goals.
b.
Consider and describe in detail any circumstances that may get in the way of your
accomplishing this goal. Remember to use your brainstorming skills here. Think of all
possible obstacles.
c.
Now describe things that you can do between now and ___________ to overcome the
obstacles you have identified in Step b. Remember that some problems have boundaries that
you cannot control. Look at each obstacle and figure out what you can actually do given any
existing limitations. Remember to be concrete and specific.
Now write a conclusion that will give you something to think about when you receive this letter
next ___________.
Bonus question: Explain what the difference is between a goal and a problem. Use an example from
your own life to illustrate your explanation.
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Critical Thinking Final Examination
Due Date: _______________________
Please type your answers or write as neatly as possible. If what you write is illegible, you will not
receive credit for it. Organize your thoughts. Since this is a take-home exam, I expect your answers to
be well thought out. Follow directions. Make sure you answer all parts of each question. Take some
time to look over the test before you begin answering the questions. Absolutely no late exams will be
accepted.
1.
[15 points] Choose a stereotype that you do not believe to be true. List the characteristics that
compose that stereotype. Write a paragraph explaining why you don’t believe the stereotype is
true.
2.
[5 points] The following passage is taken from The Second Sex (first published in 1952), written
by the French feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir. (a) Identify the main idea of the following
passage. (b) List the reasons that support the main idea.
According to French law, obedience is no longer included among the duties of a wife, and
each woman citizen has the right to vote; but these civil liberties remain theoretical as long
as they are unaccompanied by economic freedom. A woman supported by a man—wife or
courtesan—is not emancipated from the male because she has a ballot in her hand; if custom
imposes less constraint upon her than formerly, the negative freedom implied has not
profoundly modified her situation; she remains bound in her condition of vassalage. It is
through gainful employment that woman has traversed most of the distance that separated
her from the male; and nothing else can guarantee her liberty in practice. Once she ceases to
be a parasite, the system based on her dependence crumbles; between her and the universe
there is no longer any need for a masculine mediator.
3.
[10 points] Do you agree or disagree with the passage in number 2? (Hint: There are several ways
to disagree with it.) (a) Develop an alternative way of viewing the main issue being discussed. (b)
List some reasons that support the alternative view.
4.
[20 points] Choose one of the following topics and give three distinct arguments for and three
against it.
5.
a.
Should people be required by law to vote?
b.
Should there be a compulsory draft for women as well as men?
c.
Should welfare payments increase each time a woman has a child?
d.
Should the United States take steps to guarantee national health coverage?
[10 points] The following passage is taken from an article in a CUNY student newspaper. In your
own words: (a) What problem is the writer of the passage identifying? (b) What is the underlying
cause of this problem, according to this writer?
The American press is free in the sense that news reports are not routinely subject to
government censorship. However, its freedom might be compromised by the private
ownership of media outlets with revenue derived from advertising. Audience members
represent nothing more than potential customers for advertisers. The information the
audience receives is thus determined not by their own needs or interest, but by the
advertisers.
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6.
[10 points] Do you agree with the assessment in the passage in number 5? Can you give an
example from television, a newspaper, or a magazine that would support your point of view?
7.
[15 points] The following passage appeared in the New York Times a little more than a year after
the Oklahoma City bombing (one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in U.S. history prior to
the World Trade Center attack). (a) What did this article imply about the public perception of
Timothy McVeigh? (b) Talk specifically about this lawyer’s strategies for influencing public
perception of Timothy McVeigh. Do you think these strategies were effective? Why or why not?
(c) What do you think this lawyer’s final goal was for Mr. McVeigh? (What was the lawyer trying
to accomplish?)
All-American Defendant? Lawyer Works to Soften Image of Bombing Suspect
By James Brooke DENVER, June 1—Two days after the Oklahoma City bombing
Americans got their first, and perhaps most enduring, image of Timothy J. McVeigh: a crewcut man in an orange prison jump suit, his hands and feet shackled, his face a taut mask.
In recent weeks, television viewers have seen a new, softer image of Mr. McVeigh: relaxed,
his hair longer, his clothing casual and his mood amiable as he exchanges pleasantries with
his lead lawyer.
With defense lawyers controlling access to a man charged with carrying out the nation’s
worst terrorist attack, CBS, NBC, Time and Newsweek have followed defense ground rules
in exchange for first-person reports on the defendant. The organizations agreed not to
photograph Mr. McVeigh in handcuffs or ask him questions about the bombing itself. The
network also agreed that no questions would be asked on camera.
“If the Government is going to have a media strategy, then we are going to have one, too,”
Stephen Jones, Mr. McVeigh’s chief lawyer, said in a recent telephone interview. Objecting
to the jump-suit videotape from the jail in Perry, Oklahoma last year, he added: “I felt the
Perry walkout had been overused.”
This fall, shortly before jury selection is expected to start, Mr. Jones plans to increase Mr.
McVeigh’s public exposure by granting on-the-record interviews with the anchors at
network news shows.
To defense lawyers, Mr. Jones is following an old strategy. . . .
8.
[5 points] In your own words, define perception.
9.
[10 points] Write a substantive essay on the following topic: The Three Most Important Abilities I
Developed in Critical Thinking.
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Final Exam
LaGuardia College
HUP100.04: Critical Thinking Skills
Fall I Session
Please answer any two of the following essay questions.
Remember to both demonstrate and discuss critical thinking in your answers.
This exam ends at 9 A.M. You have one hour.
1.
2.
Use the five-step problem solving method to show how you might solve one of the following
two problems (remember to consider several alternatives and the advantages and disadvantages of
each alternative):
a.
On your way to school one morning, you see a person being robbed. What should you do?
b.
You return to your house after being away on vacation and you find that everything from
your apartment is gone. What should you do?
Think critically about either situation described in question 1, part a or part b, by writing three
critical questions about this problem. Tell which of the six categories of critical questions your
questions belong in, and why.
Example: For part a, Did the robber have a gun?
Category: Fact based, since it asks us to supply a specific piece of information
3.
4.
5.
Choose one of the following issues a through d. Discuss by considering the issue from two
different perspectives; then tell which side you agree with and why. Support both sides with
reasons and evidence. You may choose to answer in the form of a dialogue between person A and
person B.
a.
Should we raise the age at which it is legal to buy cigarettes?
b.
Should gay couples be allowed to adopt children?
c.
Should women work at jobs traditionally held by men?
d.
Should young children who have been adopted ever be “returned” to their natural parents
afterward?
Answer either a or b.
a.
Do you believe that your environment influences your perception of the world? Describe
your lenses of perception to support your answer to this question.
b.
How did your lenses of perception make you notice certain people on the way to school
today? How would you describe your lenses?
Answer both a and b.
a.
What did your voice of judgment (VOJ) tell you about how well you would perform in this
course, and how well you would perform on this test?
b.
What are three things you might do to overcome your VOJ to perform better on exams and
in your class work and change the negative way(s) in which you judge yourself?
GOOD LUCK!!
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Final Exam
Professor Bea Gross
Check the meaning of any words that may be unclear in the index of the textbook. Be especially careful
with the words in bold type.
Credit for each question is indicated in parentheses.
1.
Attach two articles on the same subject from two different newspapers or magazines from those
you have been collecting and use them to.
a.
Find and list the emotive words in each story or commentary (3).
b.
List two facts in each story (3).
c.
List two inferences in each story (3).
d.
List any judgments made by the author or those interviewed (3).
Indicate the handle of the story (how does the author “pick up” or begin the piece) and the spin on
the story (the attitude the author wants you to come away with). Attach these articles to your final
exam (3).
2.
3.
Submit two ads from a magazine that use hidden persuaders to influence their audience to buy
the product. Attach the actual ads to your final exam.
a.
Specifically state the subliminal message of each ad and list the elements in the copy (the
words) and the picture that were chosen to produce that effect. Can you link it with one of
the “cold-reading” statements (4)?
b.
Write one “truth-ad” as it might have been done by the “crazy people” in the film of the
same name based on one of the “cold-reading” statements (4).
c.
Write two ads for a political candidate—one that appeals to fear, another that appeals to
pity (5). (Be sure you check the definitions of these appeals in Chapter 11.)
d.
Michael Jordan appears in a Nike ad. What, according to the book, is the appeal of this ad
(2)?
How good is the evidence?
Discuss the problems, if any, with the arguments given below. If questions must be asked to
ascertain the validity of the statements, what are those questions? If something is wrong with the
arguments, what is it? If you think the statements are valid, explain why.
4.
a.
“The New York Times reported that the Secretary of the Army says we need more nuclear
warheads, and who better to know than the Secretary of the Army?” (2)
b.
“My boyfriend never shows any real concern for my feelings. Men are selfish, insensitive
and emotionally immature.” (2)
c.
“Boxing is less dangerous than other sports. A survey of sports-related deaths in New York
City over thirty years revealed that baseball, with 43 deaths, led both football (22 deaths)
and boxing (21 deaths) in terms of mortality.” (This is a bogus argument; explain why.) (6)
What is fallacious about the following statements? Explain your answer by using the language
of the book to indicate what fallacy or fallacies are being employed. Read Chapter 11 for help.
a.
“America—love it or leave it!” (3)
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5.
6.
b.
“Every time I take an umbrella, it rains. I forgot my umbrella so it will rain tonight.” (3)
c.
Make up one example of “slippery-slope” thinking (4).
Discuss the problems, if any, with the evidence given in the following statements. If questions
must be asked to ascertain the validity of the statements, what are those questions? If something is
wrong with the arguments, what is it (4 points each)?
a.
“Take a course with Professor Milkin. He was great.”
b.
“The Association of Plastic Surgery has declared that breast implants do not trigger
autoimmune disorders, despite the claims of some hysterical women.”
c.
“It’s important to get a good night’s sleep. I read that people who can’t sleep well at night
die earlier than people who get a good night’s sleep.”
d.
“We interviewed sixty typical volunteers and found that most people have had sex outside
their marriages.”
e.
“My mother gets upset over insignificant things. Older women are so emotional.”
On Inferences: Write two inferences for each sentence.
“I see someone limping and I infer that _______________________”(2) (2).
“I see him driving a brand-new expensive car and I infer that ___________________”(2) (2).
Circle either the inference, the fact, or the judgment in the following sentences:
“My new car has broken down three times this week” (fact, inference, judgment?) (2).
“My new car will probably continue to give me trouble” (fact, inference, judgment?) (2).
“My new car is a lemon” (fact, inference, judgment?) (2).
“My friend goes to a bar every night (fact, inference, judgment?) (2).
“That man is fat” (fact, inference, judgment?) (2).
“That movie is boring” (fact, inference, judgment?) (2).
Write a fact about your neighborhood. Based on this fact, write an inference and a judgment.
Using the same fact, write a different inference, and a different judgment (six sentences in all;
the fourth duplicates the first) (5).
Do the same as above with a fact about yourself or another person (5).
IF YOU HAVE BEEN ABSENT MORE THAN TWO TIMES, TURN IN THE ASSIGNMENTS ON
THE FOLLOWING PAGE.
85
MAKEUP CREDIT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE MISSED TWO CLASSES:
1.
2.
Situation: The school in your neighborhood, which is mainly made up of children of color, has
academic test scores considerably below the national average.
a.
List at least six (more if you can) possible reasons for this. (List all you can think of,
including those you disagree with.)
b.
What questions might you ask to verify your hypothesis? What facts do you need to
challenge a racist interpretation of the data?
c.
How would you “test” two of the explanations you listed to prove the argument is either
good or bad? BE EXPLICIT—IF YOU ARE DEVELOPING A QUESTIONNAIRE,
INDICATE THE QUESTIONS ON IT. IF YOU ARE TESTING OR COMPARING,
INDICATE EXACTLY WHAT YOU WOULD LOOK AT.
Read “Critical Thinking and Obedience to Authority” in Chapter 11.
Answer the Questions for Analysis.
MAKEUP WORK IF YOU HAVE MISSED THREE CLASSES and you have my special permission
to make up the work.
3.
Read “Discovering Your Personal Myth” by Sam Keen.
Answer the three questions.
4.
Read “The Rivet Poppers.” Answer the three questions. If you missed the mind-map
demonstration, find it described in the textbook in Chapter 7, and use it as needed.
SECTION 4
Tom Randall’s Halloween Party (The Test of
Critical Thinking Abilities)
INTRODUCTION
A. Gathering and Weighing the Evidence
B. Asking Important Questions
C. Constructing Knowledge
D. Evaluating Expert Testimony
E. Evaluating Summation Arguments
F. Deliberating the Issues
G. Reaching a Verdict
H. Solving Problems
The Test of Critical Thinking Abilities: Footnotes for Expert Testimony
The Test of Critical Thinking Abilities: Evaluation/Performance Criteria
The Test of Critical Thinking Abilities, developed by John Chaffee, is designed to provide a
comprehensive evaluation of student thinking and language abilities. Using a court case format arising
from a fatal student drinking incident, students are challenged to gather and weigh evidence, ask
relevant questions, construct informed beliefs, evaluate expert testimony and summation arguments,
reach a reasoned verdict, and then view the entire case from a problem-solving perspective. Since the
test provides all relevant information needed to think through and respond to the questions, it can be
used at any point in the course to assess the quality of students’ thinking and language. The test is
modular in design, enabling teachers to select various sections to administer in combinations
appropriate to their instructional needs. Effective scoring of the test should take into account both the
quantity and the quality of student responses. An articulation of the evaluation/performance criteria for
the various sections of the test is included in the section following the test.
INTRODUCTION
We live in a complex world filled with challenging and often perplexing issues that we are expected to
make sense of. Many social issues are analyzed and evaluated through our judicial system. This test is
designed to give you the opportunity to think seriously and express your ideas about a complex social
issue. Imagine that you have been selected to serve on a jury that is asked to render a verdict on the
following situation:
The defendant, Tom Randall, is a twenty-one-year-old college senior in a state where the legal
drinking age is twenty-one. On October 21, he hosted a Halloween party in his apartment.
Twenty-eight men and women attended the party. Alcohol was served, in the form of beer, wine,
and hard liquor. One of the partygoers was Kelly Greene, an eighteen-year-old freshman at the
same college. During the course of the evening, Ms. Greene allegedly consumed an undetermined
amount of alcohol. While she was driving back to her dormitory after the party, at approximately
12:15 a.m., Ms. Greene struck two students who were crossing the street at an intersection. One
student, Melissa Anderson, was killed instantly. A second student, Edward Montgomery, was
hospitalized with multiple fractures. The police officer at the scene gave the following report
Section 4: Tom Randall’s Halloween Party (The Test of Critical Thinking Abilities)
87
regarding the driver of the car, Kelly Greene: “I noticed that her speech was slurred, that she was
not entirely coherent, and that her breath smelled of alcohol. I asked her to take a Breathalyzer test
to determine the amount of alcohol in her bloodstream. She refused. I placed her under arrest.”
Ms. Greene has been charged with Driving While Intoxicated and Vehicular Manslaughter. Her
case is currently pending. Mr. Randall, the defendant in this case, is being charged with
Involuntary Manslaughter. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in jail.
A. GATHERING AND WEIGHING THE EVIDENCE
The evidence at judicial trials is presented through the testimony of witnesses called by the prosecution
and the defense. To be effective critical thinkers, we should not simply accept information as it is
presented. We need to try to determine the accuracy of the information and evaluate the credibility of
the people providing the information. The testimony from the prosecution witnesses and the defense
witnesses is described below. Evaluate the testimony by answering the questions that follow each
witness.
Prosecution Witnesses
Helen Brooks (neighbor of defendant)
William Doyle (acquaintance of defendant)
Defense Witnesses
Wendy Duvall (friend of defendant)
Tom Randall (defendant)
Helen Brooks (Prosecution Witness)
I am the downstairs neighbor of the defendant, Thomas Randall, and have lived in the building for
twenty years. These college kids tend to be noisy and keep late hours, especially the boys. I really don’t
see how they’re able to learn anything at the college. Wild parties every weekend and sometimes even
during the week. This Halloween party was one of the wildest. Music loud enough to make your head
burst; kids jumping around—I guess they call it dancing—so that the ceiling was shaking. Finally, at
midnight I went up to ask them to please keep it down—after all, it was Thursday night and some of us
have to work. What a scene! A young woman was leaving just as I arrived. I later found out she was
Kelly Greene, the woman who ran over those two college students. Mr. Randall had his arm around her
and was saying goodbye. The way she was acting—giggling, stumbling around—it was obvious she
was drunk. She was an accident waiting to happen, and it did!
A1. Helen Brooks
1.
Summarize and evaluate the information provided by the witness (Helen Brooks). Is the
information relevant to the guilt or innocence of the defendant (Tom Randall)? Is the information
accurate? Give reasons to support your answer.
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2.
Evaluate the credibility of the witness (Helen Brooks). Is the witness believable? Is the testimony
fair or unfair, objective or biased? Are there factors that raise doubts about the accuracy of the
testimony? Give reasons to support your answer.
William Doyle (Prosecution Witness)
I attended the party at Tom Randall’s apartment on Halloween. I didn’t actually receive an invitation—I
came along with someone who did. I don’t really know him that well. This was a pretty wild party. The
place was jammed, and people were out of control! Dancing, drinking, laughing, singing—you know.
Mr. Randall was making the rounds, making sure that everyone was having a good time, encouraging
them to drink. I saw him talking to Kelly Greene on several occasions. He kept forcing her to drink,
even though she didn’t seem that willing. He said things like: “Have another drink, it’s the only way to
have fun at parties like this,” and “Don’t worry, another drink won’t kill you.” I didn’t think he should
have been doing that, pressuring her to drink and all. I really like Kelly. This is her first year here at
school, and she’s really sweet. I don’t think she would have gotten in this trouble if she hadn’t been
encouraged to drink too much. She’s only eighteen, a fact I’m sure Tom was aware of. As the host, it is
his responsibility to make sure that illegal drinking isn’t permitted and that when people leave they are
capable of driving safely.
A2. William Doyle
1.
Summarize and evaluate the information provided by the witness (William Doyle). Is the
2.
Evaluate the credibility of the witness (William Doyle). Is the witness believable? Is the testimony
Wendy Duvall (Defense Witness)
I’ve known Tom Randall for three years, and he’s one of the finest and most responsible people I know.
Tom is a serious student, and he is also a very caring person. He plans to be a teacher and works as a
volunteer with special education students in a local school. He would never do anything to intentionally
hurt anyone. His only purpose in having the Halloween party was for people to enjoy themselves. He
paid for the whole thing himself! As far as people drinking is concerned, the fact is that drinking is one
of the major social activities on campus. Virtually everyone drinks, from their first semester until their
last. It’s just the way things are here. People just don’t pay attention to the drinking age on campus. It’s
as if the college is its own little world, with its own rules. The people at the party weren’t drinking
89
because Tom was pressuring or encouraging them to. They were drinking because that’s what they do
when they go to parties. If Tom hadn’t had alcohol there, people would have gone out and brought
some back—or gone to a party that did have alcohol. I didn’t see Tom talk to Kelly, but he was
circulating, trying to be a good host, seeing if people needed anything. He certainly wouldn’t try to
“pressure” someone into having a drink they didn’t want to have. What happened with Kelly was a
terrible, unfortunate accident—it certainly is something Tom should not be held responsible for.
A3. Wendy Duvall
1.
Summarize and evaluate the information provided by the witness (Wendy Duvall). Is the
2.
Evaluate the credibility of the witness (Wendy Duvall). Is the witness believable? Is the testimony
Tom Randall (Witness in His Own Defense)
I had been planning this Halloween party since school started in September. I thought that it would be
fun and give me a chance to pay back students who had invited me to their parties. I had plenty of food
and beverages on hand—soda and juice, as well as alcohol. Of course I’m aware that the drinking age is
twenty-one and that many students haven’t reached that age yet; but nobody really takes the law very
seriously. After all, if you’re old enough to vote, get married, work, and be drafted, you should be old
enough to drink. As far as my party was concerned, I felt that everyone had a right to make up their
own minds—I just made the beverages available. Once people decided what they wanted to drink, I did
try to keep them refilled. After all, that’s the job of a good host. I remember Kelly was drinking beer,
and I probably did bring her one or two over the course of the evening. I don’t have any idea about the
total amount of beer she had—I had no way of keeping track. I do remember saying goodbye to her,
and she seemed in reasonably good shape. She was able to walk and seemed to know what she was
doing. I know that she has a car, but I didn’t know she was planning to drive. Looking back, I guess I
should have paid more attention to her condition, but there were so many people there and so much was
happening, I just didn’t think about it. This party was not unusual—it’s exactly like most of the parties
that happen on campus. It’s just that they don’t usually end with someone dying.
A4. Tom Randall
1.
Summarize and evaluate the information provided by the witness (Tom Randall). Is the
information relevant to his guilt or innocence? Is the information accurate? Give reasons to
support your answer.
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2.
Evaluate the credibility of the witness (Tom Randall). Is the witness believable? Is the testimony
B. ASKING IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
Defense lawyers and prosecutors cross-examine the witnesses to help determine the credibility of the
witnesses and the accuracy of their testimony.
B1. Imagine that you are the defense lawyer. List below important questions that you would want to
ask the prosecution witnesses.
Helen Brooks:
William Doyle:
B2. Imagine that you are the prosecutor. List below important questions that you would want to ask the
defense witnesses.
Wendy Duvall:
Tom Randall:
C. CONSTRUCTING KNOWLEDGE
One of the important goals of critical thinking is developing beliefs about the world that are well
founded. Often this process involves analyzing and synthesizing a variety of accounts in an effort to
determine what really happened. To analyze and synthesize the testimony presented by the witnesses,
answer the following questions:
C1. Do you believe that Tom Randall knew that Kelly Greene was a minor and that she was breaking
the law by drinking alcohol? Explain the reasons for your conclusion.
C2. Do you believe that Mr. Randall personally served Ms. Greene alcohol? Do you believe that he
encouraged or forced her to drink alcohol? Explain the reasons for your conclusion.
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C3. Do you believe that Mr. Randall was aware that Ms. Greene was intoxicated when she left his
party? Do you believe he knew—or should have known—she would be driving home? Explain the
reasons for your conclusions.
D. EVALUATING EXPERT TESTIMONY
In addition to average sources such as the witnesses above, experts—people who have specialized
knowledge in a particular area—often testify at trials. Included below is the testimony of two
psychologists, Dr. Elizabeth Gonzalez and Dr. Richard Cutler, who provide contrasting analyses of the
social drinking behavior of young people.
Dr. Elizabeth Gonzalez (Prosecution Witness)
I am a staff psychologist at a substance abuse center in town. Why do people drink to excess? Typically
through the influence of the people around them, as happened to Kelly Greene. When most eighteenyear-old students enter college, they do not have a drinking problem. However, although few realize it,
these unwary young people are entering a culture in which alcohol is the drug of choice. It is a drug that
can easily destroy their lives. According to some estimates, between 80 percent and 90 percent of the
students on many campuses drink alcohol (1). Many of these students are heavy drinkers (2). One study
found that nearly 30 percent of university students are heavy drinkers, consuming more than fifteen
alcoholic drinks a week (3). Another study found that among those students who drink at least once a
week, 92 percent of the men and 82 percent of the women consume at least five drinks in a row, and
half said they wanted to get drunk (4). The results of all this drinking are predictably deadly. Virtually
all college administrators agree that alcohol is the most widely used drug among college students and
that its abuse is directly related to emotional problems and violent behavior, ranging from date rape to
death (5) (6). For example, at one university, a twenty-year-old woman became drunk at a fraternity
party and fell to her death from the third floor (7). At another university, two students were killed in a
drunk-driving accident after drinking alcohol at an off-campus fraternity house. The families of both
students have filed lawsuits against the fraternity (8). When students like Kelly Greene enter a college
or university, they soon become socialized into the alcohol-sodden culture of “higher education,”
typically at parties just like the one hosted by Mr. Randall. The influence of peer pressure is enormous.
When your friends and fellow students are encouraging you to drink, it is extremely difficult to resist
giving in to these pressures. In my judgment, students like Kelly Greene are corrupted by people like
Tom Randall. He must share in the responsibility for her personal tragedy and for the harm that resulted
from it.
D1. Elizabeth Gonzalez
1.
Summarize Dr. Gonzalez’s analysis of why Mr. Randall and Ms. Greene behaved the way they
did. Identify the main reasons that support her conclusion.
2.
Evaluate the information provided by the witness (Dr. Gonzalez). Is the information relevant to
the guilt or innocence of the defendant (Tom Randall)? Give reasons to support your answer.
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Dr. Richard Cutler (Defense Witness)
I am a psychologist in private practice, and I am also employed by the university to be available for
students who need professional assistance. The misuse of alcohol is a problem for all youth in our
society, not just college students. For example, a recent study by the surgeon general’s office shows that
one in three teenagers consumes alcohol every week. This is an abuse that leads to traffic deaths,
academic difficulties, and acts of violence (9). Another study based on a large, nationally representative
sample indicates that although college students are more likely to use alcohol, they tend to drink less
quantity per drinking day than non-students of the same age (10). In other words, college students are
more social drinkers than problem drinkers. Another sample of undergraduate students found that
college drinking is not as widespread as many people think (11). The clear conclusion is that while
drinking certainly takes place on college campuses, it is no greater a problem than in the population at
large. What causes the misuse of alcohol? Well, certainly the influence of friends, whether in college or
out, plays a role. But it is not the only factor. To begin with, there is evidence that family history is
related to alcohol abuse. For example, one survey of college students found greater problem drinking
among students whose parent or grandparent had been diagnosed (or treated) for alcoholism (12).
Another study found that college students who come from families with high degrees of conflict display
a greater potential for alcoholism (13). Another important factor in the misuse of alcohol by young
people is advertising. A recent article entitled “It isn’t Miller time yet, and this Bud’s not for you”
underscores the influence advertisers exert on the behavior of our youth (14). By portraying beer
drinkers as healthy, fun-loving, attractive young people, they create role models that many youths
imitate. In the same way that cigarette advertisers used to encourage smoking among our youth—
without regard to the health hazards—so alcohol advertisers try to sell as much booze as they can to
whoever will buy it—no matter what the consequences. A final factor in the abuse of alcohol is the
people themselves. Although young people are subject to a huge number of influences, in the final
analysis, they are free to choose what they want to do. They don’t have to drink, no matter what the
social pressures. In fact, many students resist these pressures and choose not to drink. And if they do
drink, they don’t have to get behind the wheel of a car.
D2. Dr. Richard Cutler
1.
Summarize Dr. Cutler’s analysis of why Mr. Randall and Ms. Greene behaved the way they did.
Identify the main reasons that support his conclusion.
2.
Evaluate the information provided by the witness (Dr. Cutler). Is the information relevant to the
guilt or innocence of the defendant (Tom Randall)? Give reasons to support your answer.
E. EVALUATING SUMMATION ARGUMENTS
After the various witnesses present their testimony through examination and cross-examination
questioning, the prosecution and defense then present their final arguments and summation. The
purpose of this phase of the trial is to summarize the evidence that has been presented and thus
persuade the jury that the defendant is guilty or innocent. Included below are excerpts from these final
arguments.
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Prosecution Summation
We are in this courtroom today because Melissa Anderson’s young life was tragically ended as a direct
result of irresponsible behavior on the part of the defendant, Thomas Randall, who served Kelly Greene
alcohol and encouraged her to drink, knowing that she was three years underage. Too often in criminal
trials the victim is forgotten, while attention becomes focused on the lives of the living. Certainly this
event is a tragedy for Mr. Randall and Ms. Greene, but it is a far greater tragedy for Melissa and her
loved ones. She will never have the opportunity to live the rest of her life, and if people like Mr.
Randall are permitted to act illegally without punishment, there will be many more tragedies like
Melissa’s in the future.
When Mr. Randall provided alcohol and encouraged drinking for underage minors at his party, he was
violating the law. And when Ms. Greene, one of the underage minors, left his party drunk, got behind a
wheel, and killed an innocent human being, Tom Randall became an accessory to this senseless murder.
Similarly, the university must assume its share of the blame. As the investigator into the death of the
woman who fell to her death at a fraternity party noted: “If universities and colleges want to teach
responsibility, there might be something to be said for teaching observance of the law—simply because
it is the law” (15). If Mr. Randall had displayed respect for the law, then none of these events would
have occurred, and Melissa would be alive today.
We have heard experts describe the destructive role that alcohol plays on college campuses and the
devastating results of alcohol abuse. Students, in flagrant violation of the law, have made drinking a
more common college activity than attending class or studying. When young, impressionable people
like Kelly Greene enter these “hangover universities,” they are immediately drawn into a destructive
alcoholic web—seduced, cajoled, and pressured to enter this culture of underage drinkers. And who
creates this culture and its pressure? People like Thomas Randall, who “innocently” give booze parties
for underage students and actively encourage them to drink. If students like Mr. Randall acted in a
responsible and law-abiding fashion, then new students would not be seduced and pressured into these
destructive behaviors. Violent tragedies associated with alcohol abuse would not occur, and students
could focus on productive activities—like learning.
We have heard testimony that Mr. Randall was not an innocent participant in these events—he knew
Ms. Greene was underage, he actively cajoled and encouraged her to get drunk, and he let her go home
alone knowing she was in no condition to drive safely. Mr. Randall is not an evil person, but he is guilty
of criminally irresponsible behavior, and he must be held accountable for his actions. Society must
protect our young people from themselves and put an end to the destructive abuse of this dangerous
drug.
E1. Prosecution Arguments
1.
Identify the key arguments used in the prosecution’s summation. Then summarize the reasons and
conclusion for each argument.
Argument 1:
Reason:
Reason:
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Conclusion:
Argument 2:
Reason:
Reason:
Conclusion:
2.
Evaluate the strength of the arguments you identified by assessing the truth of the reasons and the
extent to which the conclusions follow logically from the reasons.
Argument 1:
Argument 2:
Defense Summation
The death of Melissa Anderson is, of course, a tragedy. It was the direct result of Kelly Greene’s error
of judgment; and although she certainly didn’t intend for anything like this to occur, she must be judged
for her responsibility. However, it makes no sense to rectify this tragedy by ruining Thomas Randall’s
life. He is in no way responsible for the death of Melissa Anderson. All he did was host a party for his
friends, the kind of party that takes place all the time on virtually every college campus. He is a victim
of an unreasonable law—that you must be twenty-one years of age to drink alcohol. I’ll bet every
person in this courtroom had at least one drink of alcohol before they were twenty-one years old. If
people are mature enough to vote, drive cars, hold jobs, pay taxes, and be drafted, then they are mature
enough to drink alcohol. And it’s unreasonable to expect a party host to run around playing policeman,
telling guests who can drink and who can’t. As one college president noted: “It’s awfully hard to
control a mixed-age group where some can drink and some can’t, but all are students. Since the
consumption of alcohol is not in general an illegal activity—unlike marijuana or crack—you have this
bizarre situation where at the mystic age of twenty-one, suddenly people can drink legally when they
couldn’t the day before” (16).
In addition, we have heard experts describe how there are many factors that contribute to alcohol
abuse—besides the influence of other people. The power of advertisers, family history, and the personal
choices by individuals all play a role in whether someone is going to drink excessively. It is unfair to
single out one person, like Tom Randall, and blame him for Ms. Greene’s behavior. Her decision to
95
drink that night was the result of a variety of factors, most of which we will never fully understand.
However, in the final analysis, Ms. Greene must be held responsible for her own free choices. When
Kelly Greene attended Tom Randall’s party, nobody forced her to drink—there were plenty of
nonalcoholic beverages available. And after she chose to drink, nobody forced her to attempt to drive
her car home—she had other alternatives. Ultimately, there was only one person responsible for the
tragic events of that evening, and that person is Kelly Greene.
We live in a society in which people are constantly trying to blame everyone but themselves for their
mistakes or misfortunes. This is not a healthy or productive approach. If this society is going to foster
the development of independent, mature citizens, then people must be willing to accept responsibility
for their own freely made choices and not look for scapegoats like Mr. Randall to blame for their
failings.
E2. Defense Arguments
1.
Identify the key arguments used in the defense’s summation. Then summarize the reasons and
conclusion for each argument.
Argument 1:
Reason:
Reason:
Conclusion:
Argument 2:
Reason:
Reason:
Conclusion:
2.
Evaluate the strength of the arguments you identified by assessing the truth of the reasons and the
extent to which the conclusions follow logically from the reasons.
Argument 1:
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Argument 2:
F. DELIBERATING THE ISSUES
Following the final summations, the judge will sometimes give specific instructions to clarify the issues
to be considered. For the defendant, Thomas Randall, to be found guilty of involuntary manslaughter,
the prosecution must prove that although he did not intend destructive results, he was guilty of
irresponsible behavior that was likely to result in harm. Following the judge’s charge, the jury then
retires to deliberate the case and render a verdict.
In the same way that words are the vocabulary of language, concepts are the vocabulary of thought.
Concepts are general ideas that we use to bring order and intelligibility to our experience. They give us
the means to understand our world and make informed decisions, to think critically and act intelligently.
The process of arriving at an informed conclusion regarding this case involves understanding the
concepts of freedom and responsibility. To conclude that the defendant was guilty of “irresponsible
behavior that was likely to result in harm,” it is necessary that we believe that he was responsible for
his actions and their likely consequences: he knew what he was doing, chose to do it freely, and so must
be held accountable. On the other hand, if we are to conclude that the defendant is not guilty of the
charge, we must believe that he was not responsible for his actions. We must believe either that
circumstances interfered with his ability to make a free choice or that it is unreasonable to expect that
he would have been able to anticipate the destructive consequences of his actions.
G. REACHING A VERDICT
Reaching a verdict in a situation like this involves complex processes of reasoning and decisionmaking. In your discussion with the other jurors, you must decide if the evidence indicates, beyond a
reasonable doubt, that the defendant should have anticipated the destructive consequences of his
behavior. In other words, did the defendant (Thomas Randall) knowingly encourage an underage
woman (Kelly Green) to drink excessively? When she left the party, should he have recognized her
inebriated condition and made sure that she was not intending to drive home? Should he have been able
to anticipate that terrible consequences might result if she tried to drive in her inebriated state? The
principle of beyond a reasonable doubt is difficult to define in specific terms, but in general the
principle means that it would not make good sense for thoughtful men and women to conclude
otherwise.
G1. On the basis of your analysis of the evidence and arguments presented in this case, write your
verdict and explain your reasons for reaching this conclusion.
H. SOLVING PROBLEMS
As illustrated by this case, the abuse of alcohol by young people at colleges and universities is a
national problem. The following passages present a variety of perspectives on the causes and possible
solutions to this problem. Read the passages and answer the questions that follow.
1.
Advertising and promotion of alcoholic beverages on college campuses and in college
publications should be banned. Restrictions should be imposed on liquor distributors that sponsor
97
campus events. In addition, alcohol beverage companies should be petitioned not to target young
people in their ads.
2.
Students should be able to live in substance-free housing, offering them a voluntary haven from
drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure.
3.
Colleges should ban or tightly restrict alcohol use on campus and include stiffer penalties for
students who violate the rules.
4.
Colleges should create alcohol-free clubs to combat alcohol abuse and find alternatives to bars for
students who are under twenty-one.
5.
The drinking age should be reduced to eighteen, so that students won’t be forced to move their
parties off-campus. At off-campus parties there is no college control, and as a result students tend
to drink greater quantities and more dangerous concoctions like spiked punches.
6.
Colleges should ban the use of beer kegs, the symbol of cheap and readily available alcohol.
7.
Colleges should create education programs aimed at preventing alcohol abuse, and colleges
should give campaigns against underage drinking top priority.
8.
Fraternities should eliminate pledging in order to stop alcohol abuse and hazing.
H1. Explain, clearly and specifically, the reasons why you think that alcohol abuse among college
students is a problem and what you believe is the essence or heart of the problem.
H2. Identify three realistic alternatives for solving this problem. Evaluate each alternative in terms of its
advantages and disadvantages. Explain what further information would be required to determine each
alternative’s effectiveness.
Alternative 1:
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Further information needed:
Alternative 2:
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
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Alternative 3:
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
H3. Select your most promising alternative. Explain the steps you would take to implement it.
THE TEST OF CRITICAL THINKING ABILITIES: FOOTNOTES FOR
EXPERT TESTIMONY
Dr. Elizabeth Gonzalez
1.
Chronicle of Higher Education, January 31, 1990, A33–A35.
2.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol, November 1990.
3.
Chronicle of Higher Education, April 12, 1989, A43.
4.
Newsweek, November 19, 1990, 81.
5.
Chronicle of Higher Education, January 17, 1990. A33, A35.
6.
Chronicle of Higher Education, January 31, 1990, A33–A35.
7.
Chronicle of Higher Education, January 31, 1990, 3.
8.
Chronicle of Higher Education, June 12, 1991, A29–A30.
Dr. Richard Cutler
9.
Time, December 16, 1991, 64.
10. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 52, no. 1 (January 1991).
11. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 51, no. 6 (November 1990).
12. Journal of Counseling and Development 69 (January 1991), 237–40.
13. Adolescence 26, no. 102 (Summer 1991), 341–47.
14. Business Week, June 24, 1991, 52.
99
THE TEST OF CRITICAL THINKING
ABILITIES:EVALUATION/PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
A. Gathering and Weighing the Evidence
1.
What factors support the accuracy of the testimony of each witness?
2.
What factors raise questions regarding the accuracy of the testimony of each witness?
To what extent does the student display an understanding of the testimony of each witness in
terms of
•
The main ideas being expressed
•
The reasons and evidence that support the main ideas
To what extent is the student able to identify in the testimony of each witness
•
The differences among facts, inferences, and judgments
•
The interests, purposes, background, or professional expertise of the witnesses relevant to
the information they are providing
To what extent does the student display the ability to evaluate and compare/contrast the testimony
of each witness in terms of
•
Accuracy
•
Consistency
•
Completeness
•
Subjective bias/slanting reflecting the influence of personal interests, purposes, background,
or professional expertise
B. Asking Important Questions
1.
What questions should be asked to elicit additional relevant information?
To what extent is the student able to identify appropriate questions at various cognitive levels to
explore the issues posed by the testimony (fact, interpretation, analysis, synthesis, evaluation,
application)?
C. Constructing Knowledge
1.
Do you believe that Thomas Randall was aware that Kelly Greene was a minor and that she was
drinking alcohol in violation of the law? Explain the reasons for your conclusion.
2.
Do you believe that Mr. Randall personally served Ms. Greene alcohol? Do you believe that he
encouraged or cajoled her to drink alcohol? Explain the reasons for your conclusion.
3.
Do you believe that Mr. Randall was aware that Ms. Greene was intoxicated when she left his
party? Did he know that she would be driving home?
To what extent is the student able to
•
Identify the key issues and the relevant evidence provided by the witnesses
•
Evaluate contrasting and conflicting testimony
•
Synthesize the testimony into well-informed conclusions supported by sound reasons
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D. Evaluating Expert Testimony
1.
Summarize the first psychologist’s analysis of Mr. Randall’s and Ms. Greene’s behavior and the
reasons that support her interpretation.
2.
Summarize the second psychologist’s analysis of Mr. Randall’s and Ms. Greene’s behavior and
the reasons that support his interpretation.
3.
On the basis of your analysis of this testimony, explain your analysis of Mr. Randall’s and Ms.
Greene’s behavior and explain the reasons that led you to your conclusion.
Same evaluation/performance criteria as A1 and A2
To what extent does the student understand the forms of inductive reasoning illustrated by the
expert testimony?
To what extent is the student able to analyze the reasoning presented and evaluate its relevance
and plausibility?
Empirical generalizations: Is the sample known? Sufficient? Representative? Causal reasoning:
scientific method, controlled experiments.
E. Evaluating Summation Arguments
1.
Identify the key arguments used in each summation and describe the reasons and conclusions for
each.
2.
Evaluate the truth of the reasons presented in the arguments and assess the extent to which the
conclusions follow logically from the reasons.
3.
Identify any irrelevant, invalid, or illogical arguments presented and explain why you think they
are weak, invalid, or illogical.
To what extent is the student able to
•
Recognize arguments and understand their function and structure (reasons, conclusion)?
•
Evaluate arguments in terms of truth, validity, and soundness?
•
Recognize forms of common fallacies?
F. Deliberating the Issues
1.
Explain how the prosecution summation defines the concept of freedom (in terms of its general
properties/characteristics) and illustrate the concept with an example not included in the
summation.
2.
Explain how the defense summation defines the concept of freedom and illustrate this definition
with an example not included in the summation.
To what extent does the student understand the concepts presented by others, defining their
general properties and illustrating them with examples?
3.
Describe your own concept of freedom and illustrate it with an example from your own
experience.
To what extent is the student able to form his or her own concepts and illustrate them with
examples from his or her own experience?
4.
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Explain how your concept of freedom relates to your conclusion regarding whether the defendant
in the previous court case should be found innocent or guilty of the charges.
To what extent is the student able to apply concepts he or she has developed to a complex issue
and thus clarify his or her understanding?
G. Reaching a Verdict
1.
On the basis of your analysis of the evidence and arguments presented in this case, indicate what
you think the verdict ought to be and explain your reasons for reaching this conclusion.
To what extent is the student able to analyze complex issues by
•
Identifying the issue clearly?
•
Describing multiple interpretations of the issue?
•
Identifying and evaluating evidence and arguments to support various interpretations?
•
Articulating an informed, well-reasoned conclusion that draws on the views of others but
that represents the student’s own independent analysis/synthesis?
H. Solving Problems
1.
Explain, clearly and specifically, the reasons why you think this problem exists and what you
believe is the essence or heart of the problem.
2.
Identify three realistic alternatives for solving this problem. Evaluate each alternative in terms of
its advantages and disadvantages, and explain what further information would be required to
determine each alternative’s effectiveness.
3.
Select what you believe to be your most promising alternative and explain the steps you would
take to implement it.
To what extent is the student able to analyze a complex, open-ended problem in an organized
way, addressing the following questions:
•
What is the problem? (knowledge; results; definition)
•
What are the alternatives? (boundaries; alternatives)
•
What are the advantages/disadvantages of each alternative? (information)
•
What is the solution? (alternatives; plan of action)
SECTION 5
Source Material for the Mary Barnett Case
In response to many requests from faculty and students at many colleges regarding the Mary Barnett
court case in Chapter 2, I have included an article by Aimee Lee Ball (Mademoiselle, November 1990,
184–206) on the original case from which it is derived. “Mary Barnett” was actually Peggy Barsness of
Minneapolis, Minnesota. The article provides many details about the case, which you may or may not
want to introduce to the class, as well as the ultimate verdict (she was found guilty). The jury’s verdict
was substantially influenced by a piece of evidence that may not be directly relevant to her guilt or
innocence: a tape recording of a phone call of Peggy with her fiancé in which she comes across as
profane and vindictive.
THE CRADLE WILL FALL: THE TRAGEDY OF PEGGY ANN
BARSNESS
by Aimee Lee Ball
Aimee Lee Ball, “The Cradle Will Fall: The Tragedy of Peggy Ann Barsness,” Mademoiselle,
November 1990, pp. 184-206. Copyright © 1990 by Aimee Lee Ball. Reprinted by permission of
William Morris Agency, Inc., on behalf of the Author.
One cold January morning in suburban Minneapolis, twenty-two-year-old Peggy Ann Barsness bundled
up her infant daughter, Kirsten, for a regular “well-baby” checkup at a local clinic specializing in
family medicine. The same doctor who had delivered Kirsten exactly six months earlier pronounced her
healthy and growing right on schedule, and a medical assistant gave her a DPT shot, for immunization
against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus. Around 1 p.m. that day, Barsness returned home, fed the
baby, rocked her to sleep for an afternoon nap, placed her in a crib with a yellow blanket and several
teddy bears, and then drove to the airport, where she purchased a one-way ticket to San Francisco, not
to return for a week, leaving her daughter alone, unattended, to die.
Tales of such gravity and depravity shape the editorial pages of newspapers across the country, but the
typical scenario involves poverty, drugs, broken homes or teenage pregnancy. The case of Peggy Ann
Barsness, in contrast, is a middle-American nightmare, played out within a family that seems, on the
surface, thoroughly “white bread”—a Grant Wood painting come to life. Her parents have been married
for twenty-six years. Her father is an accountant. She went to John F. Kennedy High School and grew
up on a pretty cul-de-sac in a beige and brown ranch house with flowering shrubs and a basketball hoop
over the garage door.
What’s wrong with this picture? It’s a David Lynch movie, that’s what. With pentimento effect, the
patina of Midwestern civility and stability gives way to a portrait of a willful and intractable teenager
whose rebellious behavior first confused and then alienated her parents. Gradually, the picture emerges
of a young woman who had little motivation or intention in life, who came to define herself by success
with men—and who finally became desperate to be with one particular man, regardless of the cost or
consequences. Step back, and the larger view shows a time and place where single pregnant women
may be encouraged to keep their babies rather than choose abortion or adoption, even though they do
not have the financial or emotional resources to rear a child.
And a baby girl named Kirsten will never see her first birthday.
Section 5: Source Material for the Mary Barnett Case
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The suburbs of Minneapolis all seem to have euphonious, optimistic-sounding names—Golden Valley,
Eden Prairie, Roseville—and it was in a ’burb called Bloomington that Barsness grew up, the middle
child between two brothers. She was an outgoing and athletic little girl who ate everything put in front
of her and romped with her family at a lake near their home—“a normal child, like the rest of them,”
according to her father. But by the time she finished grade school, Barsness had developed the body of
the young woman she is today—5 feet 2, 100 pounds—and she began to retreat. She spent an entire
summer hiding out in the basement, then ran away from home and was placed in a group facility for
truant teens. She required a special reading program called Title One, dropped out of school in the tenth
grade, got pregnant, and miscarried at sixteen. She signed up for an equivalency diploma program
called Project Reentry but didn’t keep up with classes; she went for vocational training at the Hubert H.
Humphrey Job Corps Center but could find only minimum-wage jobs, working the counter at a fastfood restaurant and the second shift at a dry cleaner.
In December 1987, Barsness’s pelvis was fractured in an automobile accident. While recuperating at
her parents’ home, she became reacquainted with a young man who used to sing with her older brother
in a local group—a Navy jet-engine mechanic named Timothy Brewer, home on leave from the U.S.S.
Enterprise, stationed in northern California. Brewer and Barsness promised to correspond once he
returned to the base, but Brewer got no answers to his letters until the end of February. “You probably
won’t want anything to do with me,” Barsness finally wrote, according to the court record, confessing
that she was five months pregnant by another man, who was moving to St. Louis, Missouri. “I probably
won’t keep the baby,” she wrote. “I want to have a baby with someone who loves me, and I would like
to be married.”
Unexpectedly, Brewer was not put off by this news. He wrote back that same night, and the two began
a courtship by mail: He confessed his unhappiness and boredom at sea; she poured out her fear and
confusion about the pregnancy. “I can’t keep the baby,” she wrote in May. “I am just not ready to have
a baby. There’s too much I want to do. . . . I really don’t think I could give the baby everything it will
need.” In June, Brewer called Barsness while on a drunken shore leave in Hong Kong, proposing
marriage and promising he’d take on the responsibilities of being a father.
Brewer returned to Minnesota for the baby’s birth on July 23—he’d signed up for recruiting duty to
qualify for extended leave. Barsness didn’t want him in the delivery room because she’d gone through
Lamaze training with a friend as coach, but Brewer passed out cigars, suggested the name Kirsten and
drove the new mother and child home from the hospital. “I thought it was the greatest thing that ever
happened to me,” he said. “I figured that five years down the road, I’d adopt her.” Shortly before he
returned to California in August, he bought Barsness an engagement ring, and they planned to marry
that Christmas. Brewer wrote to Barsness almost every day he was at sea, sometimes addressing her as
Peggy Ann Brewer. “I thought it would be kind of neat to play the charade,” he said. “We weren’t
married, but we wanted to be, so we were playing like we were.”
Barsness moved into her own apartment in September 1988. It was a pleasant two-story town house that
was rent subsidized under Minnesota’s generous family-aid program, and her parents agreed to pay the
first two months rent of $238 so she could buy some furnishings. Some of Barsness’s letters from this
time on her own revealed a growing maturity and stability. “I am getting a lot of pleasure from people
back home,” Barsness wrote. “I listen to what they have to say. I don’t always agree, but some of it
makes sense.”
But she also wrote rambling letters of isolation, insecurity and anxiety; “I want my own place but I
don’t want to be alone. I really wish you could be here. . . . Mr. Brewer, I love you a lot, and I can’t
stand not being able to show you how much. . . . My, or should I say our, daughter doesn’t stop crying.
She’s spoiled. I have to go pick her up before she dies. . . .”
In October 1988, the U.S.S. Enterprise was in port for refitting and repainting. Barsness left Kirsten
with her parents and went to visit Brewer in San Francisco for the long Columbus Day weekend. She
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suggested eloping to Reno, but he wanted to wait until his tour of duty was over—“I thought I’d be able
to provide better for Peggy and Kirsten,” he said. Barsness was miserable when she returned home. “All
I do is think about being there with you,” she wrote Brewer.
Barsness seemed to vacillate between calm and despair about taking care of Kirsten. “I think I’ll be
okay,” one of her letters said. “I really think we can give [her] everything she could ever dream of and
the most love possible. Sometimes I just need to be reminded that I am doing okay as a mom.” A few
days later, her letter took a more ominous tone: “Peggy is not ready to be a mom. Peggy wants to be
there and anywhere with you and only you. I want to be myself again. I want to work. I want a family
when I am ready. I want a life with you first. We haven’t even had that yet, and now we have to share it
with Kirsten. . . . I love her terrible, but I can’t right now.”
Barsness had virtually no contact with Brewer for the entire month of November. According to the
court record, her phone was disconnected after she ran up a bill of nearly $2,000, and he stopped
writing. “I needed some time to get my thoughts together,” he said. “I was scared to get married, and
she was putting pressure on me.” When he returned to Minneapolis for Christmas leave, he told
Barsness he was preparing for a long world cruise, and it didn’t make sense to get married when he
wasn’t going to be there. Barsness said, “I can wait.”
The next month, Barsness went to visit Brewer over the Martin Luther King holiday, using a substantial
settlement from her automobile accident to finance the trip and pay a friend to care for Kirsten. Much of
the weekend was spent dancing and drinking—12, 18, 24 beers every day. “It was great to have her out
there,” Brewer said, “until we had a fight Sunday night in the Taco Bell parking lot. She didn’t want to
leave, and I told her she had to. It was a battle—she hit me a couple of times, and she wanted me to hit
her, but I wouldn’t.” They reconciled at the airport. “She was sorry, I was sorry, we hugged and kissed,
and I watched her get on the plane.”
On Sunday, January 22, while her family was watching the Super Bowl, Barsness called Brewer, saying
she had “messed up” and claiming she had lost custody of Kirsten to her parents. Brewer said to let him
know if there was anything he could do. “I felt we were starting to drift apart,” he said. “I told her
someday we’d probably get married, but there wasn’t any definite plan.”
When Brewer reported to work shortly before seven the next morning, he was given the surprising
message to pick up Barsness at the San Francisco airport that afternoon. Barsness got off the plane
crying and mumbling that she had to get away. Over the next week, they established a daily routine:
After work, Brewer would stop at a package store for a six-pack, then have more beer at a bar called
Wally’s Corner, or beer with a bottle of whiskey snuck in for shots at a sailors’ hangout known as the
Grub Pub, then dancing and, for a change of pace, more beer at a club called Johnny B. Goode. They
slept in a room at the Sixpence Inn, chosen because it was cheap, and then at the Easy Eight Motel,
because it was cheaper. Barsness paid for everything until she ran out of money and borrowed $100
from a sailor known as the Bank of Hank because he always had cash.
When Barsness called home on Sunday, January 29, her father promised to charge her $415 return
ticket on his Visa card. But instead of leaving that night, Barsness stood in the middle of the road crying
and said, “Kirsten is dead. If I go home, I’ll go to jail.” Brewer was outraged. “There are two things I
hate: liars and cheaters,” he said. He drove her to the airport and didn’t wait for her plane to take off.
On Monday, January 30, Barsness arrived in Minneapolis at about 6:30 a.m., without enough money to
retrieve her car from the airport parking lot. At 7:30 she took a limousine to her father’s office to get
some cash, then continued to her own apartment. Her front door was unlocked and, as she later told the
police, “There was a really bad smell. I dropped my bag at the door and went upstairs.” She then
walked to the Holiday Store down the road, called a Yellow Cab, went to her parents’ house and told
her mother that Kirsten was dead.
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Sunday, May 13, 1990, was Mother’s Day. Monday, May 14, marked the beginning of testimony in
Peggy Ann Barsness’s trial for the murder of her daughter. Her plea was not guilty. She was a
diminutive figure in the courtroom: caramel-colored hair, white cotton sweater, beige skirt, white
anklets and brown kid shoes—a study in bland. To her left sat a prison matron. To her right sat a public
defender named Rick Mattox, who placed in front of her a small package of Kleenex and a glass of
water poured from a black plastic carafe on the table. Mattox had instructed Barsness not to get tanned
and to look straight down during the proceedings. If he had intended to create the impression of a
cipher, he succeeded. But what Mattox could not have orchestrated was Barsness’s shaking, her hands
clasped together so tightly and jerking so violently that her entire upper body was in perpetual rhythmic
convulsion.
The prosecutor began by calling a parade of witnesses: the police lieutenant who had taken Barsness’s
statement when she reported Kirsten’s death, first insisting that she had left the baby with a sitter named
Tina; Tina Hilden herself, a young woman with pretty brown hair and pale skin, who said she had
watched and waited in vain for Barsness to arrive with Kirsten on the day the baby was abandoned;
Mark Rynda, a young man whom Barsness had called from San Francisco, asking if he could check on
the front door of her apartment, which she said might have been left open. Rynda was recuperating
from surgery and told Barsness he probably wouldn’t get there, also declining her offer to stay in the
apartment while she was gone.
Barsness’s mother testified—about feeling frustrated during the years of Barsness’s teenage truancy.
“We would have conferences with counselors, but the school didn’t really cooperate,” she testified.
“When she didn’t show up, they wouldn’t notify us until halfway through the marking period.” But
Mrs. Barsness couldn’t remember what kinds of grades her daughter had received, and when asked
about the baby’s natural father, she said, “The name slips my mind.” She knew her daughter had a
drinking problem, yet she asked Barsness to move to her own place two months after Kirsten’s birth.
“We thought she was better off if she took care of the baby herself,” said Mrs. Barsness.
Barsness’s father testified in connection with her absences from school. But when asked about his
daughter’s drinking, Mr. Barsness inhaled deeply and blew wind out of his cheeks as he answered, “I
never discussed it with her.” And both parents admitted that, in the preceding sixteen months, when
their daughter was in jail fighting a murder indictment, neither of them had ever met or spoken with her
attorney.
I saw a woman sitting in the back of the courtroom every day of the trial—too consistently to be a
casual curiosity seeker—so I asked who she was. The woman said that her son had dated Barsness a
few years before, and she made a gesture of wiping imaginary sweat off her brow—a grateful
acknowledgement that she was, in this case, a near miss to a tragedy. She described a Barsness who
seemed a distant cousin to the pathetic figure in court—personable, sexy and spunky, and almost
brazenly independent. Often, instead of going home, she slept on their family sofa or in the car.
Barsness’s lawyer made a big point of her excellent parenting during Kirsten’s short life—how she
boiled the baby’s milk on the stove top because she distrusted the microwave, how neat and clean she
kept her apartment. As explanation for this tragedy, he said that Barsness was like “a little girl in an
adult’s body,” that she had insomnia and drank as her way of self-medication, that she found herself
falling apart. “She snapped,” he said. “Peggy lost it. Do you think that a normal, healthy Peggy would
have wanted this to happen?”
Well, of course not. But several of her friends mentioned hanging out at a bar called R-Berry’s, and I
went to check it out. It was a windowless, smoky place, with perhaps a dozen pool tables and a wall of
video games. It made me depressed that a young man like Brewer would haul back a brain-muddling
quantity of beer here, then get in a car to drive home on Minnesota’s icy winter roads. It made me
depressed that a young mother like Barsness would spend her evenings here, seeking some warmth and
106
comfort—not yet grownup herself, and singularly ill-equipped to manage the growing up of anyone
else.
“You are going to see pictures of Kirsten that will haunt you,” Barsness’s lawyer told the jury, “but
they are not important.” He was wrong. It was stunning to see the police videotape of Kirsten’s body—
eyes open, dressed in pink, looking unreal and doll-like among the stuffed animals in her crib. It was
even more numbing to hear from the county coroner (who had also testified at the trial of Joel Steinberg
and Hedda Nussbaum) just how Kirsten had died: slowly, from dehydration, losing nearly a quarter of
her weight, her skin developing a doughlike texture and her body sinking gradually into coma. At the
mention of the baby’s suffering, Barsness—up to then impassive—turned toward the wall, covered her
mouth with her hand and cried softly until the judge called a brief recess.
It got worse: Over vehement objections from the defense, the prosecution played a cassette that
Barsness had recorded for Brewer, reproving him from not staying in touch—a shocking, private and
profane monologue, with two-month-old Kirsten crying in the background; “You did not call me, and it
pissed me off. . . . I need to know what’s going to happen. I have morals, and I need goals. I’m drinking
just as much as you are, and it’s not right. I have a daughter. I can’t be doing that. I treat her like shit
when something’s going on with us. We have to go forward with our relationship, or we have to stop it.
You can give this ring to some other bitch. . . . I’ll switch places with you. You come here and take care
of Kirsten. My daughter’s screaming bloody murder, and I don’t fucking care. [A few moments later,
the baby’s gurgling can be heard.] . . . Oops, she sneezed for you. Aren’t you proud? Your daughter
sneezed for you. I hope she is your daughter. I hope you love her. We’ll get married. Big, small, nobody
there but us, everybody there—I don’t care. You just keep your point in your pants. You’d best call me
or your ass is grass.”
The day after this tape was played in open court, Barsness was not in her usual seat. She was taken to
the hospital in a wheelchair—unresponsive, eyes unblinking, unable to eat or walk. Three psychiatrists
examined her. One said she’d had an acute anxiety attack and recommended that she be hospitalized for
at least ten days. Another said that she was competent to stand trial, although she had gone into a stupor
from depression. The third characterized her as “passively suicidal,” meaning that she had lost her
desire to live, but said she was fit to continue with the trial.
The tape, like the whole tragedy of Peggy Ann Barsness, is almost impossible to explain or absorb. It’s
tempting to say, “She’s crazy,” or “It’s terrible, but its unique—a worst-case scenario.” But to do that is
to ignore the deafness of a community that did not know how to reach a young woman unready for
motherhood, a community in which everyone was there at the wrong time and no one was there at the
right time. It is to dismiss a family who could deny a daughter’s alarming or off-putting behavior, so
strong was their need for things to appear okay. It is to let off the hook those people who are always in
favor of keeping the unborn baby, acting as if they have some corner on morality. This young woman
could have had an abortion. This baby died. Which is more humane?
On June 5, 1990, Peggy Ann Barsness was found guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter,
and was subsequently sentenced to fifteen years out of a possible eighteen years in prison. Even with
her time served and assuming time off for good behavior, she will be in prison at least eight and a half
years. The jury did not consider the issue of postpartum depression, which is not a legal defense in
Minnesota (although even the judge commented on the need to change archaic nineteenth-century state
laws on mental illness), and they seemed to reject the idea that Barsness’s actions stemmed from low
intelligence and alcoholism, that she wasn’t capable of forming the intent to commit a crime. The police
asked her why she hadn’t purchased a round-trip ticket to California, and she answered, “I never
planned on returning.”
“In the state of Minnesota,” said one of the prosecutors, “we have another name for that: murder.”
And a baby girl named Kirsten will never see her first birthday.
SECTION 6
Thinking Critically About Visual Images and the
Internet
The Ninth Edition of Thinking Critically expands the coverage of visual images by including four-color
photographs in each chapter that relate to the concepts introduced in that unit. Because our culture is so
media-saturated and visually oriented and because advertisers, politicians, entertainment companies,
and global corporations manipulate images so deftly, it is more important than ever that students learn
to apply critical thinking skills to visual media. The expanded use of visual images throughout this
edition will allow for a deeper discussion of the language, use, and manipulation of visuals found in our
world today.
Each set of visuals includes a series of questions to help the students examine a new concept of visual
imagery and relate the analysis to chapter content. At the end of this section is a handout that can be
distributed at the first discussion of visual imagery and used throughout the semester to help students
think critically about each image they encounter. You may want to use only certain sections of the
handout as they relate to specific chapter content, or tell students to focus on a particular section of the
handout for different chapters. Below you will find a brief discussion of each chapter’s visuals with
additional resources listed to help you better the student’s understanding of the concepts being
introduced.
CHAPTER 1: DISASTER AND PERSPECTIVE
The Thinking Critically About Visuals exercise in Chapter 1 asks students to examine two different
images of children in the midst of disasters. To help students understand the concept of perspectives in
imagery, it helps to have them think of the camera as the eyes of someone looking at the scene and then
identify who that person might be and why he or she is looking at the specific images seen in the
photograph. Remind students that often photographers position the camera at a certain angle to imitate
the visual perspective of someone other than themselves. A discussion of the control of perspective by
photographers should help to reinforce the need to learn critical thinking skills and the need to critically
examine the many images students encounter in the world today.
CHAPTER 2: COMPLEX ISSUES, CHALLENGING IMAGES
The visuals in Chapter 2 invite students to see how pictures can tell stories. Students are asked to look
at photographs concerning immigrants and immigration policies to understand how the photographer
was creating a story using images of an event. It is important to give a brief overview of visual
composition elements to the class at this time. The study of these images reinforces the chapter’s
emphasis on the need for active, independent, and organized thinking.
CHAPTER 3: ADVERTISING TO CHANGE BEHAVIOUR
The use of visual imagery to influence behavior is examined in the Thinking Critically About Visuals
feature in this chapter. Students examine an ad from the website abovetheinfluence.com as well as an
ad seeking to deter methamphetamine use created by Drug Free America. The images are meant to
influence viewers to alter their behavior or the behavior of someone they know by showing the negative
effects of drug use in various ways. Give students a brief introduction to the elements of composition
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Section 6: Thinking Critically About Visual Images and the Internet
they should look for in multimedia and interactive websites to help them better understand how the
creators of these ads are using visuals to change the way young people think about drugs.
CHAPTER 4: PERCEIVING AND MANAGING FEAR
This chapter examines how images can be used to control people’s behavior by evoking fear. Excerpts
from the book A Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner can be used to help students understand how the
media can deliberately evoke fear in the American public through the use of negative images and
reports. A discussion of how beliefs can be changed through the use of imagery should accompany the
exercises to enhance the understanding of the relationship between perceptions and beliefs found in the
chapter.
CHAPTER 5: PROPOGANDA: UNDERMINING KNOWLEDGE AND
QUESTIONING BELIEF
Most students think of propaganda as leaflets being passed out in the streets of some distant third world
country or films out of the old Soviet Union promoting the benefits of communism. This section gives
students the opportunity to expand this definition. The National Archives website includes an excellent
presentation of World War II propaganda posters that can enhance this discussion. Below is a link to
this site:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_home.html
A November 1939 article, “Propaganda—Good and Bad—for Democracy” by Clyde R. Miller and
Louis Minsky and published in Survey Graphic, helps students to understand how people felt about the
propaganda being used by the American government during World War II as well as presenting a good
basis for evaluating the ethical use of propaganda today. You can find the text of this article online at
http://newdeal.feri.org/survey/39b16.htm.
This section also looks at the use of satire to undermine the beliefs of the viewer. The second exercise
mentions the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Steven Colbert Report. Both shows are on cable and
satellite television and have their own websites. These satirical news shows have become very popular
around the country and offer a chance to discuss visual satire with students. Emphasize to students how
important it is to think critically so they can discern when an image is satirical in nature; remind them
that not all satires are readily apparent on first viewing. It might be useful to apply the Stages of
Knowledge section in the chapter to the understanding of these satirical shows. Ask students to identify
their stage of knowledge when applied to shows like the Colbert Report. Remind the class that you are
examining the nature of satire and not whether fellow classmates are conservatives or liberals, since
these satirical news shows often evoke strong feelings in students based on their political sensibilities. It
might help to ask students why shows like this evoke such emotional responses in many people and
what they might learn about the concepts of believing and knowing from this discussion.
CHAPTER 6: READING THE UNWRITTEN
The photographs of graffiti in this chapter invite a discussion of the use of symbols in visual imagery
and a careful analysis of how symbols can be used to communicate ideas to a target audience, while
these same symbols may not be understood at all outside of the target audience. After exploring the
symbolism of graffiti, a further examination of symbolism at work in newspaper and Internet
photographs will be useful to help students learn to read the subtext of visual images. Further examples
of graffiti from around the world as well as articles and interviews can be found at
http://www.graffiti.org. This award-winning website, started in 1995, is devoted to the display and
study of graffiti around the world. Ask students to review the “Symbolic Nature of Language” in
Chapter 6 and apply these categories of meaning to the photographs.
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CHAPTER 7: FASHION STATEMENTS AS CONCEPTS
The quotes from Nietzsche and David Mamet found in this feature ask students to think about fashion
statements as concepts. Students will readily see how the images of fashions from the past send
messages about their wearers’ beliefs; however, they may be resistant to the idea of applying these
same ideas to their own choices. To further the discussion on fashion statements, you can browse
through the Oxford University Institute website for their list of excellent sources on the topic of fashion
at http://www.intute.ac.uk/artsandhumanities/cgi-bin/browse.pl?id=artifact1074.
CHAPTER 8: THE PLACES WE THINK
The photographs found in the feature for Chapter 8 illustrate how place affects our understanding of the
world. Students can consider the questions in this feature to gain an understanding of how they develop
and maintain a sense of place, and how considerations of their physical surroundings may affect them.
Ask students to bring in examples of places, and particularly places they find meaningful or symbolic,
that they find in newspapers and magazines for a group discussion.
CHAPTER 9: ETHICS AND EMOTIONS
The posters and websites in this chapter take opposite positions on the ethical treatment of animals in
medical research. Each image represents an ethical stance and tries to persuade the viewer to take that
stance as well. Students should use the discussions from previous chapters on perspectives,
composition, narration, symbolism and causal relationships to help them see the multilayered messages
used in these images. The answers to the exercises offer a great way to begin the discussion of
argument in Chapter 10.
CHAPTER 10: THE CHANGING RULES OF LOVE
The visuals in Chapter 10 continue the discussion of ethics and argument from the exercises in Chapter
9. A discussion of the power of visual argument over written or spoken arguments can be added to this
section. You can aid the understanding of visuals as argument for students by asking them to create
their own visual arguments on the subject of same-sex marriage or other important social issues. Below
are some links to some interesting photo-essay visual arguments on the Web:
A Time Visual Essay on 9/11:
http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/shattered/index.html.
The site Human Rights Watch has a new photo essay every week on current topics:
http://hrw.org/doc/?t=photoessays.
CHAPTER 11: STOP AND THINK
The different uses of the stop sign in the images from Chapter 11 touch back on the use of symbols and
causal relationships in visuals. Students are also asked to examine these images as inductive reasoning.
Ask students to do an image search on Google, Yahoo, or other search engines with image search
capacities to discover more altered stop sign visuals to discuss in class.
CHAPTER 12: ENVISIONING THE GOOD LIFE
The images from Chapter 12 reinforce the discussion about students’ concepts of themselves and their
purpose in life. As a final visual exercise, ask students to bring to class an image that they think best
reflects their purpose in life or the goals that they want to meet as related in the thinking exercises from
the chapter. Tell students these can be images they find or create themselves.
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ADDITIONAL SOURCES ON EVALUATING VISUAL IMAGES
For more information about reading, thinking about, and understanding the production of visual images
and media, see the following sources:
The Newseum Cybernewseum
http://www.newseum.org/cybernewseum: The Newseum, which is moving to new headquarters in
Washington, D.C., is the first museum devoted to the history of journalism and the news media and
particularly the upholding of the First Amendment. Its online gallery of photojournalism includes many
provocative, wrenching, and sometimes contradictory accounts of news and events around the world, as
well as discussions by photojournalists and editors about how images are created, chosen, and
occasionally manipulated to tell a story or make an argument.
The Poynter Institute
http://poynter.org is an invaluable resource for working journalists, aspiring journalists, media critics,
and anyone interested in the promotion of a free press. A nonprofit educational institute for working
journalists as well as journalism students, the Poynter Institute’s website offers information, advocacy,
and support for members of the news media. Its archived discussions of media ethics, its ongoing
inquiries into the coverage of major and breaking stories, and its interviews with journalists and editors
are invaluable. There are many articles that specifically discuss the creation (and ethical implications
of) photojournalism, as well as interviews with photojournalists about the psychological and emotional
impacts of maintaining an objective distance while covering catastrophic events. Click on the
“photojournalism” tab for a complete listing of articles and resources.
From Now On: The Educational Technology Journal
http://www.fno.org is a terrific, creative resource for teaching visual literacy in the age of
“edutainment.” See especially this article from 1999: http://www.fno.org/jun99/media.html.
MediaChannel.org
http://www.mediachannel.org/classroom is a nonprofit educational organization providing resources
for teachers (primarily K-12, but useful for college classrooms, too) on media literacy. Its lesson plans
and teaching units are especially interesting.
The Center for Media Literacy
http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/rr4.php offers a very generous list of links and resources for
thinking critically about the media and visual texts.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS ON EVALUATING INTERNET SOURCES
For more information about reading, thinking about, and understanding the Internet sources, see the
following websites:
Purdue University: Online Evaluation Handout
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_evalsource4.html: From the Online Writing Lab at
Purdue University, this brief and cogent discussion of how to determine the authorship and reliability of
a website is very useful for student researchers. The site even provides a printer-friendly version of the
page, so you can create a handout for students.
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Purdue University: Additional Links About Online Evaluation
http://owl.english. purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_evalsource5.html: This page, again at the
indispensable Online Writing Lab at Purdue University, includes links to articles about teaching critical
literacy about online media as well as additional guides created by university librarians to help students
think critically about online information.
VISUAL IMAGES: ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
Theme and Story
1.
What is happening in the picture and what in the picture makes you feel this way?
2.
Are there people in the picture. Who are they. What are they doing. Why?
3.
What do you think happened just before and just after the picture was taken. Why do you feel this
way?
4.
What story do you think the photographer trying to tell about the place and the people in the
photograph?
5.
Consider the answers you gave to the above questions as you analyze the picture further.
Context
1.
Where was the picture taken?
2.
Where was it first published?
3.
What historical circumstances or events were taking place that relate to this picture?
4.
How does this knowledge affect the way you interpret the photograph?
Composition
1.
What is the first thing that you notice when you look at the picture? Why?
2.
List the objects that you notice first, second, third, . . . Does the arrangement of the images in the
photograph guide you look at these images in this order?
3.
Look carefully at the spatial relationship of the images to the photographer. Where was the
photographer’s location when the picture was taken. Was the photographer close to the subject,
far away, high above the scene, looking up from the ground, or in any other spatial position that
can be detected by looking at the photograph.
4.
If the picture had been taken from a different position, would it change the way that you interpret
the subject of the photograph?
5.
Imagine what the larger scene is beyond the camera’s frame of reference. If the camera were in a
slightly different position to the left or right, up or down, would there be images that are left out
that might that change the message of the picture?
6.
How do the above elements of composition affect the way you interpret the picture?
Visual Elements
1.
From what angle is the light coming in the photograph. Is it natural lighting or artificial. Is it harsh
or soft. Does it appear to have a color to it.
2.
What objects are clearly in focus. What objects are out of focus or blurry?
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3.
What are the predominant colors in the photograph. Do the colors attract your attention to certain
objects?
4.
Are there stark shadows and highlights, or contrasting textures that draw your eyes to certain
elements of the photograph?
5.
How do the above visual elements of the picture affect the way you interpret it?
Conclusions
On the basis of the answers to the above questions, what message do you think the photographer was
trying to convey and why. Is it effective or not. Why. What would you do differently to make the
message more effective?
Part Two
Reading
The bond between thinking and language is substantial and interactive. As a manifestation of language,
reading is intimately linked with thinking. The process of “getting meaning from print,” as one
researcher has defined reading, whether at the fundamental decoding level or at a sophisticated
metacognitive level, requires thinking. Seen from this perspective, reading is a form of problem
solving; it is thinking about and making sense of text.
Current reading theory based on major areas of research has informed the reading methodology
suggested in this textbook. Schema theory, for example, involves recognizing the background
knowledge that the reader brings to text. Through prereading activities, the instructor can activate
student thinking about the topic, building on prior knowledge and presenting new concepts. Research
into text structure reveals that knowledge of text organization aids reading comprehension. The
instructor can alert students to text structure by pointing out headings and subheadings, signal words,
rhetorical patterns, locating or inferring topics, main ideas, and major and minor supporting details.
Research in the area of metacognition has contributed further understanding of the importance of
comprehension monitoring to the task of reading. The instructor can help students build knowledge
through awareness of themselves and of the text, through the task or assignment, and through
appropriate reading strategies. Students can monitor their process of understanding by first planning the
reading task, questioning as they read, and finally revising their thinking, based on the knowledge they
have gained.
The teaching methodology encouraged in presenting this course fosters active learning and a studentcentered approach through classroom practices such as peer teaching, small-group collaborative
learning, “think alouds,” role playing, journal keeping, mapping, and making use of college resources.
The instructor fosters critical and creative thinking by helping students to make connections to other
disciplines and to see relationships and applications of their knowledge to all facets of their academic
and personal lives. The instructor encourages problem- solving and hypothesis testing by emphasizing
the process of identifying, formulating, testing, proving, and revising initial beliefs. Equally as
important, the instructor addresses the importance of the affective domain by maintaining a positive
classroom climate; valuing students’ past learning experiences; encouraging risk taking, flexibility, and
creativity; and understanding the role of motivation and attitude in challenging learners of all levels.
Thinking Critically affords students the opportunity to define and refine an interrelated series of
thinking and reading skills. For many students, this text can serve as a bridge from the short, structured
paragraphs of developmental reading texts to the academic world of college-level literacy. Because
critical reading skills are so dependent on critical thinking skills as to be almost inseparable, Thinking
Critically has been widely used in the reading classroom since the first edition. Both students and
instructors benefit from its unique, holistic approach to the thinking and reading process.
This section of the Instructor’s Resource Manual includes comments about reading skills, suggestions
for using a reading journal with students, sample syllabi, prereading activities, and an overview of each
chapter and its relation to reading. The “Reading Activities” for each chapter focus on developing skills
in two broad areas: literal comprehension and critical comprehension.
Literal comprehension skills include the following:
•
Understanding words in context: developing college reading vocabularies
116
•
Recognizing topics, explicit and implicit main ideas, and supporting details
•
Recognizing patterns of organization
•
Applying study skills to reading material: outlining, annotating, mapping, summarizing, reading
maps, test-taking
Critical comprehension skills include the following:
•
Recognizing the author’s purpose and point of view
•
Recognizing the author’s tone and style
•
Distinguishing between fact and opinion and detecting bias
•
Drawing valid inferences and conclusions
•
Assessing the credibility or objectivity of the writer
•
Applying study skills to reading material: using library and Internet resources
See the following pages for a list of reading skills addressed in each chapter.
PREREADING ACTIVITIES
Specific activities for prereading chapters or essays are important in activating reading schema as well
as providing guidance and motivation to students who are still at the developmental stages of reading.
The following prereading activities can be used with any chapter or reading selection:
•
Have students read (or the instructor may read aloud) the title and the first paragraph of a reading
selection. Then ask students to anticipate the contents of the entire selection.
•
Ask questions about the general topic of the selection before assigning readings to encourage
students to examine their background knowledge and ideas. They can then compare their ideas
with the ideas presented in the selection.
•
If a selection is on a controversial subject, present selected sentences from the essay, and discuss
their meaning in class before having students read the selection.
•
Introduce difficult or unknown concepts and vocabulary to students prior to reading.
READING JOURNAL
One of the most successful techniques incorporating thinking, reading, and writing skills is the use of a
focused reading journal. Unlike a free-writing journal, a focused journal asks students to respond to
general questions for the reading selections. Three questions I have used with great success are the
following:1
1.
What is this selection about? (Alternatively: Provide a summary of the main ideas and important
supporting details.)
2.
What does this selection have to do with my own personal experience?
3.
What does this selection have to do with the world as I understand it?
1
Adapted from Anthony R. Petrosky, “From Story to Essay: Reading and Writing,” College
Composition and Communication, 33:1, pp. 19-36, 1982.
1
Adapted from Anthony R. Petrosky, “From Story to Essay: Reading and Writing,” College
Composition and Communication, 33:1, pp. 19–36, 1982.
At first, developmental students have to be led rather carefully through this process, but the results
justify the time.
SUMMARY OF CHAPTERS BY READING SKILL
Chapter 1
Understanding words in context
Recognizing topics, main ideas, and supporting details
Applying study skills to reading material: summarizing
Understanding literary allusions in context
Chapter 2
Recognizing explicit and implicit main ideas and supporting details
Recognizing the author’s tone and style: simile and metaphor
Applying study skills to reading material: annotating and summarizing
Applying study skills to reading material: using the library and Internet
resources
Chapter 3
Recognizing patterns of organization: cause and effect
resources
Chapter 4
Understanding words in context: transitional words
Recognizing judgments and inferences
resources
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118
Chapter 5
Recognizing patterns of organization: cause and effect and others
Recognizing main ideas and supporting details
Recognizing the author’s tone and style: emotive language
Applying study skills to reading material: reading a map or atlas
Chapter 6
Understanding words in context: multiple word meanings
Understanding figurative language: simile and metaphor
resources
Chapter 7
Applying study skills to reading material: mapping
resources
Chapter 8
Applying study skills to reading material: outlining and mapping
resources
Chapter 9
Recognizing the author’s tone and style: metaphor
resources
Chapter 10
Recognizing the patterns of organization
Assessing the credibility and objectivity of the writer
Applying study skills to reading: quizzes on critical comprehension skills
Chapter 11
Applying study skills to reading: quizzes on literal comprehension skills
Chapter 12
Understanding words in context: word etymology
Understanding literary allusions in context: using library or Internet resources
Applying study skills to reading: summarizing
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SAMPLE SYLLABI WITH A READING EMPHASIS
Ten-Week Syllabus
Week 1
Read
Assignments
Class Activities
Supplementary
Chapter 1, “Thinking”
Thinking Activity 1.1: Analyzing a Goal That You Achieved
Thinking Activity 1.4: Analyzing a Future Goal
Thinking Passage: “Original Spin”
Thinking Activity 1.10: Combating the “Voice of Criticism”
Read one short story.
Week 2
Read
Assignments
Class Activity
Supplementary
Chapter 2, “Thinking Critically”: Thinking Actively, Carefully Exploring
Situations with Questions, Thinking Independently, Viewing Situations
from Different Perspectives
Thinking Activity 2.2: Influences on Our Thinking
Thinking Activity 2.5: Analyzing A Belief from Different Perspectives
Analyzing Issues: The Mary Barnett Case
Thinking Passages: Jurors’ and Judges’ Reasoning Processes
Week 3
Read
Assignments
Class Activity
Supplementary
Chapter 2, “Thinking Critically” (read the rest of the chapter)
Thinking Activity 2.6: Analyzing Different Sides of an Issue
Discussing Ideas in an Organized Way: Dialogue
Week 4
Read
Assignments
Class Activities
Supplementary
Chapter 3, “Solving Problems”
Introduction to Problem Solving
Thinking Activity 3.1: Analyzing a Problem You Solved
Thinking Activity 3.3: Analyzing College Problems
Discuss Activity 3.3 in relation to a local campus issue
Thinking Passages: Liberty Versus Security
Read one short story or several news articles on social problems.
Week 5
Read
Assignments
Supplementary
Chapter 4, “Perceiving and Believing”
Thinking Passage: “Acquired Knowledge”
Thinking Activity 4.5: Accounts of the 9/11 Terror Attack
Thinking Activity 4.6: Describing a Shaping Experience
Thinking Passages: Perception and Reality on Reporting About Katrina
Read one short story or several news articles from different newspapers.
Week 6
Read
Assignments
Class Activity
Supplementary
Thinking Passage: Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
Thinking Activity 5.5: Tiananmen Square
Thinking Activity 5.8: Analyzing Different Accounts of the Dropping of the Atom
Bomb on Japan
Read one short story or several news articles from different newspapers.
Week 7
Read
Assignments
Supplementary
Chapter 8, “Relating and Organizing”
Thinking Passage: Environmental Issues
Read and map one short story and two nonfiction pieces.
Week 8
Read
Assignments
Class Activities
Supplementary
Chapter 9, “Thinking Critically About Moral Issues”
Thinking Passage: “The Disparity Between Intellect and Character”
Moral Judgments
Thinking Activity 9.3: Analyzing Moral Dilemmas
Read one short story or nonfiction piece.
Week 9
Read
Assignments
Class Activities
Supplementary
Chapter 10, “Constructing Arguments”: Recognizing Arguments,
Evaluating Arguments, Understanding Deductive Arguments
Thinking Passages: Legalizing Drugs
Evaluating Arguments
Thinking Activity 10.2: Evaluating the Truth of Reasons
Read nonfiction articles on evolution.
Week 10
Read
Assignments
Class Activities
Course Review
Supplementary
Chapter 11, “Reasoning Critically”: Fallacies of False Generalization,
Causal Reasoning, Causal Fallacies, Fallacies of Relevance, The Critical
Thinker’s Guide to Reasoning
Chapter 12, “Thinking Critically, Living Creatively”: Living a Life
Philosophy
Thinking Passage: “Critical Thinking and Obedience to Authority”
Thinking Passage: “Pressure to Go Along with Abuse Is Strong, but Some
Soldiers Find Strength to Refuse”
Thinking Activity 11.7: Applying “The Guide to Reasoning”
Class projects, term paper, debate, mock trial
Use nonfiction articles on moral development.
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122
Fifteen-Week Syllabus
Use Weeks 1–10 from Ten-Week Syllabus.
Week 11
Read
Assignments
Class Activities
Chapter 6, “Language and Thought”
Thinking Passage: Blue Highways
Thinking Activity 6.3: The Language of Cloning
Thinking Activity 6.8: Analyzing Euphemisms
Thinking Passages: Persuading with Political Speeches
Thinking Passage: “Sex, Lies, and Conversation”
Week 12
Read
Assignments
Class Activities
Chapter 7, “Forming and Applying Concepts”
Thinking Passages: Femininity and Masculinity
Thinking Activity 7.1: Forming New Concepts
Thinking Passage: “Identify Yourself: Who’s American?”
Thinking Activity 7.4: Analyzing the Concept Responsibility
Thinking Activity 7.6: Creating and Applying Mind Maps
Thinking Passage: What Is Religion?
Week 13
Read
Assignments
Chapter 10, “Constructing Arguments”: Recognizing Arguments,
Evaluating Arguments, Understanding Deductive Arguments, Constructing
Extended Arguments
Because of the complex nature of the materials presented in this chapter, the
following sections are suggested for in-depth coverage:
“Recognizing Arguments”
“Evaluating Arguments”
“Understanding Deductive Arguments”
Supplementary
Thinking Passages: Legalizing Drugs
Thinking Passages: Human Cloning
Use films, video, or fiction and nonfiction excerpts to illustrate arguments.
Week 14
Read
Assignments
Class Activities
Chapter 11, “Reasoning Critically”: Fallacies of Relevance, The Critical
Thinker’s Guide to Reasoning
Thinking Passage: “She’s Not Really Ill . . .”
Thinking Passage: “Study Sets Off Debate over Mammograms’ Value”
(found on the student website)
Thinking Activity 11.2: Designing a Poll
Thinking Activity 11.7: Applying the “Guide to Reasoning”
Week 15
Read
Assignments
Class Activities
Review
Chapter 12, “Thinking Critically, Living Creatively”
Thinking Activity 12.1: Thinking About Your Career Plans
Thinking Activity 12.2: Describing Your Dream Job
Living a Life Philosophy
Class projects, term paper, debate, mock trial
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CHAPTER 1
Thinking
COMPREHENSION SKILLS
This chapter can be used to develop the following literal and critical comprehension skills:
•
•
•
•
•
Applying study skills to reading material: summarizing; using library and Internet resources
•
Understanding literary allusions in context
THINKING IN READING: OVERVIEW
Chapter 1, “Thinking,” introduces the “extraordinary process” of thinking and the issues that will be
covered in more detail in later chapters. Students become aware of how they use thinking in their lives
to understand the world and to make informed decisions in living an “examined” life, working toward
goals, making decisions, deciding on a career, and analyzing issues. For developmental reading
students, this introduction is useful because it alerts them to terms and concepts that they will use
throughout the semester, thus helping them make more accurate predictions, which are one of the
characteristics of good readers. In addition, because students are asked to respond to specific problems,
their interest is engaged, and they are more likely to interact with text.
The two readings that are highlighted in the Reading Activities of the Instructor’s Resource Manual are
challenging and compelling. They should engage interesting class discussion, providing yet another
incentive for close and careful reading. The selection from The Autobiography of Malcolm X,
describing his extraordinary desire to educate himself, provides students with a plainly worded and
passionate account of the difficult but straightforward critical thinking process that Malcolm X used to
confront his personal problems. This selection might well be used to help students work on both reading
comprehension and critical thinking skills. The second selection, “Original Spin,” provides a useful
overview of creative thinking and suggests strategies for increasing creative abilities.
LIVING AN “EXAMINED” LIFE
In this section, students begin to develop reflective attitudes toward examining the deeper meanings of
their lives. Provocative questions—What is the purpose of your life? Who are you, and who do you
want to become?—challenge students early in the course to recognize and confront superficial and
obtrusive elements that often prevent them from thinking deeply about their lives.
WORKING TOWARD GOALS
This section promotes the view that understanding how our minds work allows students to improve
their thinking ability. Various activities help students identify and work through how to identify
appropriate goals and devise effective plans to achieve short-term and long-term goals. In Thinking
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Chapter 1: Thinking
Activity 1.1, students describe an important goal they recently achieved and identify the steps they took
to achieve this goal.
It is important that students begin to develop the self-monitoring activity known as metacognition,
which is self-awareness during the comprehension process. Acknowledging the steps that they have
taken toward their goals and determining which steps remain enable the student to formulate new
questions and look for additional information. In reading, particularly, it is essential for readers to
develop insight into their own comprehension process. You may want to activate students’
metacognition through prereading activities and discussions before reading a chapter or essay.
Similarly, you may alert students to graphic organizers, structured overviews, networking, and mapping
as ways in which features of the text enhance their ability to understand a reading selection.
As a prelude to using graphic organizers to analyze a reading selection, you may wish to have students
practice, using their responses to Thinking Activity 1.2. Ask students to develop a chart that parallels
the example of analyzing an important future goal, using some or all of their answers.
LIVING CREATIVELY
This section provides suggestions for becoming more creative through understanding and trusting one’s
creative process, eliminating the voice of criticism (VOC), making creativity a priority, and establishing
a creative environment. For many students, the activities that follow offer the opportunity for personal
assessment and creative development. To develop insight, Thinking Activity 1.8 asks students to
describe and analyze a creative area of their lives and to think of strategies they may use to increase
their creativity. In Thinking Activity 1.9 students reflect on their own creative development and
acknowledge the fears and pressures that may inhibit their creativity. Thinking Activity 1.10 asks
students to keep a daily record of negative self-judgments, to analyze the judgments by category, and to
prevent the voice of criticism from inhibiting their creativity.
The reading passage engages students in a final consideration of the critical and creative processes that
make up their lives. “Original Spin” by Lesley Dormen and Peter Edidin provides a useful overview of
creative thinking and suggests strategies for increasing creative abilities.
READING ACTIVITIES
In addition to readings and questions in Chapter 1, the following supplementary exercises help students
develop particular readings skills. Each Reading Activity is accompanied by a handout that can be
photocopied and distributed to the class. Assign the reading and then distribute the handout.
Chapter 1: Thinking
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READING ACTIVITY 1.1: RECOGNIZING THE TOPIC AND MAIN
IDEA
Skills Focus
•
Recognizing, topics, main ideas, and supporting details
To make sense of information, you must first decide what the author is writing about, determine what
he or she is saying about the topic, and identify the details that support the main idea.
To find the topic, look at the first few sentences and ask yourself: “What is the author writing about?”
The answer to this question is the topic and is written as a phrase. Once you have decided what the
topic is, you need to determine the main idea. To find the main idea, ask yourself “What is the author
saying about the topic?” This answer, written as a sentence, is the main idea of the selection. Last, you
need to identify the details—reasons, evidence, and examples—that support the main idea.
Read each passage and decide what the author is writing about (the topic), what the author is saying
about the topic (the main idea), and what details are used to support the main idea.
A. Despite their growing popularity, video yearbooks are unlikely to replace the old-fashioned hardback
volume. For one thing, there is no place for classmates to sign their names and scrawl wisecracking
farewells. For another, says Alan Heath, director of marketing for Taylor Publishing, a leading
yearbook publisher, “you can’t freeze the same amount of time on a one-hour video as you can in a
250-page yearbook.” Even the most successful video yearbooks are rarely bought by more than a
quarter of the graduating students, compared with two-thirds or so who usually pick up the book
version. Still, the converts in academic settings are enthusiastic. Frank Wiener, sixty-six, who directs
the TV program at Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, pays video yearbooks the ultimate
tribute: “I wish I had one from my high school.”
Topic: The author is writing about ______________________________________________________.
Main Idea: The author is saying that _____________________________________________________.
Details: The reasons, evidence, or examples that support the main idea are _______________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
B. Though birding is a hobby, watchers are quickly drawn to environmental issues. The pesticide DDT
nearly wiped out the osprey and the peregrine falcon. On April 19, 1987, the last California condor was
taken from the wild. “We have to convert interest in birds into backing for conservation,” says Arnold
Brown of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. “It’s one thing to admire a loon and another to realize
that it’s our oldest bird, 70 million years old, and in trouble from acid rain.”
Topic: _____________________________________________________________________________
Main Idea: __________________________________________________________________________
Details:
___________________________________________________________________________________
C. It’s common for patients facing surgery to seek a second opinion. Many medical insurance plans
now require you to get a confirming opinion before some kinds of elective surgery, most commonly
surgical repair of a hernia or removal of tonsils, uterus, gall bladder, or enlarged prostate. Medicare and
Medicaid may require a confirming opinion, too. Yet doctors often question whether second opinions
do much good.
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Chapter 1: Thinking
In a survey conducted recently by Medical Economics, nearly all of the 500 surgeons polled had
rendered second opinions during the past year; yet only 23 percent of them thought the quality of health
care had thereby been improved for the patients, and an even smaller percentage (11 percent) thought
the process lowered health-care costs. Patients often have to travel great distances to find another
qualified surgeon, and in most cases the second doctor simply confirms what the first doctor said.
Topic: ___________________________________________________________________________
Main Idea: _______________________________________________________________________
Details: __________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 1: Thinking
129
READING ACTIVITY 1.2: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X
Skills Focus
•
•
•
1.
The following sentences are from The Autobiography of Malcolm X” in Chapter 1. First, define
the underlined words through context. Then, use the same words in a different context. (Note: The
numbers in parentheses refer to paragraphs.)
2.
a.
In the street, I had been the most articulate hustler out there. (1)
b.
Bimbi had always taken charge of any conversation he was in, and I had tried to emulate
him. (3)
c.
I spent two days just riffling uncertainly through the dictionary’s pages. (5)
d.
I woke up the next morning, thinking about those words––immensely proud to realize that
not only had I written so much at one time . . . (3)
e.
I suppose it was inevitable . . . (8)
Carefully read the selection as many times as necessary to understand it and answer the following
questions. Answer the questions fully; a one- or two-word answer may not be sufficient.
a.
Who is the subject of the selection?
b.
What is the subject of the selection?
c.
When do these events take place? (Describe the conditions; do not give a year.)
d.
Where do the events take place?
e.
Why is the change desirable?
f.
How does the change occur?
3.
Using the information in your answers, write a sentence that states, in your own words, the main
idea of the selection.
4.
Again using the information that you gathered in question 2, write a paragraph summarizing this
selection. All your sentences should be paraphrases (restatements that use different words,
phrases, and sentence lengths but keep the meaning of the original). Your summary should be
between 75 and 150 words.
5.
How does this selection (or part of this selection) relate to your personal experience? Your answer
should include some detail (about 75 to 100 words).
6.
How does this selection (or part of this selection) relate to your understanding of the world in a
general sense? Give your answers in several sentences (about 75 to 150 words).
130
Chapter 1: Thinking
READING ACTIVITY 1.3: “ORIGINAL SPIN”
Skills Focus
•
Understanding words in context: using dictionaries
•
Understanding literary allusions: using an encyclopedia
1.
This reading contains many words that you might find unfamiliar or difficult to understand.
Utilizing both context and internal clues, and a final check in the dictionary, define the words
listed below. Also decide whether the word is used as a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and so on,
and indicate this usage next to your definition. Numbers following the words refer to the
paragraphs in which the words are found.
a.
elusive (1)
b.
serendipitous (1)
c.
arbitrary (2)
d.
wedded (2)
e.
elite (2)
f.
endowment (2)
g.
rampant (3)
h.
adaptive (3)
i.
intrinsic (3)
j.
smacks (3)
k.
transforming (transformational) (6)
l.
conformity (7)
m.
spontaneous (7)
n.
bent (9)
o.
impalpability (10)
p.
IQ (12)
q.
oracle (14)
r.
muse (14)
s.
doodled (16)
t.
mindlessness (19)
u.
mired (19)
v.
mindful (20)
w.
reflexive (20)
x.
process (20)
y.
componentize (22)
z.
sensory deprivation (26)
Chapter 1: Thinking
2.
131
Allusions are indirect references to cultural works, people, or events that can add immeasurably to
the understanding of readers who recognize these associations. Throughout this essay, the writers
make several allusions to people commonly considered to be creative, if not geniuses. Visit your
school library, and research these names. Ask a librarian to direct you to the appropriate reference
books or desk encyclopedia. Briefly describe the circumstances of their lives and their
accomplishments.
a.
Picasso
b.
Beethoven
c.
Mozart
d.
Einstein
e.
Isaac Newton
CHAPTER 2
Thinking Critically
•
Understanding words in context: word similarities and structural analysis
•
Using a dictionary or encyclopedia
•
Applying study skills to reading material: using the library and Internet resources
•
•
Applying study skills to reading material: marking text, annotating, and summarizing
•
•
•
•
THINKING CRITICALLY IN READING: OVERVIEW
Chapter 2, “Thinking Critically,” continues to introduce thinking concepts that will be discussed in
more detail in later chapters. In this chapter, critical thinking is defined as a total approach to
understanding how students make sense of the world. Various activities that make up thinking critically
and fulfilling one’s potential are explored: thinking actively, carefully exploring situations with
questions, thinking independently, viewing situations from different perspectives, supporting diverse
perspectives with reasons and evidence, discussing ideas in an organized way, and looking critically at
evaluating Internet information.
Chaffee’s comments about thinking critically provide useful advice for active reading of both text and
information obtained on the Internet. In presenting the chapter, point out to students that they have
already looked at three ways of making their reading active: locating or reconstructing the main idea,
looking for an organization pattern, and creating diagrams of their reading. This chapter continues to
emphasize ways to make reading active by encouraging students to ask questions of text and obtained
information, to construct their own meaning by thinking for themselves, and to view alternative
perspectives and different opinions. You can increase students’ awareness of their role in thinking
critically by encouraging their contributions to class discussions of the various thinking activities in this
chapter as well as by having them complete selected Reading Activities in the Instructor’s Resource
Manual.
THINKING ACTIVELY
In this section, students develop insight that thinking actively empowers them to become involved, take
the initiative, follow through, and take responsibility for their decisions. Students develop awareness of
their thinking as they consider the active or passive nature of influences in their daily lives. Further,
students realize that active thinking leads to becoming an active learner, as they learn to integrate new
Chapter 2: Thinking Critically
133
information into their existing knowledge framework. Thinking Activity 2.1 asks students to analyze
model “expert thinkers” and their qualities. Thinking Activity 2.2 asks students to analyze the power of
television commercials and elements of website advertisements to influence their thinking.
CAREFULLY EXPLORING SITUATIONS WITH QUESTIONS
This section provides a questioning schema created by educator Benjamin Bloom that is particularly
relevant in a reading course. We discuss six categories of questions that embody the types of questions
that sophisticated readers have internalized and use in a flexible and integrated way. These categories of
questions can be used to form a basic structure of the course. Students have many opportunities to use
and apply them in various contexts with the ultimate goal of developing an internalized mastery of
them.
You can help develop students’ ability to explore situations carefully with questions by encouraging
them to ask questions of text rather than merely recite the main points and details of an essay. In
Thinking Activity 2.3, for example, students apply the six categories of questioning to analyze a
decision-making situation. Actively involve students in this exercise by forming small discussion
groups. Ask them to choose a recorder to list the types of questions posed by the group. Following their
small-group discussion, engage students in sharing their responses.
THINKING INDEPENDENTLY
In this section, students reflect on the nature and origin of their beliefs and learn that their beliefs have
been shaped by their early experiences with family, teachers, books, and so on. Point out that an
important aspect of thinking and learning actively is to reexamine the bases of their thinking. Students
need to decide for themselves what to think, using criteria based on authorities, references, factual
evidence, and personal experience. In Thinking Activity 2.4, students evaluate the reasons for their
beliefs by asking questions pertaining to the reliability and credentials of authorities, references, factual
evidence, and possible distortions of their personal experience.
VIEWING SITUATIONS FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
While the previous sections encouraged students to think independently in evaluating information, this
section helps students recognize the importance of listening to others and seeing different viewpoints.
The dialogues in a later section, “Discussing Ideas in an Organized Way,” may be used as a roleplaying activity. Ask students to write their own versions of a similar situation and read their exchange
of dialogue to the class. Thinking Activity 2.5 asks students to describe a belief that they feel strongly
about and the reasons that led them to this belief, as well as to describe a point of view that contrasts
with the belief. This activity provides an opportunity for students to identify the causal factors and
consequences of the events that led up to the beliefs. Give students the opportunity to discuss similar
events in their own lives and how their situation may be viewed from different perspectives.
SUPPORTING DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES WITH REASONS AND
EVIDENCE
In this section students learn that they need to reinforce their views with reasons and evidence, a
concept that resonates through all the activities in the text. Encourage students to work in groups in
Thinking Activity 2.6, which asks students to recognize issues and provide supporting reasons for each
side. Depending on time, assign all of the issues or just one per group. You may advise students to use
the following format to help clarify supporting reasons:
134
Issue: Should multiple-choice and true/false exams be given in college-level courses?
Viewpoint 1: No, because . . . .
Viewpoint 2: Yes, because . . .
Supporting Reasons
Supporting Reasons
1.
_________________________
1.
_________________________
2.
_________________________
2.
_________________________
3.
_________________________
3.
_________________________
To help students become aware of other viewpoints, you can assign them to interview other people or to
locate articles using library or Internet information about the issue so that they can generate additional
supporting reasons. You may, at this time, wish to demonstrate how library resources and references
may be used to locate additional information about these (and other) topics. Thinking Activity 2.7
presents a contextual application for seeing different perspectives, an essential comprehension ability.
In this activity, students are asked to read three different passages, identify the main idea, list the
supporting reasons, develop another view of the issue, and develop reasons that support the other view.
You may advise students to use the same format for this exercise as they did for the previous one.
Additional questions for this exercise may also clarify the directions. What is the issue (topic) being
discussed? What is the main point? What reasons are given to support the main idea? What might be
the differing viewpoints? Once students have established the topic, finding the main points and those
that differ may be easier.
DISCUSSING IDEAS IN AN ORGANIZED WAY
Essential to thinking actively is the ability to listen and discuss ideas in an organized way within a
social context. In this section, students engage in mock dialogues on several controversial issues. In
examining the dialogues, students learn to recognize, differentiate, and compare the elements of
effective dialogue: listening carefully, supporting views with reasons and evidence, responding to the
points being made, asking questions, and finally, increasing understanding by asking additional
questions. Thinking Activity 2.8 asks students to select an important social issue and write their own
dialogue from two different perspectives. Students may work in pairs for this activity.
BECOMING A CRITICAL THINKER
Chaffee reminds students that critical thinking involves an integrated set of thinking, listening, and
learning abilities that enable them to clarify and improve their understanding of the world. Recall with
students that as they complete the first two chapters of this text, they are embarking on the lifelong
process of becoming critical thinkers.
READING ACTIVITIES
In addition to the readings and questions in Chapter 2, these supplementary exercises help students
develop and apply particular reading skills. Each Reading Activity is a handout that can be photocopied
and distributed for in-class activities or for homework. Assign the reading and then distribute the
handout.
135
READING ACTIVITY 2.1: CAREFULLY EXPLORING SITUATIONS
WITH QUESTIONS
Skill Focus
•
1.
Read the section “Carefully Exploring Situations with Questions.” Go back and mark the section.
Review your marks and comments as an aid to understanding.
2.
Reflect on a personal situation or one that has happened to a friend or relative. Describe that
situation in a paragraph or two.
3.
Answer the following questions on the basis of the situation you described above:
a.
Why should people use questions when they have a problem?
b.
What kinds of questions should be asked to determine basic information?
c.
What kinds of questions help to discover the relationship between facts and ideas?
d.
What kinds of questions break a whole problem into separate parts (analysis)?
e.
What kinds of questions should be asked when you want to combine ideas to form a new
whole (synthesis)?
f.
What kinds of questions should be asked to make informed judgments about the truth or the
reliability of evidence?
g.
What kinds of questions allow you to take knowledge from one situation and apply it to
another situation?
136
READING ACTIVITY 2.2: DISCUSSING IDEAS IN AN ORGANIZED
WAY
Skill Focus
•
Applying study skills to reading material: annotating and summarizing
Work with a partner on the following activities:
1.
On the basis of the dialogue about personal freedoms, list the qualities of a good listener.
2.
Ask your partner to respond to the series of why questions in Chapter 1, beginning with “Why did
you come to school today?” Take turns playing the part of the speaker and the listener, who will
take notes on the speaker. The speaker responds to the questions and discusses school goals. The
listener prompts the speaker to say more by asking questions for clarification and additional
details.
3.
Based on the information you have learned from your partner, write a short summary of his or her
goals. Exchange your summaries and ask your partner to verify or disagree with your impressions.
137
READING ACTIVITY 2.3: THINKING PASSAGES:JURORS’ AND
JUDGES’ REASONING PROCESSES
Skills Focus
•
Applying study skills to reading material: marking and annotating text
1.
As you read an essay or a textbook, it is helpful to mark important terms and definitions, the main
idea, and supporting details as well as to annotate areas of the text that you do not understand. The
following chart gives some examples of effective marks. You may invent other marks if you need
them.
[
]
Brackets for thesis statements
________
Underlining for important supporting ideas
M, N, O
Circled numbers to call attention to lists of reasons, steps, etc.
or * * *
Stars or asterisks for facts or quotations
or c
Boxes or circles for key terms
???
Question marks to indicate lack of clarity or understanding
↔
Connected arrows to show related ideas
| |
Vertical marks beside a passage to show importance
I don’t agree
Marginal comments for your opinion
2.
Read one or more of the articles on jurors’ and judges’ reasoning processes, and then go back and
mark the text.
3.
What marks or abbreviations in addition to those above did you have to make?
138
READING ACTIVITY 2.4: JURORS HEAR THE EVIDENCE AND
TURN IT INTO STORIES
Skills Focus
•
•
•
Applying study skills to reading material: using library or Internet resources
1.
Slowly and carefully read “Jurors Hear the Evidence and Turn It into Stories.” To comprehend the
meaning of the article fully, try to define the following words through context clues, by relating
these words to others that are familiar to you, by finding a different meaning for a word you
already know, by defining each part of a two-part word, or by paying attention to prefixes or
suffixes that affect the meaning of the main word. Then consult the dictionary to arrive at a final
definition of each word. (Note: The numbers in parentheses refer to paragraphs.)
2.
3.
a.
susceptible (1)
b.
manipulation (1)
c.
bias (1)
d.
assumptions (3)
e.
weigh (4)
f.
process (4)
g.
coroner (5)
h.
nferences (10)
i.
disproportionate (18)
j.
demographic (26)
k.
retrospect (26)
Answer the following reporter’s questions to further your understanding of this article:
a.
What is the article talking about?
b.
Who are the subjects of the article?
c.
Who are the researchers cited (quoted or mentioned) by Daniel Goleman? Is it necessary to
state only their credentials (education, specialty, experience)?
d.
What research studies are discussed in the article?
e.
Who is interested in the results of these studies?
In addition to research studies, Goleman’s article mentions the Rodney King beating case
(paragraphs 1, 21, 22, and 26). Be sure you can answer the following questions so that you can
better understand this article. If you do not know the answers, they are easily found in periodicals
at your school library. You may also find additional information by researching the case on the
Internet.
a.
Who is Rodney King?
b.
What incident brought him to the nation’s attention?
c.
When did this happen?
d.
Where did this happen?
e.
Why was there a trial?
f.
Who were the defendants?
g.
What was the verdict?
h.
Why were many people across the country surprised at the verdict?
4.
What two results of jury behavior emerged from the research of Hans and Vidmar?
5.
How could later research by Dr. Hans possibly explain the verdict reached in the Rodney King
case?
139
a.
The results of a study by Loftus found two different perceptions of the police by two
separate groups. Which group tended to trust the police more? How can these results account
for the first verdict in the Rodney King trial?
b.
In your own words, state the main idea of Goleman’s article in one sentence.
CHAPTER 3
Solving Problems
•
•
•
•
•
Applying study skills to reading material: summarizing and checking tests
•
SOLVING PROBLEMS IN READING: OVERVIEW
Throughout the text, Thinking Critically demonstrates the value of what reading instructors term
patterns of organization in its explanation of the elements of problem-solving. As reading research has
pointed out, one of the basic differences between good and poor readers is that good readers can
recognize the organizational structure of a passage. Learning the patterns found in reading, a recurring
theme reinforced through various reading activities, is therefore useful in improving comprehension.
These patterns are generally referred to as a process in the text, but readers can use them to anticipate
and organize information as they read other material. Several stories in the bibliography provide
students with practice in anticipating and following the problem-solving pattern.
This chapter provides an expansion of the problem-solving pattern introduced in Chapter 1. As an
organizational guide, this pattern can be adapted for reading both fiction and nonfiction. Students may
not always be aware of the various alternatives available to a fictional character, particularly in short
stories. It is even more difficult for them to determine the advantages and disadvantages of each
alternative or to imagine additional choices of action available to the main character. (Most often,
readers are not told how effective the solution is unless there is a sequel.) You may engage in
discussion to help students see beyond the author’s solution and have them create different scenarios or
write new endings.
Problem-solving also appears as a pattern in nonfiction, such as in a self-help article: identification of
the problem, effects of the problem, causes, and finally the desirable solution. An essay about a social
issue can also follow a problem-solving pattern: the same kinds of information are included, but the
emphasis is probably on either the causes or the effects. It is often the purpose of the essay or the article
that determines which sections receive emphasis. In Thinking Critically, Chaffee focuses students’
attention on arriving at a logical solution; therefore, the emphasis is to a greater extent on examining the
alternatives and choosing the most reasonable one. (Articles that can be used to alert students to
problem-solving as a pervasive reading/writing pattern are noted in the bibliography.)
Chapter 3: Solving Problems
141
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT PROBLEMS
The importance of acquiring problem-solving abilities and skills is introduced to students in this
section. Rather than seeing problems as negative occurrences, Chaffee offers students the challenge of
facing problems as opportunities to “call forth our courage and wisdom.” Finding satisfactory solutions
to challenging problems becomes an opportunity for intellectual growth. By developing skills as
problem-solvers, students develop their strength of character and improve the quality of their lives.
INTRODUCTION TO SOLVING PROBLEMS
This section presents a variety of personal and nonpersonal problems for analysis and an organizational
plan for working systematically toward a solution. Most students have problems, and many students
will identify with the presented problems as a process for dealing with them is suggested. Because their
problems often interfere with chances for academic and career success, this chapter is especially
important.
Through elaboration on a series of complex problem-solving questions, Chaffee focuses students on the
elements of searching for solutions. Students are faced with a series of perhaps deceptively simple
questions at first: What is the problem? What are the alternatives? What are the advantages and/or
disadvantages of each alternative? What is the solution? How well is the solution working?
The thinking activities presented in this chapter help students apply the problem-solving method to both
personal and nonpersonal problems. In Thinking Activity 3.1, for example, students begin the problemsolving process by describing and analyzing a problem they recently solved. As the problem-solving
methods unfold, Thinking Activity 3.2 provides the opportunity for students to deepen their
understanding of the process by selecting and analyzing a problem from their own life they have not
been able to solve. You may brainstorm with students to elicit fresh perspectives and alternative
solutions. This thinking activity also offers you the opportunity to demonstrate the worth of reading
student writing aloud in class. Rather than reading the work of professional writers, use students’ essays
(with their permission) describing the particular problem with which they are grappling. One alternative
is to have class members write their problems in the form of a letter, so their peers can reply in the style
of an advice columnist. You can augment the process by encouraging student advisers to consult
outside sources, much as the professionals do. Comparisons of the advice offered to the letter writers
will lead to class discussions and additional alternatives.
Several thinking activities provide specialized applications of the problem-solving process. Thinking
Activity 3.3, for example, encourages students to apply the problem-solving process to solving
problems and issues related to college, such as deciding on a major, taking tests, learning English as a
second language, and drinking. Students who have chosen the same problem can then discuss their
responses in small groups.
SOLVING NONPERSONAL PROBLEMS
As the chapter ends, students are challenged with the awareness that, as critical thinkers, they will often
be faced with solving complex social problems in their roles as members of a community, a society, and
the world. Before reading this section, discuss with students some of the complex social problems
facing their community, American society in general, and the international community. You may elicit
student concern about drugs and guns on the streets and in the hands of children, teenage violence
against peers, homelessness and poverty in America, global warming, and the threat of terrorism.
Thinking Activity 3.4 gives students the opportunity to identify an important local, national, or
international problem and to use library or Internet resources to analyze this problem, using the
problem-solving method they have learned. One set of problems—discrimination based on racial,
sexual, cultural, and religious difference—is presented in the Thinking Passages on “Living with
Diversity.” These readings provide students the opportunity to discuss their own experiences with
142
discrimination and to work as a class toward a solution, using the problem-solving method detailed in
the chapter.
In addition to the supplementary reading activities, this Instructor’s Resource Manual includes
comprehension quizzes to encourage students to read carefully. Check Test 3 may be used to test
student understanding of the problem-solving process described in Chapter 3. Check Test 3.B provides
a brief quiz of the Thinking Passages. This also gives students an opportunity to practice with the kinds
of multiple-choice comprehension questions that are currently so much a part of standardized tests
across the nation. (Note: Answers to the check test can be found on p. 158.)
143
READING ACTIVITY 3.1: “YOUNG HATE” AND “WHEN IS IT
RAPE?”
Skills Focus
•
•
•
Applying study skills to reading material: using library or Internet resources
To understand the arguments and points of view expressed in the four articles on civil liberties and
personal security, it is important to comprehend the meanings of potentially new or difficult terms.
Define the following terms by using Internet resources, a dictionary or encyclopedia, context clues, or
knowledge of word structure. Note which method(s) you used.
1.
2.
From “Young Hate”
a.
violent epithets
b.
an entire decade’s aberration from the poll’s findings
c.
anti-Semitic episodes
d.
Libertarian
e.
the First Amendment isn’t the preeminent burning omnipotence in the sky
f.
volatile
g.
deus ex machina
h.
capitulation of campus presidents
i.
white male hegemony
j.
racism is endemic to the fraternity subculture
k.
inculcated schools
l.
conservative pundits
m.
Intellectual provincialism
From “When Is It Rape?”
a.
swaddle a child in fear
b.
a raucous night
c.
elasticity of the word rape
d.
omniscient judge
e.
rape as a metaphor
f.
inappropriate innuendo
g.
alcohol as the ubiquitous lubricant
h.
strict constructionist definition
i.
onus
j.
celluloid seduction
144
k.
“bodice ripper” romance novels
l.
Don Giovanni
m.
Rigoletto
n.
dogmas
145
READING ACTIVITY 3.2: PASSAGES ON SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Skills Focus
•
•
•
•
Distinguishing between fact and opinion
1.
Read the first selection, “Young Hate.”
2.
a.
How would you describe the tone and style of this selection?
b.
Does the article present more fact or opinion?
c.
Who do you believe the author is referring to when he says at the end, “Intellectual
provincialism will have to end before young hate ever will”?
d.
What purpose do you think the abundance of information at the end of the article about
recent campus events and policies serves?
e.
What is the author’s purpose and point of view?
Read the second selection, “When Is It Rape?”
a.
How do the tone and style compare to those of the first reading selection?
b.
Does the article present more fact or more opinion?
c.
What is the purpose and point of view of this selection?
d.
What purpose does the testimony of the victims and their attackers serve?
e.
What do you think the author’s definition of date rape is after reading the selection? Why?
146
READING ACTIVITY 3.3: SOLVING SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Skills Focus
•
•
Identify an important local, national, or international problem that concerns you. Locate three or more
articles (from magazines, newspapers, reference encyclopedias, interviews, and websites) that provide
background information on the problem. Use these articles as resources. In your paper, be sure to do the
following:
1.
Explain clearly the scope, importance, or extent of the problem
2.
Provide different points of view about the problem
3.
Take a position on the issue
4.
Propose a solution that, in your judgment, seems most appropriate and workable, and explain why
you chose this solution
Your paper should be three to five pages in length, typed, and double-spaced. You should include a
bibliography of references, including Internet sources, you used. The paper will be due ___________.
147
CHECK TEST 3: SOLVING PROBLEMS
Multiple-Choice Questions
Circle the letter of the correct answer (70 points).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
The first step identified for solving problems is
a.
finding alternatives.
b. defining disadvantages and advantages.
c.
defining the problem.
d. thinking critically.
Evaluating the solution means
a.
discovering how well the solution actually works.
b. making adjustments to the solution.
c.
talking with others about the problem.
d. finding alternatives to the solution.
When we ask, “What are the boundaries of the problem?” we want to discover what the
a.
alternatives are.
b. disadvantages are.
c.
solution is.
d. limits that cannot be changed are.
The problem-solving process is
a.
not composed of steps.
b. not always an orderly process.
c.
too difficult for most people.
d. only good for personal problems.
Which of the following statements is the type of problem statement that the text suggests working
with?
a.
I’m too fat.
b. This course is too hard.
c.
I need to have better study habits.
d. I’m failing, and my parents will be angry if I don’t make at least a 3.5 this semester.
In every step of the problem-solving process, we should
a.
gather more information.
b. review the previous steps.
c.
evaluate our responses.
d. find advantages and disadvantages.
According to the text, choosing a particular solution depends on
a.
our skills in critical thinking.
b. our intelligence and judgment.
c.
our values and priorities.
d. the orderly working of our minds.
Every difficult problem has
a.
many possible solutions.
b. one right solution for everyone.
c.
one right solution for each individual.
d. many evaluations.
148
9.
One of the first difficulties that many people face in solving problems is that they will not
a.
look at the disadvantages.
b. admit that they have a problem.
c.
evaluate the solution.
d. not list the benefits.
10. Identifying and organizing information about the problem can be done through
a.
getting advice about the problem.
b. writing down our ideas.
c.
carefully defining the problem.
d. asking key questions.
Short-Answer Questions
Answer the following questions:
1.
What are the five basic steps in problem-solving discussed in Chapter 3 (10 points)?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2.
Choose one of these steps and write a detailed explanation of that particular step (10 points).
3.
Define the following words or phrases as they are used in Chapter 3 (10 points):
a.
alternatives
b.
constraints
c.
accepting responsibility for the problem
d.
brainstorming
e.
priorities
149
150
ANSWERS
Check Test 3
1.
c
2.
a
3.
d
4.
b
5.
c
6.
a
7.
c
8.
a
9.
b
10. d
1.
a.
What is the problem?
b.
What are the alternatives?
c.
What are the advantages and/or disadvantages?
d.
What is the solution?
e.
How well is the solution working?
2.
Answers will vary.
3.
Answers will vary.
CHAPTER 4
Perceiving and Believing
•
•
•
•
•
•
Applying study skills to reading material: marking and annotating text
PERCEIVING AND BELIEVING IN READING: OVERVIEW
This chapter on perceiving and believing is designed to heighten students’ awareness of their
perceptions and how perceptions relate to their ability to think effectively. The theme of self-awareness
introduced in earlier chapters is reinforced: awareness of one’s thought process is necessary to make
sense of the world. Self-awareness has particular importance in reading. A student who is conscious of
the personal act of reading can often diagnose his or her difficulties with a passage. It may be a matter
of inadequate time on the task, misreading, or lack of active reading. Even if a student has difficulty
unlocking the information in a particular passage, her attempt to do so will raise better questions. One
of the more frustrating circumstances for instructors is that in which the student approaches the
instructor and says that she does not understand a particular lesson. When the instructor asks what she
does not understand, the student often replies, “Everything.” A student who has attempted some selfanalysis will be able to say, “I understand these parts, but I don’t seem to get . . .” and thus provide the
instructor with a common starting point.
ACTIVELY SELECTING, ORGANIZING, AND INTERPRETING
SENSATIONS
This chapter describes perception as a three-step process, including selection, organization, and
interpretation. Students should be able to see the usefulness of these steps in reading. When a student is
having trouble with comprehension, for example, during reading, she can analyze the problem by
considering selection: Have I read the words as they are actually written? Have I selected the
appropriate phonetic sounds and pronunciation? Have I selected this reading as the activity I am now
attending to or am I not really attending to this activity?
Analyzing the problem of comprehension by considering organization might include the following
questions: What is the topic of the reading material? What is the main idea? What overall
organizational pattern do I perceive? On the basis of what I understand, what do I anticipate the next
portion will be about?
Finally, analyzing the problem through interpretation suggests the following questions: How do the
parts I understand connect with what I already know or have experienced? Is the information similar to
152
Chapter 4: Perceiving and Believing
another piece I’ve read? Does my interpretation make sense, or am I altering what is in print to fit what
I think the selection should be saying?
Most students enjoy Chapter 4 because of the number of pictures and drawings that are open to
interpretation. For example, Thinking Activity 4.1, showing a young man sitting at a desk head in hand,
may be used to extend student knowledge of word meaning, such as synonyms for the word thinking.
Ask students to locate synonyms in a dictionary or in Roget’s Thesaurus, which lists the following
synonyms: reflect, reason, cogitate, deliberate, contemplate, meditate, consider, brood, speculate, and
so on. Use Thinking Activity 4.2 to help students to think about the particular lenses they use to view
the world.
To achieve the thoughtful and specific analysis Chaffee recommends for Thinking Activity 4.3:
Analyzing Different Accounts of the Assassination of Malcolm X and Thinking Activity 4.4: Accounts
of the 9/11 Terror Attack (located on the companion website), you may wish to explain and clarify the
questions. For example, the first question in each Thinking Activity asks students to identify which
details each writer selected to focus on. You can add, “Remember that perception implies selection of
information received through one’s senses. What details do you think the observer gathered through his
or her senses of sight, smell, taste, and hearing?” The last two questions in Thinking Activity 4.4 ask
students to write their own versions of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
You might want to have small groups of students discuss and record their thoughts on the attacks before
they read the passages. Then have each group present their thoughts to the entire class for a larger
discussion.
Another valuable exercise to aid in organizing information is creating a chart. Students find it helpful to
do the cross-line comparisons a chart permits so they can perceive more easily the differences in the
various periodical accounts. Here is a sample chart.
Detail
NY Times
Life
NY Post
Malcolm X as Leader of
Shrillest voice of Bespectacled and
leader
militant black black supremacy dapper
nationalist
movement
Bearded
Negro
extremist
The shooting Shot to death Life oozing out Muffled sound of
shots
Fusillade rang A half-dozen or Blood on his face
out
more gunshot
and chest
wounds
Fell limply
AP
Amsterdam News
Black
nationalist
leader
Slender, articulate
leader
Shot to death Shot four times
In the accounts of Malcolm X’s assassination, help students analyze and understand the language of the
1960s in referring to African Americans, as well as the types of newspapers in which the accounts
originally appeared. In the accounts of the September 11 attacks, help students to compare the different
contemporary “lenses” used in the different reports. Discuss the importance of cultural differences in
shaping these lenses.
153
THINKING PASSAGE: EXPERIENCES SHAPE YOUR PERCEPTIONS
Thinking critically about perceptions involves students’ understanding of how their experiences have
shaped their perspectives. Here, students read a passage written by a student whose father died of
AIDS. In Thinking Activity 4.5, students are provided the opportunity to describe their own shaping
experience and to reflect on the changes to their initial perceptions.
PERCEIVING AND BELIEVING IN READING: OVERVIEW
The relationship between perceiving and believing is explored in this section. Whereas perception
depends on the selection, organization, and interpretation of sensory information, beliefs are shaped by
a multitude of events, people, and experiences. Chaffee’s notion that asking questions encourages
accurate belief formation is a central concept applicable to reading. The ability to ask good questions
strengthens reading comprehension, and this chapter is especially useful for students to conceive and
compose more probing questions.
The focus of the second half of Chapter 4 is assessing the credibility and reliability of sources. Because
this concept is so close to the critical comprehension skill of assessing the credibility or objectivity of
the writer, it is the primary objective of the supplementary exercises. In addition, the readings in the
chapter can be used to focus students’ attention on recognizing patterns of organization, particularly the
pattern of cause and effect, a problem for many students.
BELIEVING AND PERCEIVING
This section focuses on the complex and interactive relationship between believing and perceiving.
Students explore this interactive relationship by examining how they use their beliefs in interpretations,
evaluations, conclusions, and predictions. In Thinking Activity 4.6 students consider an experience
with a false perception they had held and the influence it had on their beliefs.
REPORTING, INFERRING, AND JUDGING IN READING: OVERVIEW
The second part of Chapter 4 outlines three modes of thinking that underlie organization in thinking,
language, and moral judgment. This chapter considers several concepts that are critical to effective
reading. As students read the various chapter sections, they should ask themselves if they can answer
the following questions: What is a fact? What is factual information? What is an inference? Are
inferences useful, and are they true? What forms the basis of accurate judgments?
This section begins with the definition of the three terms reporting, inferring, and judging and connects
them to activities that help students make sense of their experiences. Thinking Activity 4.7 offers
practice in identifying the terms. As an alternative exercise, you can ask students to recount a
description of the setting from one of the short stories they have read. In this way they can also begin to
examine the place of factual information in fiction. Their descriptions should also include their thoughts
and feelings, which will provide practice with analysis and synthesis, two higher-level reading skills.
Two stories from the bibliography that can be used for this exercise are “The Chrysanthemums” and
“Johnny Bear.” Another alternative is to use a series of stories written about the same place for class
discussion of factual, inferential, and judgmental evaluations about setting. An author’s view of the
setting may change over time; for example, William Faulkner’s stories about Jefferson in
Yoknapatawpha County are possibilities for this type of analysis.
REPORTING FACTUAL INFORMATION
In this section students learn the significance of reporting their accurate beliefs and facts about the
world; they are, in effect, describing the world in ways that can be verified through investigation.
154
Thinking Activity 4.8 asks students to read an article that deals with an important social issue and to
describe and evaluate the accuracy and reliability of its factual statements. The Internet activity,
Thinking Activity 4.9: Looking Critically at “Real” and Manipulated Images in Film (located on the
companion website), gives students a chance to view film clips and to question the idea that seeing is
believing.
INFERRING
Two types of inference are identified: those that offer closure and those that predict. Both types begin
from the known—the factual statement—and progress to what may be inferred through an educated
guess. The role of inference outside literature is difficult for many students to accept. Although it is
perfectly understandable to students that they must read between the lines in fiction, most believe that
their course textbooks are the repositories of factual information. The realization that most knowledge
is heavily infused with inference and that inferences are not only necessary but may ultimately be
proven true is often startling.
Through familiar scenarios, Chaffee leads students to reassess the inferences they commonly make and
conclusions they commonly draw. Though many inferences are relatively simple to make, students’
knowledge of the world rests on their ability to make complicated inferences in a systematic and logical
way. Thinking Activity 4.10 asks students to describe an experience in which they made an incorrect
inference that resulted in serious consequences and analyze ways in which the wrong inferences could
have been avoided.
Virtually all of the comments in this chapter and activities refer to nonfiction; however, these three
modes of thinking support fiction as well. To apply these guidelines to fiction, students need to read
carefully to discern an author’s standards for the characters and the situations they are in. As a break
and for comparison purposes, intersperse the lessons dealing with nonfiction with several short stories.
There is usually a factual basis to every story. Sometimes, the factual reality is a story drawn from
history or the present day; at other times, it lies in the author’s mind alone. Point out that inference also
plays a significant role in fiction. Pursue its connections to the elements of short stories. For example,
what is the relationship between inference and plot? Between inference and theme? How do inferences
influence character development? For possible short stories, see the bibliography.
JUDGING
The culmination of reporting and inferring is judging, which means creating descriptions that express
one’s evaluation based on certain criteria. Chaffee establishes guidelines for making intelligent
judgments: make criteria explicit and have reasons that justify the criteria. Thinking Activity 4.11 asks
students to explore various judgments and to identify the evaluative criteria on which their judgments
are based.
READING ACTIVITIES
In addition to readings and questions in Chapter 4, these supplementary exercises help students develop
particular reading skills. Each “Reading Activity” is accompanied by a handout that can be photocopied
and distributed to the class. Assign the reading and then distribute the handout.
155
READING ACTIVITY 4.1: FIVE ACCOUNTS OF THE
ASSASSINATION OF MALCOLM X
Skills Focus
•
•
•
1.
Carefully read and mark “Five Accounts of the Assassination of Malcolm X.” Be sure that you
check the meanings of all unfamiliar words.
2.
For each account answer the following questions to determine the writer’s point of view:
3.
4.
a.
What facts does the writer present? List them in separate columns for each article.
b.
Is the tone of the article personal or impersonal? (Look at the pronouns that the writer uses.)
Does the writer seem to be involved in the story or uninvolved?
c.
Are there loaded words in the article? If so, list each one and briefly describe the impression
that it conveys to the reader.
d.
From your answers to these questions, can you determine the point of view that each writer
has toward Malcolm X?
Writers have different purposes. Some of the common purposes are to inform the reader about a
situation or problem, to entertain the reader, to persuade or convince the reader, and to arouse the
emotions of the reader. By looking at the language choices, structure, content, and tone of a
selection, readers can determine the author’s purpose. Use the following questions for each of the
five accounts to decide on each author’s purpose. (Note: If the answers to a and b are yes, the
author’s purpose is probably to inform. If the answers to c and d are yes, the author’s purpose is
probably either to persuade or to arouse emotions.)
a.
Does the article primarily contain facts?
b.
Is the tone impersonal?
c.
Do loaded words make the reader see Malcolm X as a certain kind of person?
d.
Does the tone of the writer make you feel sorry for Malcolm X or those who killed him?
e.
On the basis of your analysis of each article, what is the author’s purpose? What proof can
you offer?
One of the most important reading and thinking skills is the ability to draw valid inferences.
Inferences are conclusions that the author implies rather than states. By considering the writer’s
point of view and purpose, you can draw valid inferences and conclusions about the account.
Answer the following questions about the accounts to help you draw conclusions:
a.
In the New York Times, Malcolm X is described as a militant and an extremist. What do
these words mean? Do you think that the writer views Malcolm X as a great leader? Why?
(Your answer is the inference you drew and the conclusion you reached.)
b.
In Life, Malcolm X is described as being the “shrillest voice of black supremacy” and giving
speeches “flaying the hated white man.” Is it good or bad to have a “shrill” voice? Do you
think the writer respects the point of view that Malcolm X expressed? What do you base
your conclusion on?
156
c.
The New York Post writer says, “I heard Malcolm X say his last words: ‘Now, brothers,
break it up,’ he said softly. ‘Be cool, be calm.’” What is your inference about this writer’s
opinion of Malcolm X? Why?
d.
Look at the subjects on which the Associated Press article focuses. On what facts does the
Associated Press concentrate its explanations? How is this article different from the other
four? What conclusions might you draw based on that difference?
e.
The Amsterdam News is an African American newspaper. Compare its perspective on
Malcolm X and his assassination with the previous four accounts.
157
READING ACTIVITY 4.2: ACCOUNTS OF THE 9/11 TERRORIST
ATTACKS (ON WEBSITE)
Skills Focus
•
•
1.
Narrative accounts often refer to the causes and the effects (results) of certain events. Showing
that one event is the cause—or the effect—of another can often help the reader understand the
narrator’s point of view. To understand the bases of the perceptions involved in these accounts,
note the specific and implied use of “If . . . then” in the following examples:
The New York Times, “U.S. Attacked,” paragraph 1: “There was no official count, but . . .”
Time.com, “Day of Infamy,” paragraph 3: “If the terrorists sought . . .”
The Washington Post, paragraph 4: “There is already evidence implicating Bin Laden’s
militant network in the attack. . . .”
People’s Daily, Bejing, China, paragraph 3: “If you play with people’s lives . . .”
2.
Transitions are words and phrases that signal relationships between and among sentences and help
readers follow the progression of one idea to the next within a paragraph and among the
paragraphs of an article. The following chart lists commonly used transitions. Reread the passages
and mark all transitional words and phrases. Then read the passages again with these words or
phrases left out, and briefly describe the difference that the transitional devices make.
Commonly Used Transitional Words
To Signal Sequence
•
again; also; and then; besides; finally; first, . . . , second, . . . , and third, . . . ; furthermore; in
addition; last; moreover; next; still
To Signal Time
•
after a few days, a while, afterward, as long as, as soon as, at last, at that time, before, earlier, for
many years, immediately, in the meantime, in the future, in the past, lately, later, meanwhile, now,
presently, simultaneously, since, so far, soon, then, thereafter, today, until, when, while
To Signal Comparison
•
again, also, in the same way, likewise, once more, similarly
To Signal Contrast
•
although, but, despite, even though, however, in contrast, in spite of, instead, nevertheless, on the
contrary, on the one hand . . . on the other hand, rather, regardless, still, though, while, yet
To Signal Examples
•
after all, even, for example, for instance, indeed, in fact, of course, particularly, specifically, such
as, the following example, to illustrate
To Signal Cause and Effect
•
accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this purpose, hence, if . . . then . . . , since, so,
then, therefore, thereupon, thus, to this end
158
To Signal Place
•
above, adjacent to, below, beside, beyond, closer to, elsewhere, far, farther on, here, near, nearby,
opposite to, there, to the left, to the right
To Signal Concession
•
admittedly, although it is true that, granted that, I admit that, it may appear that, naturally, of
course, seemingly
To Signal Summary, Repetition, or Conclusion
•
as a result, as had been noted, as I have said, as we have seen, as mentioned earlier, in any event, in
conclusion, in light of, in other words, in short, on the whole, therefore, thus, to summarize.
159
READING ACTIVITY 4.3: DISTINGUISHING REPORTS,
INFERENCES, AND JUDGMENTS
Skills Focus
•
•
1.
Find an article in the newspaper that would be labeled news rather than opinion or editorial. Read
it carefully and look up any unfamiliar words.
2.
Label each sentence in the article as R (report), I (inference), or J (judgment). For each of the
statements that you marked R, evaluate the accuracy of the factual information.
3.
The purpose of a news article is generally to inform the reader. Do you find any examples of other
purposes in this article? Explain.
4.
Find an article in the newspaper that is clearly opinion or editorial. Read it carefully and look up
any unfamiliar words.
5.
Label each sentence R, I, or J (just as you did with the news article). For each inference or
judgment, explain what facts are presented to justify the conclusion. For each inference, decide
what the degree of risk is in accepting the writer’s inference. For each judgment, explain what
criteria, or standards, form the basis for the judgment. Are there reasons or evidence that the
writer provides to support the criteria?
6.
The purpose of an editorial may be to inform the reader of the writer’s opinion, to persuade the
audience to adopt the writer’s opinion, or to arouse the audience’s emotions. Which of these
purposes fits the editorial you chose? What parts of the editorial helped you identify its purpose?
160
READING ACTIVITY 4.4: PERCEPTIONS AND REALITY ON
REPORTING KATRINA
Skills Focus
•
•
Applying study skills to reading materials: marking and annotating text
1.
Read and mark “They Shoot Helicopters Don’t They? How Journalists Spread Rumors During
Katrina” and “Finding and Framing Katrina.” Answer the Questions for Analysis at the end of the
sections.
2.
To practice drawing valid inferences and conclusions, answer these questions about the passages.
a.
Matt Welch claims in “They Shoot Helicopters” that “ it is plausible that the exaggerations
helped make the outside response quicker than it otherwise would have been, potentially
saving lives.” Do you agree or disagree with this conclusion? On what inferences is your
opinion based?
b.
Welch concludes his article with a statement by Major Ed Bush that suggests that America
ultimately learned the truth about New Orleans despite inaccurate media coverage. Is this a
valid conclusion? What inferences is Bush making to come to this conclusion?
c.
Russell Dynes and Havidan Rodriguez claim in “Finding and Framing Katrina” that “people
believe what they see, especially when it is considered live.” What inferences are the authors
making about the viewing public. Are they valid?
d.
Dynes and Rodriguez discuss conclude that “The efforts for reconstruction are not likely to
appear in prime time any time soon.” What inferences are the authors making about the
media. Are they valid?
CHAPTER 5
Constructing Knowledge
•
•
•
Recognizing explicit and implied main ideas and supporting details
•
Recognizing the author’s tone: emotive language
•
Applying study skills to reading material: summarizing, reading a map or atlas
•
BELIEVING AND KNOWING
Here, students differentiate between what they believe and what they know by posing questions and
offering criteria that test the accuracy of their beliefs. In Thinking Activity 5.1, students consider their
perceptions of the accuracy of five statements and then are asked to evaluate why they feel the way they
do.
KNOWLEDGE AND TRUTH
In this section, students reconsider the absolute and unchanging nature of truth and their need to take an
active role in developing their own understanding of the world. Relying on the work of Harvard
psychologist Dr. William Perry, Chaffee introduces students to three major stages of knowing: the
Garden of Eden, Anything Goes, and Critical Thinking. Thinking Activity 5.2 asks students to
determine which stage they have reached in various areas of their lives. The Survey of Beliefs,
Thinking Activity 5.3, and Thinking Activity 5.4 guide them through the process of reaching the
highest stage of knowing. Thinking Activity 5.5: Analyzing Different Accounts of the Confrontation at
Tiananmen Square and Thinking Activity 5.6: Different Accounts of a Current Event let students put
third-stage critical thinking into practice by thoughtfully examining various perspectives on an
historical event and on a recent event that they choose.
BELIEFS BASED ON INDIRECT EXPERIENCE
Until this point, students have dealt with exploring their beliefs based upon the experiences that have
influenced them directly. In “Beliefs Based on Indirect Experience,” students now question the bases
for explaining the reasons or evidence for their beliefs by considering both the reliability of the
information itself and the reliability of the source of information. Students do not always consider the
value of a source when they are asked to support their statements with proof from other sources; for
example, one student writing a paper on sexual crimes used a national tabloid as a primary source.
Thinking Activity 5.7 asks students to apply information-evaluation questions to analyzing two
different passages on the same topic.
162
Chapter 5: Constructing Knowledge
THINKING PASSAGE: PLATO’S ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE: THE
JOURNEY FROM PERCEPTION TO KNOWLEDGE
In this section, philosopher Sonja Tanner’s essay “On Plato’s Cave” provides students with a thoughtful
model for moving from perception to knowledge. The reading in Thinking Activity 5.8: Analyzing
Different Accounts of Dropping Atom Bombs on Japan presents two contrasting views of this event.
Students are asked to review the two accounts and describe the main arguments, reasons, and
supporting evidence for each historian’s perspective.
The issue of the reliability of sources is a topic for fiction also. Students need to evaluate the accuracy
of information they gain through characters’ dialogue in a short story, for example. Employing a variety
of standards or criteria may be a challenge, because the number of sources from which to gain
information is limited. Some of the articles listed in the bibliography are intended to offer students
additional practice in assessing the usefulness and reliability of sources.
READING ACTIVITIES
particular reading skills. Each Reading Activity is accompanied by a handout that can be photocopied
163
READING ACTIVITY 5.1: SEVEN ACCOUNTS OF EVENTS
AT TIANANMEN SQUARE, 1989
Skills Focus
•
•
Recognizing the author’s tone: emotive language
1.
When reading at the college level, one of your most important activities is to decide whether to
accept as true the materials that you read. To decide, you must evaluate the reliability,
believability (or credibility), and objectivity of the writer.
a.
Consider the source of each report. Which passage would you expect to be the most reliable?
Why? Which would you expect to be the least reliable? Why?
b.
To look at a subject objectively means to view each side honestly, without any bias. What
might cause you to doubt the objectivity of each source?
c.
Usually, we give more credibility to specific, detailed accounts than to more general ones.
Which of these accounts has the most detail?
d.
When more than one account is available, careful readers compare the different accounts.
Compare the following three groups of statements. Decide for each group which statement
you think is most accurate. Be sure to have a reason for each decision.
Source
Statement
“Some had been run over by personnel carriers that forced their
way through the protesters’ barricades.”
Xiao Bin (eyewitness account “Tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled over students,
squashing them into jam.”
immediately after the event)
Deng Xiaoping, Chairman of “If tanks were used to roll over people, this would have created
a confusion between right and wrong among the people
the Central Military
nationwide.”
Commission
New York Times, 6/4/89
“Tens of thousands of Chinese troops retook the center of the
capital from pro-democracy protesters this morning.”
Official Chinese news program “The People’s Liberation Army crushed a counterrevolutionary
rebellion.”
“Students said . . . that at least 500 people may have been killed
in the crackdown.”
Yuan Mu, official government “At most 300 people were killed in the operation, many of
them soldiers.”
spokesperson
“Not a single student was killed in Tiananmen Square.”
Chinese army commander
“It was clear that at least 300 people had been killed. . . . The
student organization that coordinated the long protests
continued to function and announced today that 2,600 students
were believed to have been killed. Several doctors said that,
based on their discussions with ambulance drivers and
colleagues who had been on Tiananmen Square, they estimated
that at least 2,000 had died.”
164
e.
2.
Still another way that careful readers can determine a writer’s credibility and objectivity is to
examine his or her language. For example, the presence of emotive language, or loaded
words, points to a writer’s lack of objectivity. Do you find loaded words in any of the
accounts? What conclusions about language can you draw for each of the selections?
Overall, which of the accounts is most objective and reliable? Why?
165
READING ACTIVITY 5.2: WAS THE UNITED STATES JUSTIFIED
IN DROPPING ATOMIC BOMBS ON JAPAN?
Skills Focus
•
•
•
Applying study skills to reading materials: reading a map or an atlas
•
Applying study skills to reading materials: using library and Internet resources
1.
Carefully read and mark “Was the United States Justified in Dropping Atomic Bombs on Japan?”
Be sure to check the meanings of unfamiliar words by using context clues, word similarities, and
the dictionary.
2.
Many references are made to locations and sites around the world. To understand the global
significance of World War II and the article, use a world map or an atlas to locate the following:
3.
a.
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
b.
Hiroshima, Japan
c.
Nagasaki, Japan
d.
Potsdam, Germany
e.
Yalta
Historical accounts usually refer to the causes and the effects (results) of certain events. Showing
that one event is the cause or the effect of another can often help support an argument. To
understand the bases of the contrasting analyses of the article, note the specific and implied use of
the “If . . . , then . . . ” format in the following paragraphs by the historians:
a.
Change this sentence to read as an “If . . . , then . . . ” construction: “We could have allowed
the Japanese to surrender earlier and saved all those lives obliterated by the bomb by letting
them have their one condition in the first place.”
b.
Change this question to read as an “If . . . , then . . . ” sentence: “If the bombs were not used
to bring about surrender, then why were they used?”
c.
Add the word that is implied: “If it explodes as I think it will, I’ll certainly have a hammer
on those boys.”
d.
Add the word that is implied: “If the Russians get involved in the war in Asia, they could
spread Communism to China and other countries.”
4.
Use the library or Internet resources (search engines) to locate additional information on the topics
discussed in the reading: World War II; Hiroshima, Japan; Nagasaki, Japan; atomic bombs; and so
on. Using the criteria cited in Chapter 2, evaluate the sources of information you have found.
5.
Refer to the list of “Commonly Used Transitional Words” on the following page.
166
Commonly Used Transitional Words
To Signal Sequence
•
Again; also; and; and then; besides; finally; first, . . . , second, . . . , and third, . . . ; furthermore; in
addition; last; moreover; next; still
To Signal Time
•
after a few days, a while, afterward, as long as, as soon as, at last, at that time, before, earlier, for
many years, immediately, in the meantime, in the future, in the past, lately, later, meanwhile, now,
presently, simultaneously, since, so far, soon, then, thereafter, today, until, when, while
To Signal Comparison
•
again, also, in the same way, likewise, once more, similarly
To Signal Contrast
•
although, but, despite, even though, however, in contrast, in spite of, instead, nevertheless, on the
contrary, on the one hand . . . on the other hand, rather, regardless, still, though, while, yet
To Signal Examples
•
after all, even, for example, for instance, indeed, in fact, of course, particularly, specifically, such
as, the following example, to illustrate
To Signal Cause and Effect
•
accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this purpose, hence; if . . . then . . . , since, so,
then, therefore, thereupon, thus, to this end
To Signal Place
•
above, adjacent to, below, beside, beyond, closer to, elsewhere, far, farther on, here, near, nearby,
opposite to, there, to the left, to the right
To Signal Concession
•
admittedly, although it is true that, granted that, I admit that, it may appear that, naturally, of
course, seemingly
To Signal Summary, Repetition, or Conclusion
•
as a result, as had been noted, as I have said, as we have seen, as mentioned earlier, in any event,
in conclusion, in light of, in other words, in short, on the whole, therefore, thus, to summarize
CHAPTER 6
Language and Thought
•
Understanding words in context: using dictionaries
•
Understanding figurative language: simile and metaphor
•
•
•
LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT IN READING: OVERVIEW
Chapter 6, “Language and Thought,” explores the dimensions of language to help students expand their
reading skills from the literal and multiple meanings of words to the complexities of language as a
communication tool. Students become familiar with deeper facets of sentence meaning as they explore
the semantic, perceptual, pragmatic, and syntactic meanings of words.
While most of the vocabulary focus in this Instructor’s Resource Manual is on defining words in
context, the supplementary reading activities in this chapter focus on using a dictionary to uncover
multiple word meanings. Many students who have difficulty reading are particularly wary of
dictionaries because previous experiences have not taught them how to locate and apply the correct
word meaning to its use in context. Because this chapter emphasizes clarity and precision of language,
it provides an excellent opportunity for students to focus on critical comprehension skills. As students
will discover, quality of language is closely related to quality of thought. For this reason, students
should invest their time and energy in evaluating the quality of language in their own discourse, as well
as the language of written communication.
All the definitions and exercises used here come from the American Heritage Dictionary, Third College
Edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996), and are used by permission.
THE EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE
In this section, Chaffee engages students in imagining what our world would be without language. He
discusses the evolution of language and its historic human value in communicating and thinking.
Students become aware that, without language, development—whether personal or societal—is stunted.
That language has evolved becomes apparent as students review earlier versions of “The Lord’s Prayer”
and compare it to its present form.
THE SYMBOLIC NATURE OF LANGUAGE
The ability of human beings to symbolize allows us to communicate our thoughts and feelings. Words
(both spoken and written) are the most common symbols we use in our daily lives. In this section,
Chaffee encourages students to look closely at the symbolic elements of our shared language. Here,
language is defined as “a system of symbols for thinking and communicating,” sounds that, when
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Chapter 6: Language and Thought
combined, form larger units called words. Words, in turn, symbolize a variety of ideas, feelings, and
experiences. The total meaning of words is composed of four distinct meanings: semantic, perceptual,
syntactic, and pragmatic. As each is examined, students expand their understanding of the many
dimensions of word meanings.
The two Thinking Activities that conclude this section allow students to develop further their
understanding of the many meanings or the total meaning of words. Thinking Activity 6.1: The
Language of War asks students to recognize and analyze the special significance of wording that the
U.S. government chooses during times of conflict. By defining the words used by government officials
and looking up other uses of the words in a quotation analogy, students develop a sensitivity to the
impact of official language on the public. To elaborate on this activity, ask students to consider the use
of official language after September 11th and during the ongoing Iraq conflict. Thinking Activity 6.3:
The Language of Cloning describes the complex language used in a different kind of war—the
domestic battles over genetic engineering. Thinking Activity 6.2: Understanding Nonsense Words uses
Lewis Carroll’s famous “Jabberwocky” to stress the importance of syntactic meaning. Having students
write and share their interpretations of the poem creates the opportunity for a fun and interesting class
discussion.
For more advanced readers, you may point out that in the third book of Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan
Swift created a number of satiric scenes to examine the study of linguistics. Assign or read aloud
excerpts from this wonderful book; Swift deals on many levels with perception as well as with
language. The relevant scene cited here may be a springboard for teaching the notion of language:
Gulliver meets a man who wishes to communicate without using language. He carries on his back a
heavy sack, in which he has “things.” Each time he wishes to communicate, he must reach into his sack
to pull out the “thing” he wants to talk about. How, for instance, does the man talk about love? If he
pulls out a heart, we have an example of a symbol. You can summarize the scene for students and ask
them to analyze the limitation of such a system. Further, you can use the “things” to explore the
difference between abstract and concrete nouns and to examine the idea of symbols, which is crucial to
this chapter. Engage students in discussing symbols for other abstract nouns: what symbols would
represent justice or brotherhood?
Because literature so often uses symbols, you may find this section of the chapter a natural place to
insert additional readings that explore the use of language, such as poems and short fiction. The ability
of a writer to manipulate emotions can be compared to the advertiser’s use of language for related
purposes. (See Part Five of this manual for suggestions of literature and films.)
USING LANGUAGE EFFECTIVELY
Recognizing how language is used effectively to communicate thoughts, feelings, and experiences is
the topic of this section. One way in which language is used effectively is through the use of figurative
language, including simile, metaphor, personification, and hyperbole. Figurative language is present in
everyday speech, although most students view it as an artificial rhetorical device. Because figurative
language often presents comprehension problems for students, it is helpful to note its use throughout the
readings in this text. The excerpt from Blue Highways contains several examples of figures of speech.
For example, there are two similes in the portion titled “A Place”: “they dropped from the branches like
ripe fruit” and “spinning the bread like pinwheels.” Other portions contain hyperbole, personification,
and additional similes and metaphors. Encourage students to locate these in the selection. Thinking
Activity 6.4, which asks students to write about a traveling experience, engages students in using
language effectively when creating their own descriptions.
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USING LANGUAGE TO CLARIFY THINKING
Discussion in this section of the relationship between the quality of language and the quality of thought
offers a vital argument in attempting to persuade students to learn actively to express themselves more
clearly in spoken and written communication. The interactive nature of thinking and language becomes
apparent as students learn that unclear language may take several forms: vague language results in
descriptions using words that are very imprecise and general; ambiguous language results from using a
word with more than one meaning when uncertainty exists as to which meaning is intended.
Thinking Activity 6.5 provides practice in using language precisely when expressing ideas through the
activity of writing a movie review. The reading “An Account of Avianca Flight 52” involves students in
assessing the miscommunication that led to the downed flight.
USING LANGUAGE IN SOCIAL CONTEXTS
In this section, students learn that an accomplished reader can recognize and discriminate among
various language styles in reading material. This is an important ability because a given language style
is generally directed toward a specific audience and communicates its own range of meaning. The
section introduces students to this all-important insight and exemplifies it with a variety of language
styles, including Standard American English, slang, jargon, and dialects. In Thinking Activity 6.6,
students compare current slang terms with those in the list provided. (Students will no doubt be able to
add fresh words to this list!) In Thinking Activity 6.7, students analyze their own responses to someone
speaking in a dialect, using jargon, or using slang.
USING LANGUAGE TO INFLUENCE
This section deals directly with the role of language and reading. Chaffee elaborates on three types of
language usage that encourage passive reading (passive in the sense that thinking and analysis are not
encouraged, whereas acceptance of the information in its present form is): euphemistic language,
emotive language, and the language of advertising. Students learn about euphemistic language by
reading examples from bureaucratic sources, including the infamous “euphemisers” used at Philip
Morris. Thinking Activity 6.8 asks students to identify several euphemisms that describe important
social problems and to gauge how the use of euphemisms can lead to dangerous misperceptions. In
Thinking Activity 6.9, students are asked to identify examples of emotive language in several passages
and to note how its use by the writer influences thoughts and feelings. The Thinking Passages:
Persuading with Political Speeches, which are located on the companion website, offer students the
chance to see how both euphemisms and emotive language are used in speeches made by Franklin D.
Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, George W. Bush, Tony Blair, and Osama bin Laden. Used with
Thinking Activity 6.1: The Language of War, these persuasive speeches given during periods of
international crisis give students the chance to analyze language and thought in an interesting and
timely way.
The bibliography includes sources of fiction and nonfiction to give students practice in recognizing
different forms of language. Another exercise that reinforces awareness of language is to choose a
passage and have students alter the language from emotive to factual, and vice versa. To reinforce how
authors influence our perceptions by the words they choose in descriptions of settings and characters,
ask students to review a short story that they have read and to note the author’s description of a
particular character. What influenced their opinion of the character? Was it the description or the
character’s actions?
The chapter concludes with the Thinking Passage “Sex, Lies and Conversation” by Deborah Tannen, a
sociolinguist. As preparation for reading, discuss student experiences with gender differences in
language uses. How do men and women use language differently (and similarly) to communicate? Ask
students, “Why is it so hard for men and women to talk to each other?”
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READING ACTIVITIES
and distributed to the class. Assign the reading and then distribute the handout. Note: Reading
Activities 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 should be distributed before students read Blue Highways.
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READING ACTIVITY 6.1: USING A COLLEGE DICTIONARY
Skill Focus
•
Understanding words in context: using a dictionary
This activity focuses on using dictionaries. As you will see, however, you cannot always find the exact
word that you want, even in a hardbound college dictionary. You have to read, analyze, and think. You
may have to look up several words to ensure that you understand a single word. Sometimes, you will
find that a word you do not know is not even in the dictionary, no matter how hard you look for it.
Although no instructor expects you to look up every word as carefully as this activity asks you to, the
skills of a dictionary detective are extremely important when you need to find an exact definition or
understand a word or sentence completely.
1.
The following sentence is taken from Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon: “Two
Steller’s jaybirds stirred an argy-bargy in the ponderosa.” Without looking up any words in the
dictionary, rewrite the sentence using your own words. Did you have any trouble? What words
caused you difficulty?
2.
To understand this sentence completely, you must be a dictionary detective. A good college
dictionary will help, but it will not contain all the words you need to know. For instance, the first
word that may have caused you trouble in the sentence in question 1 is Steller’s. Most college
dictionaries do not contain this word. What can you tell about it that will help you understand it
without a dictionary? What is the significance of its being capitalized? What is the significance of
its having an apostrophe?
3.
Because Steller’s modifies jaybirds, a logical step is to look up jaybird. Read the following entry,
reprinted from the American Heritage Dictionary, Third College Edition, 1996. (All of the
definitions used in this chapter are from that dictionary and are reprinted by permission of
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.) Then answer the following questions:
jay1 (jā) n. The letter j.*
jay2 (jā) n. 1. Any of various often crested birds of the genera Garrulus, Cyanocitta,
Aphelocoma, and related genera within the family Corvidae, often having a loud harsh call.
2. A very talkative person; a chatterbox. [ME jai < OFr. < LLat. gāius, gāia, perh. <
Lat. Gāius, personal name.]
jay•bird (jā′bûrd′) n. See jay2 1.
4.
a.
Which of the three definitions listed for jay is the correct one for this context?
b.
Is it important to remember the Latin words that are in italics in the definition? Why or why
not?
c.
The definition begins, “Any of various. . . .” How does that information help you understand
the meaning of Steller’s?
The next word in the first sentence that you may not know is argy-bargy. Read the following
definition. What does this definition have in common with the definition of jay? What does
disputatious mean? Definition 2 under jay says, “A very talkative person; a chatterbox.” How do
* This and the following definitions are © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Reprinted by permission
from THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY, THIRD COLLEGE EDITION.
172
you think that definition relates to the first definition? How can this second definition help you
understand argy-bargy?
ar•gy-bar•gy (är′gē-bär′gē) n. Chiefly British. A lively or disputatious discussion. [Sc.,
redup. of argie, argument < ARGUE.]
5.
The last word in the sentence, ponderosa, also may have caused you difficulty. When you look it
up in the dictionary, you discover that the only entry is ponderosa pine. Read the entry below
from the American Heritage Dictionary and answer the questions that follow:
pon•der•o•sa pine (pŏn′dӘ-rō′sӘ) n. A tall timber tree (Pinus ponderosa) of western North
America having long dark green needles grouped in fascicles of three. [Transl. of NLat.
Pīnus ponderōsa: Lat. pīnus, pine tree + Lat. ponderōsa, fem. of ponderōsus, heavy; see
PONDEROUS.]
6.
a.
Does the meaning given fit the context of the sentence from Blue Highways? What are the
clues that help you decide?
b.
Why do you think that the writer used ponderosa when he could have used pine? Why didn’t
he call it a yellow pine? (Look at the definition for ponderous, which has the same root
meaning.)
Check the sentence you wrote for question 1 restating Least Heat-Moon’s first sentence. Do you
need to change it? Has looking up these words and thinking about them helped you to have a
better picture in your mind of the setting described in this sentence? In what ways?
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READING ACTIVITY 6.2: USING A COLLEGE DICTIONARY
Skills Focus
•
Understanding words in context: using a dictionary, multiple word meanings
•
Dictionary entries give you a great deal of information besides the meaning of the word. This exercise
will help you get additional information and then use that information to think about the writer’s tone
and intentions.
1.
In Blue Highways, Least Heat-Moon writes, “They [Steller’s jaybirds] didn’t shut up until I left
some orts from breakfast; then they dropped from the branches like ripe fruit, nabbed a gobful,
and took off for the tops of the hundred-foot trees.” Read the definitions of ort that follow:
ort (ôrt) n. 1. A small scrap or leaving of food after a meal is completed. Often used in the
plural. 2. A scrap; a bit. [ME orte, food left by animals, prob. < MDu. : oor, out; see ud-* +
eten, to eat; see ed-*.]*
Which of the definitions fits the context?
2.
In the sentence just quoted, the word gobful is used. Look at the three definitions for the word gob
and then answer the questions that follow:
gob1 (gŏb) n. 1. A small mass or lump. 2. Informal. A large quantity. Often used in the
plural. [ME gobbe, prob. < OFr. gobe, mouthful < gober, to gulp, of Celt. orig.]
gob2 (gŏb) n. Slang. The mouth. [Perh. < Scottish and Ir. Gael.]
gob3 (gŏb) n. Slang. A sailor. [orig. unknown]
3.
a.
Which of the definitions fits the context of the sentence quoted in question 1?
b.
Two of the definitions are labeled Slang. Look at the front of your dictionary to discover
what the dictionary means by the label slang. Why would a writer use slang words? What
does their use tell you about the writer’s attitudes and the audience for which he is writing?
Read the definition for manzanita and answer the questions that follow:
man•za•ni•ta (măn-zƏ-nē-tƏ) n. Any of several evergreen shrubs or small trees of the
genus Arctostaphylos of the Pacific coast of North America, esp. A. manzanita, bearing
white or pink flowers and producing red berrylike drupes. [Sp., dim. of manzana, apple. See
MANCHINEEL.]
a.
What is the origin of this word? Do not just copy from the entry; use your own words.
b.
The sentence that shows the context is “It was May Day, and the warm air filled with the
scent of pine and blooming manzanita.” How does knowing the origin of manzanita help
you understand the sentence?
c.
In this excerpt from Blue Highways, the reader is never told exactly where the action occurs.
How have the words that we have worked with in this and the previous Reading Activity
helped you locate the scene in a particular geographic location?
* Definitions Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Reproduced by permission from The
American Heritage Dictionary, Third Edition.
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READING ACTIVITY 6.3: FROM BLUE HIGHWAYS
Skills Focus
•
Understanding words in context: using the dictionary
•
1.
In this excerpt from Blue Highways, Least Heat-Moon uses mostly familiar words. Can you think
of any reasons connected to the content of this section that might have led him to use familiar
language?
2.
One of the few words that may give you some trouble in this passage is gullied as used in this
sentence: “The man, with polished cowboy boots and a part measured out in the white hair, had a
face so gullied even the Soil Conservation Commission couldn’t have reclaimed it.” What part of
that word can you look up in the dictionary? Is gullied being used in this sentence as a noun form
or as a verb form? (Hint: Look at the ending of the word.) What does the definition have to do
with a person’s face? Using your own words, describe the man’s face.
3.
How would you describe the author’s tone in this reading?
4.
How would you describe the author’s attitude toward nature? His attitude toward people? How are
these attitudes reflected in the words he used in the reading?
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READING ACTIVITY 6.4: “AN ACCOUNT OF AVIANCA FLIGHT 52”
Skills Focus
•
•
1.
What valid inferences can you draw from the article about the following?
a.
The regional controllers mentioned in paragraph 1
b.
The local controllers mentioned in paragraph 1
c.
The Federal Aviation Administration report
d.
R. Steve Bell, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
e.
The chronology of the final minutes of Flight 52
2.
Would relatives of the seventy-three persons who died in the crash draw the same conclusions that
the Federal Aviation Administration drew about the crash? Would those conclusions be valid?
Why or why not?
3.
Can you find any evidence in the reading that indicates what the reporter who wrote the story
thinks about the cause of the crash?
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READING ACTIVITY 6.5: “SEX, LIES AND CONVERSATION”
Skills Focus
•
•
Understanding the use of figurative language: metaphor
•
•
1.
Read the following phrases from the article and the entire sentence in which they appear. What do
you think the following words mean in context? (You can check your guess by using your
dictionary.)
2.
a.
“offering ideas and anecdotes”
b.
“. . . this pattern is wreaking havoc”
c.
“tangible inequities”
d.
“analogous to the physical alignment”
Explain what the author means by the following uses of figurative language:
a.
“For women, as for girls, intimacy is the fabric of relationships, and talk is the thread from
which it is woven.” How does this implied comparison facilitate your understanding?
b.
“Talk is the cement that binds a relationship.”
c.
“Marriage is an orgy of closeness.”
3.
Why does the author compare conversation between men and women to cross-cultural
communication?
4.
Why do you think Deborah Tannen wrote this article? What societal purpose does the article
serve? How would you describe her point of view?
5.
Think about the changes you would make in your conversational style with a person of the
opposite gender. List three to five changes you would make based on this article.
CHAPTER 7
Forming and Applying Concepts
This chapter can be used to develop the following literal comprehension skills:
•
•
•
FORMING AND APPLYING CONCEPTS IN READING: OVERVIEW
In Chapter 7, concepts, those overarching ideas that help us make sense of the world, are examined in
terms of their formation and application. Students are introduced to concepts as “general ideas we use
to identify and organize our experience.” Understanding the importance of concepts has implications
for academic reading and study skills. As a method of representing concepts, mapping is introduced as
a powerful visual means of expressing ideas and relationships. As a technique to improve study skills,
mapping is applicable to a wide variety of readings. Preparing “mind maps” helps students develop the
same skills that summarizing provides, but many students find that mind maps are more efficient ways
of expressing the relationships among concepts. Mapping, as a visual organizer of key concepts,
represents a further refinement of the skills of identifying the main idea and supporting detail.
Although the chapter is not particularly suited to developing individual reading skills, its four readings
are useful for introducing students to various reading strategies demanded by different disciplines. The
first two excerpts by Susan Brownmiller and Patricia Leigh Brown deal with the concepts of femininity
and masculinity. The third, “Identify Yourself: Who’s American?” by Gregory Rodriguez, explores the
concept of national identity. These passages are typical of readings in English composition classes. The
fourth, “What Is Religion?”, found on the Student Companion Website and taken from the book Ways
of Being Religious, presents an introduction to the concepts of religion and religious experience and
might be found in a comparative religion course. The supplementary activities included here ask
students to make assumptions and change their preparation techniques for the different disciplines.
WHAT ARE CONCEPTS? AND THE STRUCTURE OF CONCEPTS
Chaffee defines concepts as general ideas used to identify and organize one’s experience. Working in
conjunction with language and thought, as discussed in Chapter 6, concepts help to identify, describe,
distinguish, and relate various aspects of the world.
These two sections lay the theoretical groundwork for understanding what concepts are and how they
function. The process of reading—as well as writing, speaking, and thinking—is conducted primarily
through concepts and the various relationships that connect them. Students should realize that to
become accomplished readers, they must develop a clear understanding of the conceptualizing process
and must learn to use it effectively.
To initiate students’ thought processes, engage students in identifying an initial concept about an event
and how a new concept was formed as a result of new information provided by additional experiences.
Thinking Activity 7.1 asks students to recall what their initial concept of college was and how
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Chapter 7: Forming and Applying Concepts
additional experiences have led them to reinforce or change that concept. In Thinking Activity 7.2,
students have the opportunity to diagram the structure of several concepts, using the model developed
in this section.
FORMING CONCEPTS
This discussion focuses on the process of forming generalizations. Generalizations are the result of
finding similarities among all the members of a particular category. In fact, generalizations are
concepts. How concepts are formed has direct application to studying. Students learning new concepts
will find it helpful to apply Chaffee’s two standards: What are the requirements that form the
boundaries of the concept? What are some examples of the concept? To learn a new concept, a student
needs to know the identifying qualities, or attributes. (What is it that makes this thing what it is?)
Second, the student needs to know what qualities do not fit the concept. (Does x have these qualities?
Does y?) In some cases, defining what a thing is not results in a clearer definition because the
nondescriptors form the boundaries of the concept. The final part of learning new concepts is to include
some good, concise examples. Students who realize the components of concepts are in a better position
to master the concepts taught in their courses. They also become aware of what information they are
missing and can therefore ask instructors specific questions to ensure that they understand particular
concepts. (“I know that x and y are related to the concept, but I’m puzzled about z.”) Thinking Activity
7.3 helps students practice applying an interactive process of forming new concepts through
generalizing and interpreting.
Students may also explore concepts in short stories. Several short story possibilities are listed in the
bibliography. From information gleaned from their readings, students should attempt to define a
specified concept. For example, one concept in the story “The Egg” is happiness; in the course of
formulating their definitions, students should identify the features of this concept and give examples
from the story to support their definitions. Another variation of the exercise requires the use of two or
more stories that illuminate the same concept. In this instance students classify similar information from
the stories and corroborate their definitions with examples taken from each story. They also have to
deal with some dissimilarities, a process that requires sharpening the definition of the concept.
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APPLYING CONCEPTS
Because main ideas and concepts are both generalizations, it makes sense that a diagram of the process
by which we form concepts is also a diagram of the self-monitoring process involved in forming a main
idea. Following is a diagram of the experience of reading a passage to find the main idea. You may
illustrate the diagram on the chalkboard.
To alert students to this process, ask them to write a journal entry detailing their thoughts as they try to
formulate the main idea of a reading selection.
Students should become aware that the concept of classification is critical to reading. The student who
cannot classify lacks an experiential basis that promotes reading fluency. If the reader has little or no
experience with a particular subject, his or her reading rate slows down, and the ability to retain
information is diminished. (This has been described as lacking “hooks” [experiences] from which to
hang “things” [new concepts].) Classification also plays a role in the identification of the main idea.
Since classification is sorting, it is one of the preliminary steps involved in the formulation of the main
idea. The reader sorts through ideas, classifying them as general or specific or as important or less
important.
The thinking passages by Susan Brownmiller and Patricia Leigh Brown dealing with the concepts of
femininity and masculinity provide a context for students to apply these concepts. Finally, classification
helps the reader determine the predominant pattern of organization. For example, is the passage
organized as cause and effect or as comparison? Several nonfiction pieces that provide classification
practice are cited in the bibliography.
DEFINING CONCEPTS
In this section, Chaffee points out that defining a concept involves identifying its general qualities as
well as using significant examples to demonstrate its actual applications. Thinking Activity 7.4
questions the concept of responsibility in our culture and asks students to apply what they have learned
to the task of defining the concept of responsibility. Looking Critically @ the Concepts of Information
and Ownership” (located at the companion website) prompts students to consider the complex concept
of property rights, especially given the explosion of information available on the Internet. The Thinking
Passage: “Identify Yourself: Who’s American?” by Gregory Rodriguez challenges students to confront
180
the complexity of identifying a person on the basis of his or her nationality, especially when that
nationality is American. As a prereading activity for this passage, have students answer the question
“Who’s American?” individually and then as a group.
RELATING CONCEPTS WITH MIND MAPS
Creating maps is a graphic way to represent and organize experience and concepts, as students will
have undoubtedly noticed in the diagrams that open each chapter. Because some students may be
hesitant to try mapping on their own, you may wish to emphasize mapping’s kinship to traditional
outlining as an effective study aid. For example, the idea at the center of the map is the topic—the same
information contained in the outline’s title. The information that radiates directly from the center of the
map is usually a list of the reading’s main ideas. Subsequent lines coming from each of the main ideas
represent subordinate ideas, supporting details, and evidence.
Mind maps are effective tools for understanding complex information. The short essays about the left
and right hemispheres of the brain demonstrate the advantages of maps over more conventional
outlines. Mapping’s strength is its ability to show relationships. There are several theories about why
mapping is so useful. One of the more interesting ideas postulates that mapping mimics the way we
store information in our brains. Because we are preprocessing the information for later use, it is easier
for us to remember or manipulate information on paper when we use mapping as a brainstorming or
revision technique. In Thinking Activity 7.5, located on the companion website, students use a mind
map to organize their thinking, using the model developed in this section.
Chaffee shows students how to apply mapping when taking notes on reading, speaking, listening, and
writing activities. Mapping can be an effective method if the student understands the subject matter
well. Some students, however, may have difficulty creating maps as they listen to a lecture on an
unfamiliar topic or one that is poorly organized; in these cases, you might suggest that students use two
sheets of paper to take notes. On one, students draw the map during the lecture, and on the other note
any extra information or information that does not seem to fit anywhere on the map. For as many parts
as possible, students code the map and extra information so that when they revise the map, they can
refer to other information. In some cases, students do not see the big picture until after the lecture and
during reviews. These students benefit from having side notes that help them add information later on.
Another way of using mapping to take notes is to make maps as a summary or review to check your
understanding of the entire lecture. All of the major note-taking programs, such as the Cornell Method
and NSL (Notetaking System for Learning), advocate reviewing and summarizing notes shortly after
the class. Mapping is an effective way of reviewing because students are forced to consider the
information as a whole and to connect the various pieces of information. This attention to organization
is an important step in the development of an efficient reader.
On the companion website is a provocative article on the concepts of religion and religious experience,
in which students apply their personal concepts of religion and religious experience to several criteria of
definition.
READING ACTIVITIES
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READING ACTIVITY 7.1: “IDENTIFY YOURSELF: WHO’S
AMERICAN?” BY GREGORY RODRIGUEZ
Skills Focus
•
•
•
1.
To appreciate Rodriguez’s article fully, define the following words. The numbers in parentheses
refer to the paragraph numbers of the article. Many of these terms can be understood through
context and internal clues. Use your dictionary for a final check and identify how the word is used
in the sentence.
2.
3.
a.
assimilation (1)
b.
multiculturalism (4)
c.
nation-building (7)
d.
marginalized (10)
e.
solidarity (10)
f.
egregious (15)
g.
Teutonic (16)
Rodriguez reports the experience of Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and American Sikhs
since the terrorist attacks on 9/11. To understand his points about multiculturalism and
discrimination, write down your own understanding of who makes up these groups. Then use an
encyclopedia, library sources, or the Internet to elaborate on your understanding. Write down both
your before-research and after-research answers below. Make sure to write down your source for
each researched answer.
a.
Arab Americans
b.
Muslim Americans
c.
American Sikhs
Rodriguez mentions the internment of Japanese Americans, the majority of whom were U.S.
citizens, during World War II. To understand this “most egregious example of an American
minority being targeted because of its association with the foreign enemy,” answer the following
questions. Use an encyclopedia or library sources, or research the topic on the Internet. Be sure to
write down your source for each answer.
a.
When were Japanese Americans put into internment camps?
b.
Why did this happen?
c.
Where did this happen?
d.
Was there controversy over the internment?
e.
When were Japanese Americans released?
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READING ACTIVITY 7.2: RELATING CONCEPTS WITH MIND MAPS
Skill Focus
•
1.
Read the textbook section “Relating Concepts with Mind Maps.” Follow the directions for
creating a mind map of the essays about the brain’s left and right hemispheres.
2.
The following paragraphs are written in the style of an introductory sociology textbook. The
paragraphs give examples of groups that suffer from poverty. Read the selection and make a mind
map of the paragraphs that shows the relationships between the ideas.
The Poor1
Who are the poor? They are a diverse group that changes from year to year. Each year, about one-third
of those officially designated as poor manage to rise above the poverty line. That one-third is replaced
by others who are unemployed, divorced, or ill or who have a host of other problems that drive people
into poverty. In spite of all these changing individuals, however, poverty in the United States is
concentrated in three groups—children, women, and minorities.
Children form the largest group of poor. In 1985, 20.5 percent of Americans younger than eighteen fell
below the government’s poverty line. In other words, one of every five children did not have enough
support to lead a comfortable life. For children younger than six, the figures are particularly alarming:
their physical and intellectual growth is extremely rapid, and they are potentially vulnerable to disease
and malnutrition. The seriousness of this problem can be illustrated with one statistic: among African
American children younger than six, the poverty rate is 51 percent.
Many of these poor children live in households headed by women. In fact, 48 percent of children in
poverty live in households headed by single women. These single mothers often have few skills;
therefore, their wages are low. Many do not make enough money to afford day care for their children.
Another factor contributing to the rise of households headed by women is the sharp rise in the number
of unmarried mothers. More than half of all African-American infants are born to unmarried women.
Statistics indicate that these unmarried African American women have the least possibility of getting
and retaining a job that can support a family. These factors, along with traditionally lower wages to
women of all ethnic groups, keep more than one-third of households headed by women in poverty.
Minorities compose the third largest group of the poor. Eleven percent of whites are poor, but 29
percent of Hispanics and 31 percent of African Americans fall below the poverty line. Hispanics, for
example, may face problems in the job market because of language difficulties. African Americans
have, as just explained, a disproportionate share of households headed by women.
Americans have always been somewhat reluctant to admit that poverty exists in the land of plenty.
Focus on the causes has tended to blame those who are poor for their poverty. Sociologists today find
that poverty’s causes and effects are so complex that such simple explanations have not been helpful in
solving the problems of the poor.
1
The source for the statistics used in these paragraphs is Ian Robertson, Sociology, Third Edition (New
York: Worth, 1987).
1
The source for the statistics used in these paragraphs is Ian Robertson, Sociology, Third Edition (New
York: Worth, 1987).
CHAPTER 8
Relating and Organizing
•
•
•
Recognizing patterns of organization: mapping key events
•
Applying study skills to reading materials: outlining
RELATING AND ORGANIZING IN READING: OVERVIEW
Whereas Chapter 7 concentrated on the organization of information from reading through the mapping
of concepts, this chapter examines basic thinking patterns and shows how they relate to the patterns of
organization of text. As students read, they should become aware that recognizing patterns in text
material is a vital part of the comprehension process. Several relationships form a list of the commonly
used patterns of organization of reading and writing material. The terms used by reading instructors are
matched to the relationships in the following table:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Relationship
Pattern of Organization
Chronological
Process
Comparative
Analogical
Causal
Interactive
Chronological, sequence narrative
Process, process + analysis, sequence, how-to, informational
Comparison
Comparison
Cause-effect, problem-solution
Cause-effect
Illustration, statement-explanation, thesis-proof
Definition
Description
Classification, division
Persuasion, argumentation
The patterns of organization for numbers 4 through 8 represent other commonly identified writing and
reading patterns. (Writing instructors sometimes group several of the patterns together under
“expository writing.” These include definition, classification, division, analysis, synthesis, comparison,
cause-effect, and process.)
Knowing patterns of organization, or relationships as Chaffee labels some of them, is useful to the
reading process in a number of ways. As a prereading strategy, knowledge of patterns helps students
anticipate what kind of information will be presented. For example, a student who skims a passage and
identifies a comparison pattern expects to find similarities and dissimilarities between or among what is
being compared. When this student begins to read the passage carefully, she will be alert to points of
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Chapter 8: Relating and Organizing
comparison. In this case, the pattern operates as a road map, predicting the general path, activated by
key or transitional words. From a psychological standpoint, the reader’s prediction of pattern is a
metacognitive activity that excites the appropriate schema so that the brain is ready to accept new
information that has been partially preorganized via the pattern.
During the act of reading, the pattern also acts as an advance organizer. As the student collects
information, she verifies or revises the pattern choice and fills in the missing data. Knowing the pattern
also increases the reading rate, since the student has some familiarity with the text as a result of her
guess about what the pattern is.
For postreading activities, patterns further serve as memory aids. A student who has determined that his
reading follows the process pattern knows that he needs to generate the steps in the process. In this way,
he can use the patterns as review exercises. Knowing the pattern parts also helps the student as an
associative aid. He can associate the main points of the reading with the parts of the pattern, thereby
increasing his chances of remembering the information contained in the article.
Once some students become familiar with patterns of text organization, they sometimes think that only
one pattern at a time is used by an author in a particular piece of writing. Remind students that the
patterns are effective because they reflect basic thinking patterns that are created by the individual
writer. Show them that a number of patterns are frequently included in one piece of writing. Passages
that are largely cause-effect often have a section of description; or just as likely, comparison may be
combined with persuasion. Just as the reader applies his or her individual version of a pattern of
organization to a text, so does the writer during the act of composing. Chaffee provides many excerpts
and short articles for students to practice identifying and applying patterns.
CHRONOLOGICAL AND PROCESS RELATIONSHIPS
Chaffee begins a discussion of three basic ways of relating and organizing by first considering how
events or ideas are organized in terms of their occurrence in time (chronological order) and how events
may be ordered into a series of steps necessary to reach a goal (process). Students will recognize this
elemental thinking pattern in the form of the diaries and narratives they have read and written. In
Thinking Activity 8.1, students are asked to write a narrative, using a mind map as a guide, about a
significant event in their own lives.
Process relationships, a second type of time-ordered thinking pattern, focus on explaining or describing
how something happens or how something is done. Students are already familiar with process as a
means of organizing information through their experiences reading directions, recipes, even user’s
manuals and how-to books. Several reading passages provide examples of the process-analysis pattern
that students analyze in Thinking Activity 8.2. In Thinking Activity 8.3, students are asked to identify a
novel learning activity of their own and to create a process description of the stages as well as to
analyze their feelings in learning the process. An additional application for understanding process
relationships is found in the five stages of mourning, which details the grieving process.
COMPARATIVE AND ANALOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS
The two sections on the relationships of comparative and analogical patterns focus on seeing
similarities and dissimilarities among objects, events, or ideas. As students move beyond the basics of
literal comprehension, such as determining the topic and main idea, toward higher-level skills such as
interpretation and evaluation, they should recognize the importance of comparative and analogical
relationships. For students still experiencing difficulty in recognizing patterns, a helpful aid is
recognizing the use of signal words. Certain key words are associated with each of the patterns that
indicate that information is nearby. For example, some signal words used with the comparison
organization pattern are in comparison, in contrast, likewise, similarly, dissimilar, on the other hand,
185
regardless, however, and but. Students need to learn to discern patterns by paying attention to these and
other signal words, and you should alert students to them in this text and in additional readings.
In comparative relationships, students develop criteria and standards for comparison and learn two
pitfalls to be avoided: incomplete comparisons and selective comparisons. Thinking Activity 8.4 asks
students to analyze comparative relationships in several reading passages.
In analogical relationships, analogies are discussed as useful tools for comparing unfamiliar concepts
or experiences to more familiar ones to help students understand the unfamiliar concept. Similarly,
similes and metaphors are discussed as figures of speech that help communicate obvious and implied
comparisons to illuminate understanding and illustrate the use of an analogical pattern of thinking.
Thinking Activity 8.5 presents a passage to illustrate the use of an analogical pattern of thinking.
At this juncture, students may enjoy writing their own analogies or analyzing formal analogies from
Miller’s Analogy Test or another source to determine the relationships portrayed. One opportunity to do
so is found in Thinking Activity 8.6, which asks students to look at analogies used in the descriptions of
the terrorist attacks from Chapter 4 and invites them to create analogies in describing a profound event
or experience in their own lives.
CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS
In this section, causal patterns of thinking are examined as questioning why something happens (or
happened) by looking at its causes or describing the effects that are likely to result from the original
event. As Chaffee points out, most life events are part of causal chains, in which one situation leads to
another, and another, and so on. In Thinking Activity 8.7, students are asked to create a scenario of
events, a chain of causes, and the resulting effects. In addition to causal chains, more complex
relationships are examined in the readings on contributory causes and interactive causes, which
describe the manner in which individuals influence—and are influenced by—events and people around
them. Thinking Activity 8.8 asks students to create a similar scenario to discern the actual cause of an
event. Thinking Activity 8.9 features passages that illustrate causal patterns of thinking.
THINKING PASSAGES: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
In this section, environmentalist Bill McKibben examines the causal relationships between our
consumer-oriented industrial culture and environmental degradation. As a class, practice identifying the
different kinds of relationships (chronological, process, comparative, analogical, and causal) that
McKibben uses to structure and develop his arguments.
As a final review of the chapter, students should become aware that the concepts of relating and
organizing also apply to fiction. In both fiction and nonfiction, the author’s purpose determines the
particular organization employed. In fiction, however, another set of relationships affects the
organization of the story or novel. Depending on which elements of fiction are being emphasized, the
relationships of character to character, plot to theme, and symbols to theme, to name a few, supersede
the patterns of organization. One humorous example is O. Henry’s “The Ransom of Red Chief.” Both
fiction and nonfiction demand a reader’s response to the same question: What is the author’s purpose?
READING ACTIVITIES
In addition to readings and questions in Thinking Critically, this supplementary exercise will help
students develop particular reading skills. Each Reading Activity is accompanied by a handout that can
be photocopied and distributed to the class. Assign the reading, and then distribute the handout.
186
READING ACTIVITY 8.1: “WORRIED? US?” BY BILL MCKIBBEN
Skills Focus
•
Understanding words and phrases in context
•
Applying study skills to reading material: outlining and mapping
1.
Read the passage and answer the following questions without using a dictionary:
a.
What is Ghandianism?
b.
Explain what is meant by “the excretion of our economy has become the most important
influence on the planet we were born into.”
2.
Create a mind map of McKibben’s essay to help you identify and understand the various
concepts the author introduces to explain why we are not doing more about global warming and the
relationship each of these concepts has to each other. Write a paragraph discussing the discoveries
you made about the reading by using this technique. Share your discoveries with the class.
CHAPTER 9
Thinking Critically About Moral Issues
This chapter can be used to develop criteria for making moral choices and decisions:
•
Learning to define and distinguish ethics and morals
•
Analyzing one’s moral compass and understanding its origins
•
Learning steps for applying critical thinking to moral decision-making
•
Learning how to nurture one’s moral growth
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT MORAL ISSUES IN READING:
OVERVIEW
In this chapter, Chaffee discusses the moral dimension of critical thinking. Students explore the
profound and divergent points on the moral compass that each of us possesses and that helps us make
decisions about moral issues. As a preview to reading this chapter, present students with the question; If
you were unsure of what was right or wrong in a particular situation, how would you decide what to
do? Depending on the sophistication of the group, you may want to set a philosophical tone with
readings and references to classical Greek philosophers, those of the eighteenth-century French
Enlightenment, American thinkers, or Eastern and Judeo-Christian thinkers.
WHAT IS ETHICS?
Chaffee begins this section by defining the terms ethics and morals and then asking students to reflect
on whether they believe that there are universal values and principles that apply to all individuals and
cultures. Thinking Activity 9.1 asks students to define a moral person by first describing someone they
consider moral and then explaining why they feel that way. Thinking Activity 9.2 asks students to then
analyze their own moral values to see if they are coherent and well supported or just a string of beliefs
gathered over the years with no real connections. Students may initially be resistant to the idea of
examining their own belief system. It is important to remind students that they need to understand why
they believe as they do in order to be able to articulate their beliefs to others.
YOUR MORAL COMPASS
After examining the definition of ethics, Chaffee introduces seven moral theories that help explain the
way people evaluate and make decisions about moral issues. Thinking Activity 9.3 poses several
dilemmas and asks students to analyze and respond to them on the basis of moral reasoning.
THE THINKER’S GUIDE TO MORAL DECISION-MAKING
Toward the goal of becoming lifelong critical thinkers, Chaffee encourages students to develop their
own moral code and philosophy, based on the concepts and principles presented in the “Thinker’s
Guide.” As Chaffee presents a series of philosophical principles, students are encouraged to apply each
strategy in behavioral terms, such as by developing insights and making special efforts to actualize the
concept they have learned. Thinking Activity 9.4 asks students to apply Kant’s two formulas of the
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Chapter 9: Thinking Critically About Moral Issues
categorical imperative to the ethical beliefs they expressed in Thinking Activity 9.2. In thinking
Activity 9.5, students are asks to examine which of their moral beliefs from Thinking Activity 9.2
promotes human happiness, thus engaging students in an examination of the consequences of their
beliefs for others. In Thinking Activity 9.6, students are asked to consider the validity of their moral
intuitions. Finally, Thinking Activity 9.7 challenges students to continue their moral growth by
applying the knowledge gained in this chapter.
As students read other excerpts and pieces of literature, encourage their reference to this section to
enable them to see the complex choices and decisions literary characters have made. Students should
consider questions such as, Would you have acted similarly under the circumstances? Did the
characters accept moral responsibility for their choices? These questions increase the depth of
understanding not only of the literary character but of the student’s personal moral code.
In providing closure for this chapter, remind students that as critical thinkers, they will often be
challenged in applying the moral and ethical codes in judgments and decision making that they are in
the process of developing.
THINKING PASSAGE: THE DISPARITY BETWEEN CHARACTER
AND INTELLECT
“The Disparity Between Intellect and Character,” by Robert Coles, in this section points up the paradox
that while a person can be very enlightened about the concept of ethics, can even be an expert on ethics,
that alone does not make her or him an ethical person. The author also questions the role that colleges
should play in molding students into ethical beings. In discussing this reading, it might help for the
students to examine the ethics code of their university and discuss if it is effective. Ask students to
reflect on how they feel about the university’s role in developing their moral character.
READING ACTIVITIES
189
READING ACTIVITY 9.1: MORAL JUDGMENTS
Skills Focus
•
Understanding words in context: using a dictionary to understand word etymology
•
•
Applying study skills to reading materials: summarizing
1.
To help you understand this section, it is helpful to know the etymology, or word history, of the
philosophies and moral theories referred to. Use a dictionary to find the etymology (word origin)
of each word below. Also, use a combination of context clues and internal clues to increase your
understanding of the words.
Example: philosophy
2.
a.
psychological
b.
conscience
c.
agnostic
d.
pragmatic
e.
theist
f.
hedonist
g.
altruistic
Etymology
Word Meaning
phil = love, sophia = wisdom
love of wisdom,
pursuit of wisdom
Review the moral theories presented in the chapter. For each theory, write a brief definition of its
views and summarize the problem, if any, with its moral reasoning.
a.
Psychological theory of morality
b.
Moral agnostic theory of morality
c.
Pragmatic theory of morality
d.
Theist theory of morality
e.
Hedonist moral theory
f.
Authoritarian moral theory
g.
Altruistic moral theory
CHAPTER 10
Constructing Arguments
This chapter can be used to review the following critical comprehension skills:
•
•
•
•
•
CONSTRUCTING ARGUMENTS IN READING: OVERVIEW
The final three chapters of Thinking Critically integrate and apply all of the concepts and skills that the
students have been gathering throughout their reading. Although many students have probably grasped
all the information along the way, for others there is a leap from understanding the parts to
comprehending the whole. Throughout this Instructor’s Resource Manual, skills linked to particular
objectives covered in many developmental reading courses have been emphasized. Chapters 10, 11, and
12 can be used as a summary and review of these reading skills.
Chapter 10, “Constructing Arguments,” begins as a dialogue. Because the first step in learning
something is the ability to recognize it, consider involving students in videotaping this dialogue. The
use of a videotape offers several advantages for students with different learning styles. Although
reading text suits many students whose strongest learning modality is visual, many other students find
that their preferred mode of learning is auditory. Thus, introducing argumentation via their strongest
learning mode of listening as well as seeing, captured via videotape, enhances their ability to
understand. Second, students have multiple cuing systems to help them understand what they are
watching. For example, they can see the speaker’s body language and they can hear the tone of voice.
Some students may need to recognize the outward signs of arguing before they can analyze the words
of the argument. Third, since this dialogue is analyzed and used as an example throughout the chapter,
it is important that the students have the reinforcement of a visual image. Because of the number of
times the text refers them to the dialogue, they will have other opportunities to read it.
At the conclusion of the dialogue, students are asked to complete the conversation with other views. To
assist them in this task, ask them to use key words to identify each view. As they work through the
chapter, they will discover that these key words indicate the location of various arguments. For the
present task, the key words serve as prompts, so that other views can be generated through small-group
discussion. Students can also compose the remainder of the script in small groups. Depending on the
class, you may want to use brainstorming followed by role-playing before having students write the end
of the dialogue. Students may also videotape various endings for the dialogue. It may be helpful to
review the ground rules for dialogues listed in Chapter 2.
This chapter contains two sets of readings, one that explains and presents arguments for and against
human cloning and one that presents arguments for and against legalizing drugs. These readings
Chapter 10: Constructing Arguments
191
provide an opportunity to test students’ grasp of critical comprehension skills through the quiz provided
here. You may want to have students read and mark or map each reading before the quiz. Students can
take the quiz with or without notes. Any concepts the students have not learned can then be reviewed.
RECOGNIZING ARGUMENTS
In this section argument is defined in the technical sense as “a form of thinking in which certain
statements (reasons) are offered in support of another statement (a conclusion).” Students probably
have other denotations and connotations for the word, varying from an impolite disagreement to an
overly aggressive quarrel. It may be necessary to demonstrate the everyday presence of argumentation
and its value to these students. Ask students to think of situations in which they have had to offer
reasons in support of a conclusion, that is, defend or explain a request or their behavior. Another source
with which students are familiar but may not have thought of as arguments are advertisements. Ask
students to bring in various advertisements that offer an argument for buying the product.
The section “Cue Words for Arguments” lists the various categories of signal words that reinforce the
comment from a previous chapter about how signal words suggest particular patterns of organization.
Signal words are not infallible indicators, however, that a particular pattern is present. For students who
are unfamiliar with argumentation or persuasion, these words help alert them that an argument is being
made. As practice, ask students to find and read two or three articles dealing with the same issue. To
ensure that they successfully locate persuasive articles, direct them to some of the general sources listed
in the bibliography, such as Editorials on File or Congressional Digest. As students read the articles,
have them circle any signal words they find. Signal words, or transitions, as writing instructors refer to
them, are important to recognize because they act as road maps or directional signals, pointing out
essential parts of essays and arguments. As students become more aware of transitions, they begin to
use them in their own speaking and writing. Thinking Activity 10.1 provides practice using cue words
to identify arguments.
The first of the two sets of essays, “Drugs” and “The Case for Slavery” (both located on the companion
website) argue the issue of whether drugs should be legalized. It is important that students identify the
arguments that each author uses to support his position. Emphasize that cue words help to identify the
arguments.
The section ends by expanding on the definition of inferring, as presented in Chapter 4, and explaining
the reasons that we construct arguments: to decide, explain, predict, and persuade. To reinforce these
concepts, students can return to the original dialogue in the text and block out and identify the various
arguments and their possible purposes, or they can use the articles they have collected and try the same
exercise. They may enjoy exchanging their articles with one another as a way of checking their
responses.
EVALUATING ARGUMENTS
The two questions relating to truth and validity presented here as a means of evaluating arguments may
present a problem to several students. If they are not well read, they may lack the prerequisite
knowledge to comment on how true or valid certain reasons are. You may decide to use the collection
of articles in the text or the students’ individual critical-issue files, which may present more familiar
material. In either instance, students will have gained some knowledge of a particular field and will feel
more prepared to evaluate arguments.
Unless students can readily identify arguments in text materials, they may find the ideas included in the
section dealing with the concept of soundness difficult. One of the inherent problems is that while
textbook examples fit easily into one category or another, most real examples do not. Although it is
necessary to introduce students to the concepts of truth, validity, and soundness in evaluating
arguments, they may need some extra time to make sense of these concepts. Thinking Activity 10.2
192
provides practice evaluating the truth of reasons contained in the arguments from the discussion of
marijuana.
UNDERSTANDING DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS
Because of the complexity of information in this section, you should make decisions about the level of
knowledge it is necessary for students to attain. For example, is it sufficient for students to recognize
the difference between a deductive and an inductive argument (explained further in Chapter 11)?
Should students be able to identify the various types of deductive arguments—applying a general rule,
modus ponens, modus tollens, disjunctive syllogism—with the help of a chart? Should students
memorize the four types of deductive reasoning? Whatever decision you make, students will require
additional practice. Thinking Activity 10.3 provides additional practice analyzing arguments and
identifying the type of deductive argument form used.
One source that provides several different points of view on a current topic is the daily newspaper USA
Today. The editorial page follows a set pattern: the newspaper presents its viewpoint along with a
synopsis of the issue and several editorials that present other, opposing, or supporting, views of the
topic. The editorials are relatively short and usually easy to read, thus lending themselves to classroom
demonstration and analysis. Another source that provides short examples, which can be made into
syllogisms, is Games magazine. A final source for problems and syllogisms is the plethora of books on
the subject, including those by G. Polya, one of which is entitled How to Solve It.
A variety of short stories are included in the bibliography so that students can explore the role of
argumentation in fiction. Additionally, television programs such as Divorce Court, Court TV, and
People’s Court are fruitful sources of argumentation, as are popular movies of courtroom drama on
video.
CONSTRUCTING EXTENDED ARGUMENTS
In this section on extended written arguments, located on the companion website, Chaffee guides
students through the process of identifying a thesis, conducting research, and organizing ideas. His
discussion on these basic stages of constructing sophisticated arguments includes creative strategies for
defining a main idea to focus thinking on a central idea; finding relevant research material from
appropriate library and Internet sources; and ordering the written material in a systematic, effective
way. The sample extended argument, “Critical Thinking About Uncritical Drinking,” also on the
companion website, prepares students to compose their own argument about a current social issue.
The thinking passages at the end of the chapter present the controversial issue of human cloning. The
Reuter news report, “U.S. Company Says It Cloned Human Embryo for Cells,” explains the first
successful attempt to clone human embryos for stem-cell research. The following two passages, the
ethicist Thomas Murray’s wrenching “Even if It Worked, Cloning Wouldn’t Bring Her Back” and the
philosophy professor Richard T. Hull’s “No Fear,” present the arguments against and for human
cloning. These essays provide additional challenges for students to identify arguments, summarize
reasons and conclusions, and describe the types of argument forms used in the essays.
READING ACTIVITY
In addition to readings and questions in this chapter, these supplementary exercises help students
develop particular reading skills. The Reading Activity is accompanied by a handout that can be
photocopied and distributed to the class. Assign the reading, and then distribute the handout. Also
included here is a quiz that provides an opportunity to test students’ critical comprehension skills.
193
READING ACTIVITY 10.1: “DRUGS” BY GORE VIDAL AND “THE
CASE FOR SLAVERY” BY A. M. ROSENTHAL (ON COMPANION
WEBSITE)
Skills Focus
•
•
•
•
1.
What is the purpose of Vidal’s essay “Drugs”? How is the reader made immediately aware of this
purpose?
2.
Evaluate the reasoning that Vidal uses to reach his conclusion. Does Vidal rely more on empirical,
scientific evidence or on subjective evidence?
3.
What is the desired effect of Vidal’s assertion in paragraph 2 that he has experienced “almost
every drug” with no harmful consequences? Is this a valid reason for legalizing drugs?
4.
To what legislation does Vidal compare the current laws against drug use? Is this a valid
comparison?
5.
What conclusions does Vidal reach about human behavior? Are these conclusions supported by
adequate reasoning?
6.
In paragraphs 9 through 11, Vidal concludes that the U.S. government does not want to legalize
drugs because the Bureau of Narcotics would “wither away.” Is this cause-and-effect inference
based on factual information? How would you assess its validity?
7.
What is the tone of this argument? How does the emotive language in this argument contribute to
that tone? Give five examples of this type of language use and explain how each acts to maintain
this tone.
8.
How would you describe the probable audience for this essay? Would most Americans accept this
argument? Why or why not?
9.
What is the purpose of Rosenthal’s argument in “The Case for Slavery”? Is the purpose similar to
or different from that of Vidal’s argument?
10. Rosenthal depends on an analogy for much of the reasoning behind his argument. What is this
analogy? In your opinion, how valid is this as support?
11. What three similarities does Rosenthal produce between his original and compared subjects?
12. What three cause-and-effect inferences does Rosenthal produce in his argument against
legalization? Are these valid inferences?
13. Whom does Rosenthal cite as the advocates of legalization? What does he conclude about their
reasoning?
14. Rosenthal’s article uses many examples of emotive language to slant his argument in a particular
way. Write down at least five passages where emotive language is apparent.
194
READING QUIZ 10.A: “NO FEAR” BY RICHARD T. HULL AND
“EVEN IF IT WORKED, CLONING WOULDN’T BRING HER BACK”
BY THOMAS H. MURRAY
Skills Focus
•
•
•
•
Answer the following questions (10 points each):
1.
2.
Thomas H. Murray is president of a bioethics research institute and writes regularly for the
Washington Post. Richard T. Hull is a university professor of philosophy who researches and
publishes articles on medical ethics, reproduction, and genetics.
a.
Given these facts, support an opinion about the credibility of both sources.
b.
Given these facts, support an opinion about the objectivity of both sources.
What comments would you make about the tone used in the following quotations? Explain briefly
the reasons for your conclusions.
a.
Murray: “I want to speak, then, to the author of that letter, father to father, grieving parent to
grieving parent; and to anyone clinging to unfounded hope that cloning can somehow repair
the arbitrariness of disease, unhappiness, and death.”
b.
3.
4.
195
Hull: “Government panels are poor substitutes for the good sense and open communication
of scientists working towards the same goal. What possible expertise does a congressman or
senator have that is relevant to the question of whether the technology is good enough to try
on a human?”
The purpose of both sources is to persuade their audience about the validity of their positions on
advances in human cloning. Explain how each source tries to persuade.
a.
Murray
b.
Hull
What is a valid inference that can be drawn from the following facts? Explain your reasoning.
a.
“It is important to recognize that the technique that produced Dolly the sheep was successful
in only 1 of 277 attempts.”
b.
“Although contemporaneous twins begin their lives with the same genetic inheritance, they
also begin their lives or biographies at the same time, in ignorance of what the twin who
shares the same genome will by his or her choices make of his or her life.”
CHAPTER 11
Reasoning Critically
This chapter can be used to develop the following critical comprehension skills:
•
•
•
REASONING CRITICALLY IN READING: OVERVIEW
Throughout the text, Chaffee promotes the view that improving our thinking is essentially a lifelong
process. This comment is a fitting prelude to the amount of information contained in this chapter. It
may be difficult to teach all the information in this chapter because of its level of sophistication.
However, since the thinking-development process will continue outside the confines of the course, it is
helpful to introduce as many concepts as possible in this chapter. As students achieve the level of
readiness necessary to acquire this material, they will already have some familiarity with the topics.
INDUCTIVE REASONING
Whereas the preceding chapter focused primarily on deductive reasoning, Chapter 11 examines
inductive reasoning. Chaffee gives several relevant examples of conclusions arrived at through
inductive reasoning with the results of recent polls and surveys. He then introduces the five topics
covered in the chapter: empirical generalization, fallacies of false generalization, causal reasoning
(including the scientific method), causal fallacies, and fallacies of relevance. Again, you should
determine which levels of learning are appropriate for the class. You may choose to present all five
topics or to concentrate on several because the sections are not completely independent.
EMPIRICAL GENERALIZATION
Chaffee presents the concept of empirical generalization as one of the most important research tools
used by natural and social scientists and discusses some of its technical aspects, including sampling and
randomization. Technical vocabulary is included and defined. Chaffee illustrates how researchers arrive
at a careful, representative sample.
Thinking Activity 11.1 asks students to review examples of inductive arguments and evaluate the
criteria for accurate empirical generalization: Is the sample known? Is the sample sufficient? Is the
sample representative? In addition to the passages from this thinking activity, you may wish to include
examples of questionable sampling such as those presented in certain advertisements. To increase
students’ awareness of the impact of inductive reasoning on their daily lives, ask them to collect
examples from a multitude of sources, including television, textbooks, magazines, and conversation.
Charts and graphs also display inductive reasoning. Sources such as Time, Newsweek, and USA Today
present statistical information with tables and graphs. Students can evaluate this mode of
communication by first locating or inferring the topic and main idea. The validity of the inductive
reasoning can be tested by answering the same questions as those posed for evaluating passages: Is the
sample known? Is it of sufficient size? and so on. In Thinking Activity 11.2 students have the
Chapter 11: Reasoning Critically
197
opportunity to apply these criteria in designing a hypothetical research sample both large and
representative enough to research an issue.
FALLACIES OF FALSE GENERALIZATION
As students may recall from Chapter 7, “Forming and Applying Concepts,” generalizing and
interpreting are useful in forming concepts. Here, they learn that generalizing and interpreting can also
be misused, giving form to fallacies in thinking, including hasty generalization, sweeping
generalization, and false dilemma. As Chaffee notes, fallacious reasoning relies on inferences to
masquerade as a legitimate pattern of thinking. You may provide practice in identifying these fallacies
in everyday life by asking students to describe an experience in which they were victims of a hasty or
stereotyped generalization.
In the thinking passage “She’s Not Really Ill . . .” the author uses sweeping generalizations, hasty
generalizations, and false dilemmas to make her point about the overprescription of antianxiety and
antidepression medication. Students are asked to identify them and to analyze their use. In addition to
this activity, you may ask students to identify the many examples of stereotypes perpetuated in our
culture—in advertising, movies, television, literature, and so on. Students can also reexamine some of
the short stories they have read to determine whether any of the false generalizations led to the final
outcome or resolution. One short story to consider is Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”; both the central
character, Tessie Hutchinson, and the town as a whole view their fate through false generalizations.
It should be noted that while the previous section of the chapter clarifies the nature and concerns that
are part of inductive reasoning, it is still possible for students to examine fallacies of false
generalization if they have read only Chapter 10.
CAUSAL REASONING
Causal reasoning is introduced as “the backbone of the natural and social sciences.” This section
presents the steps of the scientific method, a form of causal reasoning, and summarizes two simple
reasoning patterns. Thinking Activity 11.3, devised to reinforce the concepts of experimental research,
can also be used even if you have chosen to forgo the preceding explanations. It is important to provide
students with the opportunity to transfer whatever level of knowledge they have about causal reasoning
and the scientific method to their content-area textbooks. One method is to have small groups of
students locate explanations or detailed references to research studies in their psychology or biology
textbooks, for example, and to prepare quizzes for another group. After the other group has read the
material and completed the quiz, the original group should evaluate and score the quiz. After the
evaluation, the two groups should discuss any differences in interpretation.
For students who are prepared for the more complex description of scientific research, Chaffee
discusses three common designs of the controlled experiment: cause-to-effect experiments with
intervention, cause-to-effect experiments without intervention, and effect-to-cause experiments.
Thinking Activity 11.4 provides practice in evaluating several experimental situations, describing the
proposed causal relationship, and identifying the kind of experimental design used. Thinking Activity
11.5 provides guidelines and asks students to construct their own experimental design to investigate a
potential causal relationship.
The thinking passages at the end of this section discuss the complex process of scientific research. In
the Introduction to the United Nations’ UNAIDS “‘3 by 5’ Progress Report” (on the companion
website), the authors discuss the rationale behind the “3 by 5” initiative to provide HIV treatment to
impoverished people. Also on the website, the article “Study Sets Off Debate over Mammograms’
Value” lays out the troubling controversy over the effectiveness of mammograms in preventing death or
radical surgery.
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CAUSAL FALLACIES
This portion of the text and the next, “Fallacies of Relevance,” illustrate two other kinds of fallacies.
Some common causal fallacies are questionable cause, misidentification of the cause, post hoc ergo
propter hoc (“after it, therefore because of it”), and slippery slope. A chart or a map can be a helpful
aid for distinguishing the various forms of pseudoreasoning.
Category
Fallacy
Example
Causes
Questionable cause
Misidentification of the cause
Walk under a ladder and have bad luck.
Getting wet causes a cold.
To identify pitfalls and fallacies, teach students this multistep process. First, locate the fallacy. Then
categorize it. Does it have to do with the conclusions or the causes, or does it seem irrelevant? Once
students have chosen the general category, the last step is to choose an example of the specific fallacy.
Tabloid newspapers and transcripts of talk shows can be used as sources for pseudoreasoning. Students
who have difficulty finding pitfalls in print may be successful in recognizing the presence of
pseudoreasoning on television talk shows, which deal with controversial issues or paranormal
experiences. The use of videotapes is not recommended as an initial exercise because of the
complicating factors of appearance and body language.
FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE
Students will find this section and the previous one particularly engaging as they relate fallacies of
relevance—and their misguided appeals—to everyday experiences. For example, you can point out
various examples of these fallacies in advertisements that use appeal to questionable authorities to sell a
product that has nothing to do with their area of expertise (appeal to authority) or lame excuses
commonly used by students or others in a bid for sympathy (appeal to pity). Ask students to add to
examples of appeal to tradition, bandwagon, appeal to fear, appeal to flattery, special pleading, appeal
to ignorance, begging the question, straw man, red herring, appeal to personal attack and two wrongs
make a right from situations they have read about or experienced in their personal lives. Thinking
Activity 11.6 provides further practice for students to develop examples of different kinds of false
appeals. Students may enjoy doing this as a small-group activity and sharing their results with the class.
As another application, choose an article or a short story and ask students to analyze it using the
knowledge gained in this chapter to identify examples of fallacious reasoning.
THE CRITICAL THINKER’S GUIDE TO REASONING
This section provides a retrospective view and serves to integrate what students have learned about the
development of their critical thinking and reasoning abilities. Here, a critical thinking/reasoning model
is presented that helps students pull together the important themes of this book through reflecting on the
question, ”Are people capable of choosing freely?” Students are guided to work through their responses
to several questions pertaining to their beliefs: What is my initial point of view? How can I define my
point of view more clearly? What is an example of my point of view? What is the origin of my point of
view? What are my assumptions? What are the reasons, evidence, and arguments that support my point
of view? What are other points of view on this issue? What is my conclusion, decision, solution, or
prediction? and finally, What are the consequences? The graphic in the textbook helps students
visualize the reasoning process as they confront the question, “Are people capable of thinking freely?”
In Thinking Activity 11.7 students are asked to identify an important issue and apply the Critical
Thinker’s Guide to Reasoning to analyze it.
One of the final readings for this chapter, “Critical Thinking and Obedience to Authority” by John
Sabini and Maury Silver, is based on the book Obedience to Authority by Stanley Milgram, in which he
199
reports experiments on destructive obedience. It is a provocative selection that demonstrates the
pernicious effects of failing to think critically and suggests ways to avoid these failures. The next
reading, “Pressure to Go Along with Abuse Is Strong, but Some Soldiers Find Strength to Refuse”
examines the very real parallel to Milgram’s hypothesis in the 2004 Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.
Because the goals for independent, critical readers parallel those Chaffee has set for critical thinkers, it
is fitting that students’ analysis and discussion of this reading should recognize their progress and
reaffirm the bond between reading and thinking.
READING AND TEST ACTIVITIES
Both Chapter 10, “Constructing Arguments,” and Chapter 11, “Reasoning Critically,” can be used as a
review of the course. In addition to supplementary reading activities, this chapter provides three
quizzes, each with a different format. Each quiz focuses on literal comprehension skills.
200
READING ACTIVITY 11.1: CAUSAL FALLACIES
Skills Focus
•
•
1.
Identify and explain the causal fallacies illustrated in the following examples:
2.
a.
The person who won the lottery says that she dreamt the winning number. I’m going to start
writing down the numbers in my dreams.
b.
Yesterday I forgot to take my vitamins and I immediately got sick. That mistake won’t
happen again!
c.
I’m warning you—if you start missing classes, it won’t be long before you flunk out of
school and ruin your future.
d.
I always take the first seat in the bus. Today, I took another seat, and the bus broke down.
And you accuse me of being superstitious!
e.
I think the reason I’m not doing well in school is because I’m just not interested. Also, I
simply don’t have enough time to study.
Provide other examples of fallacious, or superstitious, thinking below:
a.
b.
c.
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READING ACTIVITY 11.2: CAUSAL FALLACIES
Skills Focus
•
Distinguishing between fact and opinion and point of view
•
•
1.
Many people want you to see the cause-and-effect relationships that they believe exist, and they
often use questionable or outright fallacious reasoning to support their point of view. Consider the
following examples:
a.
Politicians assure you that a vote for them will result in “a chicken in every pot and a car in
every garage.”
b.
Advertisers tell you that using their detergent will leave your wash “cleaner than clean,
whiter than white.”
c.
Doctors tell you that eating a balanced diet will result in better health.
d.
Educators tell you that a college degree is worth an average of $830,000 in additional
income over an individual’s life.
e.
Scientists inform you that nuclear energy will result in a better life for all of us.
In each of these examples, certain causal claims are being made about how the world
operates in an effort to persuade you to adopt a certain point of view. As a critical thinker, it
is your responsibility to evaluate these various causal claims in an effort to figure out
whether they are sensible ways of organizing and thinking about the world.
2.
Explain how you would evaluate whether each of the following causal claims makes sense.
Follow the example below.
•
Example: Taking the right vitamins will improve your health.
•
Evaluation: Review the medical research that examines the effect of taking vitamins on
health; speak to my doctor; speak to a nutritionist.
a.
Sweet Smell deodorant will keep you drier all day long.
b.
Allure perfume will make men irresistibly attracted to you.
c.
Natural childbirth will result in a more fulfilling birth experience.
d.
Aspirin Plus will give you faster, longer-lasting relief from headaches.
e.
Radial tires will improve the gas mileage of your car.
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READING QUIZ 11.1: EMPIRICAL GENERALIZATION AND
FALLACIES OF FALSE GENERALIZATION
Answer the following questions (10 points each):
1.
What are the three requirements for evaluating a sample? List and briefly explain each.
a.
b.
c.
2.
What are three fallacies of generalization? List and give an example of each.
a.
b.
203
c.
3.
Explain briefly what a fallacy is and give an example.
4.
Explain briefly what empirical generalization is and give an example of a common way that this
form of argument is used today.
Circle the letter of the correct answer (5 points each).
1.
2.
3.
4.
Representativeness in this chapter means that the
a.
sample is large enough.
b. size and makeup of the sample are explained.
c.
sample is similar to the whole population in every way.
d. sample is chosen by a democratic vote.
“Three of my friends liked Die Hard II. Obviously, the movie will be a hit” is an example of
a.
a hasty generalization.
b. a sweeping generalization.
c.
an empirical generalization.
d. inductive reasoning.
“America—love it or leave it!” is an example of
a.
a sweeping generalization.
b. an empirical generalization.
c.
a false dilemma.
d. causal reasoning.
Fallacies are persuasive because they
a.
are sound arguments.
b. appeal to emotions or prejudices.
c.
are generalizations.
d. are examples of inductive reasoning.
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5.
Random selection in this chapter specifically means that
a.
every member of the group has the same chance at selection.
b. a drawing is held to decide who is selected.
c.
only those members of the group who qualify are selected.
d. every member of the small group has the same qualities as members of the larger group.
6. All of the following are true about empirical generalization except that
a.
fallacies should be avoided.
b. there is a target population.
c.
the sample has to be sufficiently large.
d. the entire group must be polled.
7. “Every child in America loves Howdy Hot Dogs” is an example of
a.
a hasty generalization.
b. a sweeping generalization.
c.
an empirical generalization.
d. inductive reasoning.
8. A generalization is said to be hasty when the
a.
sample is not known.
b. sample is not large enough.
c.
reasoning is deductive.
d. argument is sound.
9. The fallacy in a false dilemma is that
a.
the solutions are not valid.
b. there are actually more than two solutions.
c.
the generalizations are hasty.
d. the generalizations are sweeping.
10. All of the following are true about the size of the sample for a valid generalization except that
a.
it should be relatively small.
b. it should be big enough to be representative.
c.
it is more reliable if it is large.
d. there are definite guidelines as to the appropriate size.
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READING QUIZ 11.2: CAUSAL REASONING AND CAUSAL
FALLACIES
1.
The scientific method has five steps. For each step, give an example of what you would do if you
were exploring the following problem: too many cavities in your teeth.
a.
Identify an event.
b.
Gather information.
c.
Develop a hypothesis.
d.
Test the hypothesis.
e.
Evaluate the hypothesis.
2.
Explain briefly the difference between cause-to-effect experiments with intervention and cause-toeffect experiments without intervention.
3.
Explain the following fallacies and give an example of each:
a.
Questionable cause
b.
Misidentification of cause
c.
Post hoc ergo propter hoc
d.
Slippery slope
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READING QUIZ 11.3: FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE
Each question is worth 10 points.
The following are the fallacies of relevance: appeal to authority, appeal to pity, appeal to fear, appeal to
ignorance, and appeal to personal attack. For each of the following statements, identify the fallacy and
briefly explain why the reasoning is faulty.
1.
The president of Iraq says that the United States and Great Britain should remove their troops
from Saudi Arabia because he is moving American and British women and children to the
potential attack sites.
2.
Britney Spears says that Diet Pepsi tastes better than Diet Coke.
3.
A candidate for governor says that voters should not elect her opponent because he will not say
whether he ever took illegal drugs.
4.
Ghosts do not exist. No one has ever proved scientifically that they do exist.
5.
Smile Toothpaste is used by more Americans than any other toothpaste.
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6.
A magazine advertisement for a charity asks readers to sponsor or help a child in a foreign
country. The appeal for money is accompanied by a picture of a sad child with a thin face and big,
dark eyes.
7.
“I tried to get my paper done on time, but my aunt, who is ninety-seven years old, was in intensive
care.”
8.
“Of course you should support the candidate of your choice in the coming election. You should
remember, however, that the president of this firm—the guy who signs your paychecks—is the
campaign manager of the opposing candidate.”
9.
“With me, abortion is not a problem of religion. It’s a problem of the Constitution. I believe that
until and unless someone can establish that the unborn child is not a living human being, then that
child is already protected by the Constitution, which guarantees life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness to all of us.” Ronald Reagan, October 8, 1984
10. Of course you support affirmative action. You’re African American.
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ANSWERS TO READING QUIZ 11.1
1.
c
2.
a
3.
c
4.
b
5.
a
6.
d
7.
b
8.
b
9.
b
10. a
Answers will vary.
1.
Appeal to fear
2.
Appeal to authority
3.
Appeal to personal attack
4.
Appeal to ignorance
5.
Appeal to authority
6.
Appeal to pity
7.
Appeal to pity
8.
Appeal to fear
9.
Appeal to ignorance
10. Appeal to personal attack
CHAPTER 12
Thinking Critically, Living Creatively
This chapter can be used to teach and review the following literal and critical comprehension skills:
•
Understanding literary allusions in context: using an encyclopedia
•
•
•
Applying study skills to reading: summarizing
THINKING CRITICALLY, LIVING CREATIVELY IN READING:
OVERVIEW
In this final chapter, Chaffee integrates two essential and interwoven dimensions of the thinking process
with concepts learned in other portions of the text. Throughout the chapter, students recognize that their
daily lives involve many aspects of living creatively—through the choices they make, the career they
pursue and the leisure activities that they enjoy. As they continue their personal exploration of thinking
critically and living creatively, Chaffee provides a formative basis on which students may develop a life
philosophy based on their moral and religious beliefs.
DECIDING ON A CAREER
As most students will agree, deciding on a career is one of the most difficult decisions they face. Part of
the difficulty is lack of self-knowledge about what they are good at. In this section, Chaffee provides
the opportunity for students to engage in career explorations so that they can better understand their
interests and abilities and can also see the widest range of career choices open to them. The activities in
this section are designed to help students develop the thinking abilities, knowledge, and insight they
need to make informed, sensitive decisions about their future. This section provides suggestions for
evaluating areas of interest and finding meaningful work. For many students, the activities that follow
offer the opportunity for personal assessment and creative development. To develop insight, Thinking
Activity 12.1 asks students to think about their career plans. Thinking Activity 12.2 asks students to
describe their dream job. Two richly evocative readings on “Finding Meaning in Work” describe how
vocations as varied as boxer and physicist involve creativity, joy, and meaningfulness.
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
In this section, Chaffee explores the complicated and challenging dimensions of human relationships.
Students come to understand that effective, long-term social connections involve clear, meaningful
communication and to see how negative emotions can result in miscommunications and emotional
difficulties. You may wish to engage students in describing how the pressures of modern life may cause
hostile behavior in people and have a rebound effect on other relationships.
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Chapter 12: Thinking Critically, Living Creatively
THE THINKER’S GUIDE TO HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
In this section, Chaffee discusses a useful approach to building and maintaining healthy relationships.
Point out to students that they have been developing these abilities as they have worked through various
chapters of the book. Encourage students to recognize the following ideas from previous chapters:
establish goals, communicate clearly, view your relationships from all perspectives, build trust through
reason, foster creativity, value freedom and responsibility, and problem-solve. Students are asked to
select an important relationship in their lives that they would like to improve and to use the strategies
they have learned to develop a plan to improve that relationship.
CREATING A LIFE PHILOSOPHY
As a culmination to the text, Chaffee helps students understand the applications of the activities and
decisions they have made throughout the course, and to develop their own guiding principles for
creating a life philosophy. Depending on the sophistication of the group, you may want to set a
philosophical tone with readings and references to classical Greek philosophers, those of the
eighteenth-century French Enlightenment, American thinkers, and Eastern and Judeo-Christian
thinkers. You can also refer students to Chapter 9. After students examine different moral theories that
describe the way people reason and make decisions about moral issues, Thinking Activity 9.3 presents
several situations that ask students to respond with decisions based on moral reasoning, and ultimately
to describe their conclusions about their own moral compass.
READING ACTIVITIES
In addition to the readings and questions in this chapter, these supplementary exercises may help
students review particular reading skills. Each Reading Activity is accompanied by a handout that can
be photocopied and distributed to the class. Assign the reading and then distribute the handout.
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READING ACTIVITY 12.1: LIVING A LIFE PHILOSOPHY
Skills Focus
•
Understanding words in context: using a dictionary to understand word etymology
•
•
Applying study skills to reading materials: summarizing
1.
To help you understand this section, it is helpful to know the etymology, or word history, of the
philosophies and moral theories referred to. Use a dictionary to find the etymology of each word
below. Also, use a combination of context clues and internal clues to increase your understanding
of the words.
Example: philosophy
2.
a.
psychological
b.
conscience
c.
agnostic
d.
pragmatic
e.
theist
f.
hedonist
g.
altruistic
Etymology
Word Meaning
phil = love, sophia = wisdom
love of wisdom, pursuit
of wisdom
Review the moral theories presented in the textbook. For each theory, write a brief definition of its
views and summarize the problem, if any, with its moral reasoning.
a.
Psychological theory of morality
b.
Moral agnostic theory of morality
c.
Pragmatic theory of morality
d.
Theist theory of morality
e.
Hedonist moral theory
f.
Authoritarian moral theory
g.
Altruistic moral theory
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READING ACTIVITY 12.2: “SPELLBOUND BY THE ETERNAL
RIDDLE, SCIENTISTS REVEL IN THEIR CAPTIVITY”
Skills Focus
•
•
•
•
•
1.
To increase your understanding of this article, answer the following questions relating to its
structure:
a.
What is the thesis of this essay?
b.
Where is the thesis located?
c.
Is this essay primarily instructional or is it informational? How can you tell?
d.
Can this article truly be called a process? If not, how would you describe this organizational
pattern?
2.
In your own words, explain what Lightman means by the “paradox of science.”
3.
What are the benefits, as stated by the writer, to leading a creative life? To what experiences are
the act of creativity and the feeling of curiosity compared throughout this essay?
Part Three
Writing
There is a paradox at the heart of much writing pedagogy. Ask most writing teachers if they think they
pay sufficient attention to critical thinking in their classrooms, and the response is likely to vary from
confusion to righteous indignation. Teaching writing is teaching critical thinking, they might reply. At
the same time, if we were to ask our colleagues what they perceive as their students’ most pressing
difficulties in learning to write, the odds are that those difficulties would fall under the heading of
critical thinking. Problems of focus, development, organization, or coherence, to name but a few,
cannot be addressed by a careful editor; they are integral to the thinking process itself and hence to the
writing process as well. Writing teachers demand critical thinking on the part of their students, but there
is sometimes a gap between that expectation and our ability to help students fulfill it. This gap can show
up in destructive ways when we offer our students feedback. For many students, writing is something to
be feared, and when we tell those students that their essays are incoherent or underdeveloped, they are
not likely to ask us to teach them how to cohere or develop their essays. Instead, they are likely to
assume that either our standards are arbitrary or that they are simply “bad writers”; in either case, they
will leave our classrooms disheartened. There is nothing wrong with having high expectations in a
writing classroom, but when those expectations are implicit, they can do more harm than good.
One reason for adopting Thinking Critically in a writing course, then, is to close the gap between our
writing pedagogy and the specific critical thinking skills that we expect from our students. But why use
Thinking Critically when there are dozens of textbooks available that are specifically devoted to
writing? One answer to this question is that Thinking Critically provides detailed and explicit
explanations for many of the thought processes that we expect from our students in a writing course,
while many composition texts place more emphasis on readings and models for students. There is
nothing inherently wrong with this latter approach, but such texts leave themselves open to
misunderstanding. One danger in a writing course is the temptation to “reverse engineer” the writing
process. That is, the problem with presenting an abundance of sample essays is that students will focus
on what the essay is rather than how it was written. The modes of discourse (narration, description,
exposition, and so forth) can provide writing instructors with a means of structuring their writing
course, but it is important to remember that they are artificial. As a writer gains experience and
confidence, separating discourse into discrete categories becomes less and less appropriate. Imagine the
editor of Newsweek telling George Will that this week they need a comparison essay from him! One
example of reverse engineering that is all too common in the writing classroom is the typical student
approach to an essay’s introduction. Students will focus on what the introduction is (the first
paragraph), and extrapolate backward to their own writing processes (“the first paragraph I write must
be the introduction”). This is entirely understandable, however. Often, the sample essays are all that the
student has to work from, and they represent the product of another writer’s process. Students rarely
have the opportunity to learn about writing from these essays in any meaningful way, because they
represent the final stage of that process.
The final draft of an essay makes critical thinking visible in a sense, because it displays the insight, wit,
and wisdom that we associate with a successful critical thinker. In another sense, much of the thinking
that goes into a final draft is hidden; as readers, we never see the false starts, the tinkering, and the
extensive revision that goes into a polished essay. Thinking Critically is a text that focuses less on the
ultimate result of our thinking and writing processes and more on the processes themselves. Even
though it is not a composition text per se, Thinking Critically may be more suitable for a writing
216
classroom than many of the texts that claim composition as their subject. In it, students will encounter
the thought processes that are vital to any successful writer’s repertoire, and, ideally, they will have the
chance to practice (and eventually internalize) those processes before they are graded on their ability to
master them.
Part Three of this Instructor’s Resource Manual offers suggestions for instructors of college
composition courses. All of the suggestions contained herein rest on these assumptions:
1.
Students need clear explanations and multiple examples of the kinds of critical thinking that we
hope to see made visible in their writing.
2.
Students need frequent opportunities to practice critical thinking and writing skills before they are
called on to perform them for a grade.
3.
The writing classroom is a community. Students should learn both how to give and how to receive
constructive feedback.
4.
There is no topic that is inherently important or relevant; such qualities are the consequence of
good writing. Students should be encouraged to find topics that they find meaningful and to write
about them in such a way that they become meaningful to others.
5.
Plenty of ungraded activities are suggested here, but students should receive credit for and
feedback even on the ungraded written work that they do.
6.
Some ungraded writing should lead to carefully revised later drafts that will be graded. Ideally,
students should practice thinking about several possible topics and then be allowed to choose
which to develop, revise, and submit.
7.
Instructional guidelines for composition courses will vary from school to school, and instructors
will need to reflect on how Thinking Critically can best be used to meet such guidelines. All
chapters of Thinking Critically are relevant to the writing process and so can be used in various
orders according to instructors’ methods and course goals.
Part Three of this manual draws connections among the various chapters of Thinking Critically and the
different elements of composition and rhetoric. This introductory section contains a topic overview of
the entire text, brief discussions of collaboration and computers, an overview of the readings
categorized by rhetorical mode, sample syllabi, and a couple of introductory exercises. The numbered
chapters, corresponding to chapters of the textbook, provide an overview of each chapter and a range of
assignments, which are divided into two categories: classroom activities to stimulate discussion and
writing activities to generate possible directions for student essays. These activities can be
supplemented by the Reading Activities, which foster analysis of the readings in each chapter, found in
Part Two of the Instructor’s Resource Manual. All of these activities can help instructors teach students
the critical thinking skills that are essential for successful writing.
TEACHING WRITING/THINKING PROCESSES
Composition and rhetoric have been the subjects of a great deal of research during the last fifty years or
so; many articles and books discuss both theoretical and practical aspects of the teaching of writing. If
you are an experienced instructor, you are probably familiar with much of this scholarship. If you are a
relative newcomer to the discipline, there are now some excellent scholarly anthologies that provide
both a sense of the history of the field as well as the conflicts that have occasionally divided it (for
example, see Victor Villanueva’s Cross-Talk in Comp Theory [1997] or Wiley, Gleason, and Phelps’s
Composition in Four Keys [1995]). They are not substitutes for careful research, but each provides a
nice introduction to the central issues in rhetoric and composition. Another good source for research
into the field of composition is CompPile. This is a extensive up to date database out of Texas A&M
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University specifically for composition and rhetoric instructors. The link to this site is
http://comppile.tamucc.edu/about.htm.
Despite the debates that occasionally occur within rhetoric and composition, there are several concepts
that provide common ground for our field. While scholars often speak of the writing process, it is
generally recognized that there is no single process of writing, that processes vary from writer to writer
and even from task to task for the same writer. Most successful writers have processes that are recursive
rather than linear, and writers are reflective enough to alter that process when the need arises. It is a
truism that multiple drafts will, in nearly every case, improve a piece of writing, and this implies that
two of a writer’s most important resources are time and practice. Successful writers also learn how to
identify the constraints and opportunities presented by a given rhetorical situation, and they are able to
adapt their process to a range of such situations. While some scholars (such as Ann Berthoff) may write
about the relationship between thinking and writing, attempting to articulate it in more detail, there is
no disputing that the relationship exists. And while some composition instructors may hope to teach
thinking indirectly through the teaching of writing, few would argue that the reverse is not possible.
Teaching students to become better thinkers will help them to improve their writing skills.
It would not be unreasonable, therefore, to suggest that Thinking Critically would improve a student’s
writing process even if it weren’t used in a composition course. Using it in such a course, however,
contributes an additional layer of organization to a text that already pertains to writing in a number of
ways. The list below indicates topics in each chapter that relate to the development of good academic
writing. Although each chapter is pertinent to a writing course, Chapters 1 and 12 deserve specific
mention here, because they present ideas that are fundamental to a composition course.
•
Chapter 1 makes the important connection between thinking critically and thinking creatively,
suggesting that students should trust their own creativity and develop habits that nurture it.
•
Chapter 12 provides a sequence that many writers work through when writing an academic essay:
identifying a thesis, conducting research, evaluating sources, and organizing ideas.
Each chapter contains one or more topics that the student writer will find relevant to his or her own
writing process. The topics are merely noted below; each of the chapter overviews that follow in this
Part explains these topics in more detail.
Chapter 1
Thinking Critically
Becoming More Creative
Chapter 2
Carefully Exploring Situations with Questions
Supporting Diverse Perspectives with Reasons and Evidence
Discussing Ideas in an Organized Way
Chapter 3
Solving Complex Problems
Chapter 4
Thinking Critically About Perceptions
Thinking Critically About Inferences and Judgments
Chapter 5
How Reliable Are the Information and the Source?
Chapter 6
Using Language Effectively
Using Language to Clarify Thinking
Using Language to Influence
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Chapter 7
Forming Concepts
Applying Concepts
Defining Concepts
Maps for Writing
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Recognizing Arguments
Evaluating Arguments
Constructing Extended Arguments
Chapter 11
Empirical Generalization
Causal Reasoning
Fallacies (covered in three different sections)
Chapter 12
Thinking Critically and Creatively About Life Choices
COLLABORATION
Collaborative, or cooperative, learning has become a staple of educational philosophy over the last
twenty years or so, and few disciplines practice it in the classroom with more dedication than rhetoric
and composition. In short, collaborative learning relies on the insight that, as Frank Smith writes, “You
learn from the company you keep.” It is the natural outgrowth of the writing-as-process movement,
which has attempted to downplay the amount of emphasis placed upon the final product (and hence the
instructor’s evaluation of it). In the collaborative classroom, students learn to give and receive advice
(as opposed to monologic corrections from the teacher), and if they treat the process seriously, they
become better readers of their own work as they learn to read each other’s. They also learn to address
their work to an audience wider than their instructor, an essential feature of all writing except for a
diary.
As will any pedagogical technique, collaborative learning must be implemented with care and reflection
on the part of the instructor, or it will create more problems in the classroom than it solves. It is
tempting for an instructor to believe that collaborative classrooms require less organization or planning
than a lecture, but this is a misconception. If activities and goals are not well defined in advance,
collaborative learning can devolve into an opportunity for students to talk about their social lives or to
do other classes’ homework. While a certain amount of socializing allows students to grow comfortable
with each other and may make it easier to share work with group mates, there is a fine balance to be
struck between building community and wasting time. A second related danger is the overuse of
collaborative learning. Used too frequently, students may perceive collaborative learning as a means for
the instructor to avoid lecturing, particularly if it is used in the same way every class. On the other
hand, collaborative learning should not be used so sparingly during a semester that students aren’t able
to become comfortable with it. Regular use of collaborative activities can help a class to become a
community. Finally, the instructor should reflect on how much authority she or he is willing to share in
the classroom, for this should have some relationship to the ways collaborative activities are used. If an
instructor tells students to trust their classmates’ advice in peer editing groups, and then penalizes the
student who takes advice with which the instructor disagrees, the entire process of collaboration is
subverted.
Each of these potential shortcomings can be avoided through careful planning and reflective practice.
Avoid using collaboration as an excuse not to plan for a course; students may not notice one or two
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such instances, but it communicates the message that collaboration is for when there’s nothing better to
do. While collaborative learning is a process-oriented activity, it does not hurt to require some sort of
product, even if it is simply to have one member of each group report back to the class what was
discussed. Some sort of product encourages groups to be responsible for their activity. Incorporate the
same sort of variety that you would with any other pedagogical strategy. Even with fairly regular
activities, such as peer editing groups, you can vary the size of groups, ask them to read their work out
loud one time and read each other’s work silently another time. Make sure that you value collaborative
activity in some way, even if it is as a portion of a participation grade. If you do not value it formally, it
is unlikely that students will respect collaborative learning.
There are a number of specific collaborative techniques that can be applied to the composition
classroom. Peer editing, peer critiquing, peer invention, group conferences, and group mini-lessons are
among the possible techniques that can benefit the writing course.
Some instructors use the terms peer critique and peer editing to mean the same thing, but they can be
distinguished from each other in a couple of ways. Editing is typically understood as one of the final
steps in the writing process, and peer editing can be used as a near-final step in the process that a
student essay goes through. Peer editing is appropriate for classes whose grammar and proofreading
skills need work. Ask students to bring multiple copies of their essays and to form into groups. Students
trade drafts, and each reads over the work of group mates, looking for mistakes in structure, diction,
grammar, and so forth. (Each student should be able to read a clean draft for each paper.) While some
instructors may ask their students to read their drafts aloud at this stage, students may unconsciously
correct errors as they read. Unless the group is following along on copies of the draft, reading the
essays aloud may not result in the best possible editing.
Peer critique is a more sophisticated activity, which is most effective in a course where students are
comfortable working with each other and where they have strong analytical and thinking skills.
Emphasis in peer critique should not be on the correction of errors, although this may occur. Instead,
encourage students in peer critique groups to hold discussions with each author about his or her essay
after it has been read aloud, to suggest alternatives and give advice. Each author should be encouraged
to raise questions about her or his work as well. Another option for peer critique is to have each
member of the group, working silently, respond not only to the paper but to previous members’ written
comments as well. This creates a dialogue on the draft that can then be discussed by the group. In the
case of both peer editing and peer critique, it is helpful for the instructor to prepare a page of guidelines,
sample questions, and key issues that each group should focus on with the drafts.
Peer invention is a similar process, but would occur at an earlier point in the process for an essay. Ask
each student to propose a topic for an upcoming paper, and to spend five minutes brainstorming
possible directions for the essay, perhaps even detailing some of the supporting points necessary. Have
the students form groups and ask students to present their ideas and to give feedback on each of the
ideas presented. This activity can help students to get a sense of an assignment by hearing other
students’ takes on it.
These first three activities work best if incorporated into the curriculum with some regularity. As
students begin to learn each other’s interests, strengths, and weaknesses, they become better
collaborators.
Although the practice of individual student-teacher conferences is an established one, students often
come to them prepared to listen to the teacher. One alternative to this is to meet with groups of students
outside class and to conduct the conference as a peer-critique session. Play an active role in the
conference, but encourage the students to answer each other’s questions and to give each other advice.
Model the type of behavior that is expected from the students in classroom collaborative activities.
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It is often necessary to cover grammar or more general writing issues in class, and group mini-lessons
provide an alternative to the lecture. Place students in groups of two or three, and prepare a list of
possible topics (for example, introductions, coherence, sentence variety, comma usage, etc.). Ask them
to choose a topic, and to present a fifteen-minute mini-lesson on that topic at some time during the
semester. Make them responsible for presenting rules (if any) relating to the topic and for preparing
positive and negative examples to the class.
A final type of collaborative activity worth mentioning may or may not be available at your institution.
If your school has a writing center, then it is likely that students will have the opportunity to receive
peer tutoring. While this takes place outside class and works best when it is voluntary on the part of the
student, an instructor can facilitate the process. Students who visit a writing center should have specific
goals in mind when doing so, even if it is just a list of questions about a draft. Peer tutors are normally
experienced writers who have been specifically trained to help students overcome writing problems,
and writing centers can provide a valuable supplement to the composition course.
Many of the activities that follow this section are also designed specifically as collaborative, under the
assumption that class activities can help to build the kinds of community that ground successful peer
activities during the writing process. Thinking Critically often asks students to discuss critical thought
skills in groups as well.
COMPUTERS AND WRITING
In recent years, an entire subdiscipline has emerged within rhetoric and composition to address the
social, cultural, and professional issues concerning the use of computer technology in the writing
classroom. From specific software packages like WebCT and Blackboard to the various platforms (such
as email, newsgroups, bulletin boards, listservs, and virtual environments or MOOs, and wikkis) made
possible by the increased popularity of the Internet, it has become clear that technology plays an
important role in the teaching of writing. In addition to increased professional attention, institutions are
beginning to add computer literacy to their missions of general education. Through word processing,
computers have already affected the writing classroom, making it easier to practice wholesale revision
of drafts and providing a space to test alternatives much later in the writing process than was once
possible. At the same time, computers have made it easier for students to put off their work, to skip the
stage where longhand drafts were transferred (and inevitably edited in the process) to typewriters.
Computers have had an irreversible effect on the writing classroom.
It is neither possible nor practical to ignore the Internet in a writing course. Libraries have converted
their catalogs to Internet-based platforms and provide a vast array of resources that students can access
at any hour and from any computer; news organizations now publish and broadcast online as well as
through traditional media; many professional organizations conduct their business almost exclusively
via email; and the Web development budgets of many corporations (not to mention Internet-native
businesses like Amazon.com) rival their budgets for other media. Web pages, discussion lists, usenet
groups, and wikkis provide the student of writing with a variety of new challenges and contexts.
Although most of the activities presented in Part Three are not explicitly designed for technologically
rich classrooms, many of them can be adapted to such an environment. While instructors must still be
concerned with issues of access on the part of their students, electronic writing environments provide
new opportunities for collaboration. Email discussion lists (listservs) and Web-based discussion forums
(such as Hypernews) provide students with a means of submitting their work both to the instructor and
to their classmates. They also facilitate dialogue outside the classroom and give students a sense of the
wider audience for whom they must write. Websites can be used to demonstrate the basic principles of
visual design. Holding student conferences or peer group sessions on a MOO (such as Diversity
University) allows students to keep transcripts of the advice they receive and an opportunity to reflect
on that advice in less immediate situations. Most colleges and universities now offer online courses as
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well as tools for instructors to create hybrid classes with companion websites that house real-time chat
options as well as discussion groups that run on the same format as a listserve, and file sharing. Because
the world of computer instruction is changing daily, it is difficult to create an up-to-date list of what is
available. One of the best sources for the most current information on composition and computer
instruction in the classroom is the Computers and Composition Journal Online at
http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/virtualc.htm.
The Ninth Edition of Thinking Critically includes many Web-based activities, accessible through the
book’s companion website, that introduce students to evaluating information on the Internet, selfpresentation through email and websites, and viewing real and manipulated images on the Internet.
These activities can be used as homework assignments if your students have access to personal
computers or to a computer lab. They can help interested instructors to incorporate technology into their
writing courses carefully, with an eye toward accomplishing the overall goals of the course. Instructors
should also keep in mind the differences between academic writing and writing on the Internet. For
example, the frequent grammatical differences in email (abundant acronyms, emoticons) and
difficulties with tone may conflict with more traditional essay expectations if the contextual differences
between the formality of an essay and the informality of email are not clearly explained. Conversations
in virtual environments, while providing an interesting alternative to classroom discussions, require a
different set of skills (multitracking versus turntaking) that must be taken into account. Much like
collaborative learning, using technology in the classroom can be a rewarding experience if it is done
with careful planning.
THE READINGS AS RHETORICAL MODELS
Thinking Critically and the readings within it support a wide range of rhetorical modes. While it is not
suggested that a course built around Thinking Critically rely on the rhetorical modes as an explicit
framework, instructors may find the following table useful in designing their syllabi. It categorizes all
of the readings in Thinking Critically according to discursive strategy.
Readings
Organizational Strategy
From The Autobiography of Malcolm X
“Original Spin”
“Jurors Hear the Evidence and Turn It into Stories”
“Judicial Reasoning Is All Too Human”
“Young Hate”
“When Is It Rape?”
Five Accounts of the Assassination of Malcolm X
Accounts of the 9/11 Terror Attacks/Online
“Acquired Knowledge”
“They Shoot Helicopters, Don’t They. How Journalists Spread
Rumors During Katrina”
“Finding and Framing Katrina: the Social Construction of
Disaster”
Seven Accounts of Events at Tiananmen Square
“On Plato’s Cave”
“Was the United States Justified in Dropping Atomic Bombs on
Japan?”
“Jabberwocky”
From Blue Highways
“An Account of Avianca Flight 52”
“Day of Infamy” (companion website)
“Be Ye Men of Valour” (companion website)
Narration
Definition
Causal Analysis
Causal Analysis
Argument/Persuasion
Definition
Description
Description
Narration
Description
Process Analysis
Description
Process Analysis
Argument/Persuasion
Description
Narration
Description
Argument/Persuasion
Argument/Persuasion
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Readings
Organizational Strategy
“Address on Terrorism Before a Joint Meeting of Congress”
(companion website)
Speech, October 2, 2001, by Tony Blair (companion website)
Video Statement, October 7, 2001, by Osama bin Laden
(companion website)
“Sex, Lies and Conversation”
From Femininity
“The Return of Manly Men”
Argument/Persuasion
Argument/Persuasion
Argument/Persuasion
“Identify Yourself: Who’s American?”
“What is Religion?”
“Worried? Us?”
“Drugs” (companion website)
“The Case for Slavery” (companion website)
“U.S. Company Says It Cloned Human Embryo for Cells”
“Even If It Worked, Cloning Wouldn’t Bring Her Back”
“No Fear”
“She’s Not Really Ill . . .”
“‘3 by 5’ Progress Report”
“Study Sets Off Debate over Mammograms’ Value”
“Critical Thinking and Obedience to Authority”
“Pressure to Go Along with Abuse is Strong, but Some Soldiers
Find Strength to Refuse”
“Cut Time”
“Spellbound by the Eternal Riddle, Scientists Revel in Their
Captivity”
Causal Analysis
Definition
Argument/Persuasion,
Definition
Definition
Definition
Process Analysis
Argument/Persuasion
Argument/Persuasion
Description
Argument/Persuasion
Argument/Persuasion
Argument/Persuasion
Argument/Persuasion, Causal
Analysis
Causal Analysis
Description, Causal Analysis
Causal Analysis
Process, Description,
Narration
Definition, Description
SAMPLE SYLLABI WITH A WRITING EMPHASIS
Ten-Week Syllabus
Week 1
Introduction
The writing process: composing
Writing as communication
Writing as thinking
Experiential writing and collaborative learning
Week 2
Prewriting: Chapter 2, “Thinking Critically,” and Chapter 3, “Solving Problems”
Brainstorming, free writing, listing, outlining, journals
Essay assignment 1: College expectations
Peer critique of essay 1
Week 3
Revision of essay 1 due
Read selection from Blue Highways in preparation for essay 2, first in-class essay
Write Essay 2: transformative experience
Week 4
Making transitions from personal to expository writing: Chapter 4, “Perceiving and
Believing”
Assign “Sex, Lies and Conversation”
Week 5
Analyze structure of “Sex, Lies and Conversation”
Essay 3 assigned, to be followed by in-class debate
Week 6
“Sex, Lies and Conversation” debate, analysis of debate, and prewriting,
brainstorming and outlining of essay 3
Week 7
Orient students to library and research techniques for essay 4, the research paper
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Week 8
Chapter 4 section on “Reporting, Inferring, and Judging”
Rough draft of research paper due for peer critique
Evaluation and critique of research papers
Week 9
Research paper due
Preparation for final in-class essay and review of essay
Organization, techniques for revision, and grammar review
Week 10
Final in-class essay
Sixteen-Week Syllabus
Use ten-week syllabus, but change final in-class essay to midterm essay.
Week 11
Continued revision techniques: Chapter 6, “Language and Thought”
Vagueness and ambiguity in language
Suggested themes for essay 5: the language of advertising, poetry or short-story
analysis, political language, gender-based language
Week 12
Relationship of critical thought skills to rhetorical writing strategies: Chapter 8,
“Relating and Organizing”
Week 13
Essay 6, comparison essay assigned
Week 14
Chapter 10, “Constructing Arguments”
Week 15
Argument essay assigned: final in-class essay
Summary and evaluation
Week 16
Chapter 12, “Thinking Critically, Living Creatively”
Final in-class essay
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ACTIVITY: WRITING INVENTORY
A writing inventory asks students to focus on themselves as writers. It is a useful tool to introduce into
a writing class early in the term. Have them answer the following questions:
1.
What are your first memories as a writer? What kinds of writing courses did you have in
elementary school? In secondary school? In college?
2.
What were you taught in these courses? Grammar? Structure? Content?
3.
How were you evaluated? Did you receive grades? Did you receive comments on your writing?
4.
How did you feel when you got a paper back?
5.
How do you prepare for a writing assignment? How much time do you give it? How far ahead of
the due date do you begin?
6.
What is your environment when you write? Do you write in silence, or do you listen to music or
watch television? Do you write alone or with others in the room? What kind of furniture (such as
chair, desk) do you use? How do you get comfortable?
7.
Do you write your first-draft essays by hand, or do you use a word processor or a typewriter?
8.
Do you edit yourself while you write, or do you write while the inspiration lasts and go back and
edit later?
9.
What do you most need to learn about writing?
10. What are your strengths as a writer?
Save the students’ inventories, and compare their attitudes and needs at the end of the term or semester.
ACTIVITY: BRAINSTORMING ABOUT GOOD WRITING
Most students are familiar with the terminology and criteria that instructors use to assess their writing,
but they are not used to thinking about their own writing in those terms. A useful activity for the
beginning of the semester is to ask them to generate (as a class or in groups) a list of those qualities that
they associate with good writing. After listing them on the blackboard or an overhead transparency,
hold a discussion where students prioritize the various criteria, and define some of those terms that they
are likely to encounter in written feedback. Such a discussion provides an excellent introduction to the
vocabulary of the course, and it also can provide instructors with a set of criteria for peer editing as well
as the eventual assessment of student work.
CHAPTER 1
Thinking
OVERVIEW
Chapter 1, “Thinking,” provides an excellent introduction to the thinking process and, in a composition
classroom, can be used effectively to familiarize students with prewriting strategies (freewriting,
brainstorming, heuristics, clustering, etc.). In fact, it is recommended that students be asked to work
through many of the exercises throughout each chapter as a means of prewriting and gathering ideas for
subsequent essays. A particular strength of Chapter 1 is its emphasis on the connections between
personal experience and real-world decisions and issues. Some of these exercises urge students to
pursue such connections.
ASSIGNMENTS
These activities can be used in various ways, depending on course requirements, resources, and goals.
The Classroom Activities are designed to stimulate discussion and to introduce students to the concepts
of a particular chapter and can be adapted to individual, group, or online situations. Writing Activities
range in scope and complexity from prewriting activities to essay assignments. Each of the Writing
Activities is described briefly and then presented on a page that can be removed, copied, and
distributed.
Classroom Activities
1.
Present students with a variety of scenarios, and in each case, ask students to name four persons or
organizations who would think differently about the situation. For example,
a.
A nightclub opens near campus. Examples of answers: students, administrators, the club
owner, and local storeowners.
b.
A city ordinance is passed that bans smoking indoors.
c.
You see a good friend of yours cheating on a test.
d.
You see a perfectly healthy person park in a handicapped parking spot.
Ask students these questions. In each case, do the four viewpoints help us to understand the
information or the situation? Do they help us to make sense of our world and the people in it? Ask
students to explain their answers.
2.
For each situation, ask students to give three reasons or factors that they would consider before
arriving at a decision.
a.
The night before an exam, a friend invites you to go out to a movie. Do you go?
b.
The week before the semester begins, you receive a job offer from a prestigious company in
your field, but they are not willing to wait for you to complete your degree. Do you accept
the offer?
c.
A friend of yours has just decided to buy a computer and asks for your advice. What do you
tell this person?
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3.
Chapter 1: Thinking
Ask students to complete Writing Activity 1.2; then place them in four or five groups. Assign
each group a claim (for example, academic standards for athletes should be stricter, all students
should pass a writing essay exam before graduation, etc.). Ask each group to brainstorm possible
reasons in support of their claim.
Tell each group that they are to imagine themselves as a team of lawyers or advocates for their
issue and to pretend that they will have to argue their case in front of a panel of fellow students.
Tell them that they will have to select five members of the class to serve on this panel. Ask the
students in the class to read the paragraphs that they prepared for Writing Activity 1.2. After the
paragraphs have been read, give each group five to ten minutes to choose their ideal panel, and
ask each group to share their results with the rest of the class.
Writing Activity 1.1
This activity asks students to trace the reasons behind personal opinions or preferences by playing the
child’s game of asking why (presented in “Working Toward Goals”). Hand out Writing Activity 1.1
after they have read this section.
This activity asks students to complete Thinking Activity 1.5, to prioritize the results of that activity,
and then to compose a paragraph based on those priorities. The paragraph that results may serve to
introduce students to each other. Ask them to complete Thinking Activity 1.5 and distribute the handout
for this activity.
Writing Activity 1.3 builds on Thinking Activity 1.3 and requires students to expand that activity into
an essay. Students will be asked to consider decisions that they made in the past that turned out poorly
and to use the approach to decision-making in Chapter 1 to consider where they may have been able to
improve their own approaches. Assign Thinking Activity 1.3, and distribute the handout for this
activity.
Writing Activity 1.4 offers students two essay assignments, a personal narrative or a comparative
analysis of terms, in response to their reading of “Original Spin.” Assign and discuss the reading, and
then distribute the handout for Writing Activity 1.4.
Chapter 1: Thinking
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WRITING ACTIVITY 1.1
Read the section “Working Toward Goals.” This exercise asks you to construct a chain of statements by
beginning with a statement of personal belief or preference and building on it by asking Why? and
answering. Try to answer honestly and thoughtfully, and see if you can create a chain of at least ten
statements. Here are some possible starting places.
a.
_________________________ is one of my favorite movies of all time.
b.
When I need to relax, I will often _________________________.
c.
My favorite subject of study in school is _________________________.
d.
I would drop everything I was doing if I got a phone call from ____________________.
e.
Nothing bothers me more than when someone _________________________.
If you have time, you might try this exercise in the opposite direction as well. Begin with a statement of
general belief (“I need my space,” “I’m a basically trusting person,” etc.), and try to think of times
when that belief influenced your behavior or opinions on something. If the statements in the first part of
this exercise were connected by the word because, the statements in this part would be connected by so
or thus.
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Chapter 1: Thinking
In Thinking Activity 1.5, you created a listing of the various interests in your life, and identified
possible career interests. Take the list that you used for this activity, and review it again, selecting what
you think are the four or five most important aspects of your life or identity.
Just as you must prioritize your time when you attempt to accomplish particular goals, you will often
find yourself prioritizing yourself when it comes to meeting other people. Compose a paragraph of at
least 100 words, but no more than 150, that will serve to introduce you to your classmates. You should
think about how you would rank and connect your interests. For example, what is the first thing you
want someone to know about you? Your instructor may ask you to read this paragraph aloud in class or
to post it to an email discussion list.
Chapter 1: Thinking
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In Thinking Activity 1.3, you analyzed a previous decision of yours that turned out well. This exercise
asks you to consider a decision in your past that did not turn out as well as you had hoped. Choose such
a decision, and reconstruct the experience as specifically as possible. Compare it to the decision process
outlined in Chapter 1, and try to determine where you might have been able to improve that decision.
Answer the questions provided in Step 2 of Thinking Activity 1.3.
Write an essay that addresses this decision, one that considers it in light of what Chapter 1 has to say
about making decisions. Could your life have turned out differently? Was your decision the best you
could have made at the time?
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Chapter 1: Thinking
1.
At one point in the article “Original Spin” the authors write “who has not felt the elation and
surprise that come with the sudden, seemingly inexplicable discovery of a solution to a stubborn
problem?” Write a narrative essay about a creative solution you found to a difficult or tricky
problem. This can include such wide-ranging situations as combining work with school, writing
an essay for English class, finally finding out what was wrong with your car or other piece of
machinery and fixing it, or presenting yourself favorably at a job interview. Consider the authors’
concepts of mindlessness and mindfulness to help describe your experience.
2.
Write a comparative analysis illuminating the terms mindlessness and mindfulness. Use examples
from your own and other people’s experiences to help define and distinguish these concepts from
each other.
CHAPTER 2
Thinking Critically
OVERVIEW
Chapter 2, “Thinking Critically,” gives students opportunities to practice their analytic skills and
discovery techniques. The section “Carefully Exploring Situations with Questions” provides a heuristic
that will help students move beyond the obvious and consider ramifications that produce thoughtful
essays. Sections like “Viewing Situations from Different Perspectives” and “Discussing Ideas in an
Organized Way” help to build abilities that are central to academic writing. The Thinking Passages:
“Judges’ and Jurors’ Reasoning Processes” at the end of the chapter focus on how even supposedly
impartial judges and juries use all-too-human reasoning processes. These essays can be used as the
basis for documented research writing, providing students with experience in citing, summarizing,
quoting, and paraphrasing.
ASSIGNMENTS
distributed.
1.
Place students in groups, and ask each group to choose an issue that provokes some sort of
controversy. Using the heuristic in the chapter section “Carefully Exploring Situations with
Questions,” ask each group to identify at least one question within each category that must be
answered by someone interested in a particular side of the issue. For example, if the issue was
abortion, one question of fact might be “When does life begin?”
After students have shared their questions, discuss whether certain types of questions are more
important for certain issues than others.
2.
Many states have begun to pass legislation attempting to control pornography on the Internet, and
there are frequent proposals in Congress to do the same. Ask students to give five reasons why
there should be a national law restricting or banning pornography on the Internet. Ask students to
brainstorm a list of people who would be likely to support such legislation.
Ask students to complete the same exercise for the opposite side of the issue.
3.
Students should list three reasons for and three against one or more of the following and generate
a list of people who would take each side:
a.
Stricter antismoking legislation
b.
Sex education in schools
c.
Government support for the arts
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d.
An expanded core curriculum
e.
Capital punishment
f.
Spending limits on political campaigns
g.
National security measures (biometric cameras, national I.D. cards)
h.
Bilingual education
Writing Activity 2.1 asks students to write the analysis resulting from the second option in Thinking
Activity 2.2. It emphasizes paragraph division by having students use the categories established in the
activity.
This activity asks students to analyze a set of articles on a topic of current interest and to use the
heuristic in the chapter section “Carefully Exploring Situations with Questions” as a means of
distinguishing among the articles. Students will need to conduct some outside research to complete this
activity.
After reading a section of the text and completing a Thinking Activity, students are asked to plan an
essay answering one of several questions suggested on the handout. As part of that planning, students
are asked to include evidence from at least three of the four kinds suggested in the text: authorities,
references, factual evidence, and personal experience. Finally, they are to find a site on the Web that
addresses their topic and to evaluate it according to its use of varied evidence. Assign the section
“Thinking Independently” and Thinking Activity 2.4, and then distribute the handout for this activity.
Writing Activity 2.4 asks students to consider the verdict they arrived at in Thinking Activity 2.10 and
to consider their decision-making process in light of the information presented in “Jurors Hear the
Evidence and Turn It into Stories” and in “Judicial Reasoning Is All Too Human.” Students should
complete both Thinking Activity 2.10 and the reading before you distribute the handout for this activity.
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Option 2 in Thinking Activity 2.2 asks you to do an in-depth analysis of a website. For this activity, you
should select two websites, and compare them according to the criteria suggested in the Thinking
Activity. You will want to select two sites that attempt to accomplish a similar purpose. For example,
you might select websites for two movies that target different audiences. What would the differences
between the websites tell you about the difference between the movies? Another option would be to
find two sites that are competing for the same audience (such as ESPN and the Sporting News or
Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble). In this case, you might think about how each site attempts to
distinguish itself from the other.
Once you have selected your websites and examined them, compose an essay that explains the
significant similarities and differences that you discovered. Divide the essay into paragraphs according
to the elements that you identify in your analysis, and consider what types of response these sites are
likely to create for their audiences.
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In this activity, you will be using the questions provided in “Carefully Exploring Situations with
Questions” as analytical tools. Many national news magazines (for example, Time, Newsweek, and U.S.
News and World Report) will publish several related articles on the same topic (this is usually the topic
on the cover of a particular issue). One purpose for this is to provide multiple perspectives on the same
issue.
Choose one of these news magazines in which there are at least three related articles on a particular
topic. Using the questions as a guide, attempt to categorize each article according to the types of
questions (fact, interpretation, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and application) it tries to answer. On the
basis of your analysis, compose an essay in which you evaluate the magazine’s coverage of the issue.
You will be demonstrating either that it has presented a well-rounded spread of positions or that it has
left significant perspectives out of its coverage. Use evidence from your analysis to support the
conclusions you reach.
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1.
Read the section “Thinking Independently,” and answer the questions posed by the text.
2.
Read and consider the evaluation questions posed in Thinking Activity 2.4.
3.
Imagine that you will be writing an essay on one of the following topics. In your essay, you will
be asked to include evidence from at least three of the four kinds suggested: authorities,
references, factual evidence, and personal experience. Choose your question, state your thesis, and
write down the types of evidence you would use for each category.
4.
a.
Should prayers be permitted at graduation ceremonies?
b.
Should students be required to pass tests to advance to the next grade level?
c.
Should there be stricter regulations for content on the Internet?
d.
Should lifelong smokers be allowed to sue cigarette manufacturers?
Locate a website on which your issue is addressed in some fashion. Evaluate the site carefully and
critically. (If you cannot locate a website that is relevant to your topic, search for one that is
related.)
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In Thinking Activity 2.10, you were asked to consider your verdict and to justify it on the basis of your
evaluation of the testimony and evidence. Now that you have read “Jurors Hear Evidence and Turn It
into Stories” and “Judicial Reasoning Is All Too Human,” you may realize that our decisions are not
always based on objective criteria. Frequently, we use our own experiences and stories as frameworks
for understanding similar situations.
Compose a narrative essay in which you recount some experience that you’ve had that might have had
some influence on your decision in Thinking Activity 2.10. You should try to choose an experience that
relates to the court case, obviously, but you should not refer to the case explicitly. Practice using the
same sort of implicit thesis statement that Colin Powell employs in the excerpt from his autobiography.
For example, if you decide that the issue of “personal responsibility” is important to the case of Mary
Barnett, your narrative might take as its topic a time in your life when that particular lesson was driven
home for you.
CHAPTER 3
Solving Problems
OVERVIEW
The problem-solving process that students encounter in Chapter 3 is an excellent way to teach the
analytical skills needed for writing well. The Thinking Activities provide excellent writing assignments.
In addition, the change in focus at the end of the chapter from personal to nonpersonal analysis closely
follows the pattern that many researchers on rhetoric recommend.
ASSIGNMENTS
of a particular chapter, and can be adapted to individual, group, or online situations. Writing Activities
distributed.
1.
Bring in an essay that you have copied for distribution to the entire class, or ask students to locate
an essay of their own (perhaps taken from the opinion page of a newspaper), one that proposes a
solution to a particular problem. In addition to providing a heuristic for solving problems, the
method proposed in Chapter 3 can also serve as a structure for discussing potential solutions. Ask
students to divide the essay according to each of the five steps outlined in Chapter 3.
2.
One way of categorizing and accounting for disagreements is to place them on a spectrum made
up of these five steps. For some issues, participants will not even be able to agree on the problem;
in others, they will differ at the level of proposed solution or even the relative success of an
already existing solution. Helping students to articulate these different points of disagreement can
help them become more articulate as they advance their own positions.
3.
Choose a position of general interest to the entire class, and have them take it through the five
steps suggested in Chapter 3. At each step, discuss how someone who was opposed to the position
might argue against it.
Writing Activity 3.1 asks students to identify problems at work, school, and home. Students will later
choose problems from this list to analyze.
In this writing activity, students will select a problem from the list they prepared in Writing Activity 3.1
and compose a paragraph about it. Students will trade problems with a partner, who will read the
paragraph for thoroughness (using the questions in “What Do I Know About the Situation?”) and
suggest potential revisions. Assign the section “What Is the Problem?” and distribute the handout for
Writing Activity 3.2.
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This activity encourages students to consider multiple perspectives in their analysis of a problem. They
will select a problem and brainstorm a list of potential perspectives on it, then choose two such
perspectives and elaborate them in paragraphs. Assign the section “How Can I Define the Problem?”
and distribute the handout for this activity.
Writing Activity 3.4 asks students to compose their own essay based on the information and arguments
found in the thinking passages on “Liberty Versus Security.” Assign these readings, and then distribute
the handout for this activity.
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On a sheet of paper, brainstorm a list of problems that you face now or have faced recently. You may
wish to separate your list into categories, such as work, school, or home. The problems may be minor or
major ones, but try to generate four or five problems for each category.
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1.
Read the section “Step 1: What Is the Problem?” Answer the questions in the text.
2.
Select a problem related to your job or home from the list you made in Writing Activity 3.1.
Compose a paragraph that explains the problem in as detailed a manner as possible. You are
writing this paragraph for someone who will not be familiar with the problem.
3.
Exchange paragraphs with someone else in class. In the section “What Do I Know About the
Situation?” is a list of questions that can be used to elaborate on a problem. Using these questions,
determine if your partner’s paragraph is as detailed as it needs to be. Jot down questions that you
have about the person’s problem, questions whose answers would provide you with a clearer
understanding of the problem. Return the paragraph to its author.
4.
On the basis of the feedback you’ve received on your paragraph, revise it to include the important
additional information and add a last sentence that clearly and specifically states the problem as
you now understand it.
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In some cases, coming to an adequate definition of a problem requires you to consider additional
perspectives beyond your own.
1.
Read the section “How Can I Define the Problem?”
2.
Think of a situation in which the interests of at least two people seem to conflict. You may choose
a situation of your own or select one of the following:
a.
Your next-door neighbors hold a party on the night before you take a test.
b.
Your friend asks you for an old essay so that he can copy it and turn it in.
c.
Your school decides to raise its admissions standards.
d.
Your state cuts its financial aid budget for next year in half.
3.
Brainstorm a list of all the different perspectives from which the situation you’ve chosen might be
considered.
4.
Write a paragraph that describes in detail one of the perspectives you named; then write a second
paragraph that adopts another of the perspectives.
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As the thinking passages on “Social Problems” make apparent, finding the appropriate balance between
personal liberty and public security is not an easy task. After you have read the essays, choose your
position on one of the two major issues: campus policies on racism or date rape laws and definitions.
Use paraphrases and direct quotations from the reading that most closely express your position. In
addition, you should include one or more statements from opposing viewpoints in your essay to
demonstrate that you understand those positions, even though you disagree with them.
CHAPTER 4
OVERVIEW
Chapter 4 is valuable for a writing course that emphasizes the skills of observation and description. It
will help students explore the personal and subjective nature of perception. It alerts students to the
importance of careful observation and reminds them that they must revise their perceptions as they
develop them into pieces of writing. Finally, it provides students with a rationale for the practice and
incorporation of audience analysis into their writing.
ASSIGNMENTS
range in scope and complexity, from prewriting activities to essay assignments. Each of the Writing
distributed.
Classroom Activities 4.1
1.
2.
Students are to list three different people who would have different perceptions about each of the
following people. They should be ready to explain their answers.
a.
Abraham Lincoln
b.
Malcolm X
c.
Gandhi
d.
Madonna
e.
Charles Darwin
f.
Princess Diana
g.
John F. Kennedy
h.
The current U.S. president
Divide the class into two groups based on gender (all the males in one group and the females in
the other). Each group must develop responses to the following situations and then present its
answers to the rest of the class.
a.
Someone whistles at you as you are walking along a street.
b.
Your boss invites you for a drink after work.
c.
You are passed over for a promotion at work.
d.
A group of teenaged boys approaches you on the street at night.
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After each group has presented its responses, interpret its response to each situation. List reasons
why the group feels as it does. Then interpret each response. Are the responses based on
stereotypes? Are there important factors that the answers have overlooked? What kinds of
experiences are likely to influence the responses to such situations?
3.
In this activity, encourage students to examine stereotypes, but take care to do so constructively.
Rather than asking students to respond themselves, ask them to generate a list of typical responses
to the following:
a.
An unmarried older woman
b.
A librarian
c.
A Marine Corps drill sergeant
d.
A computer science major
e.
A motorcycle owner
f.
A member of a fraternity/sorority
g.
An illegal immigrant
Now ask students to imagine how they can think critically about these stereotypes and explain
why they are not always accurate.
Classroom Activities 4.2
1.
Place students in groups, and assign each group a topic of current interest. Each group should
research the topic and bring to class at least three essays or articles about their topic. Ask students
to break each article down into facts, inferences, and judgments. Each group should then speculate
about what additional information might be required to arrive at a conclusion about the particular
issue.
2.
Ask students to do the following:
a.
Report three facts about a course they are taking.
b.
Make three inferences based on these reports.
c.
List three judgments that can be drawn from the data.
This activity asks students to work in groups as they select a place and observe it from different
perspectives. Students will present their observations to the class.
Writing Activity 4.2 asks students to consider the factors in their own lives that might lead other people
to reach stereotypical conclusions about them. Students will also consider one or more times in their life
when they have been stereotyped.
Writing Activity 4.3 asks students to compare the coverage of news events provided by television and
newspapers. Assign Thinking Activity 4.3 and Thinking Activity 4.4, and then distribute this handout.
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Writing Activity 4.4 asks students to practice the technique of defamiliarization as a way of
approaching phenomena in a fresh way.
Writing Activity 4.5 gives students practice in recognizing factual statements and determining their
accuracy. Students are to locate two different essays on a topic of current interest, one taken from news
coverage and the second from an editorial or opinion page of a newspaper. They are then to label the
statements in each as fact, inference, or judgment, and to consider the differences between the two
essays on the basis of this activity. Assign the section “Reporting Factual Information,” and then
distribute the handout for this activity.
Writing Activity 4.6 gives students practice in drawing inferences. Given two situations, students are
asked to write a paragraph explaining the inferences that they draw from the factual observations of one
of the situations. They are then asked to write a second paragraph setting up a situation from which
different inferences can be drawn. Assign “Inferring,” and distribute the handout for Writing Activity
4.6.
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This activity asks you to explore the way that each person brings a different set of lenses to any
situation that demands perception. For this exercise, you will be working in a small group with some of
your classmates. Your group should choose some scene on campus, such as your school’s student
center, a restaurant, and so forth.
Once you have chosen a place, arrange a time when all the members of your group can be there. Each
of you should observe this place for ten minutes, taking notes about what you see. Attempt to be as
faithful as possible to your experience. Then compose a short essay describing your observations, but
do not confer with the other members of your group before you write it.
In the class following your observation, share your essays with the class and discuss the differences
between your accounts. How much of each essay is influenced by the experiences of the person writing
it? Did male students see certain things and female students others?
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1.
Brainstorm a list of your personal qualities, including the clothes you wear, car you drive, music
you listen to, classes you take, and so forth. Choose three of these qualities, which, if they were
perceived in isolation, might lead someone to the wrong conclusion about you.
2.
Compose an essay in which you consider a time when you felt that someone who didn’t know you
well had stereotyped you. What evidence did they act on? How did you clear up the
misunderstanding? Did this experience change the way you presented yourself?
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In this activity, you will be comparing multiple accounts of an event, but this comparison is
complicated by the fact that the accounts are produced for different media. Watch your local television
news, and choose one of its headline stories. Take notes on the way that the story is covered, and pay
particular attention to answering the four questions at the end of Thinking Activity 4.3 and the six
questions at the end of Thinking Activity 4.4 (on the companion website).
The following day, collect as many different newspaper accounts of this story as you can locate. You
might also check the various websites for regional and national news providers. Answer the same four
questions.
Compose an essay comparing the coverage that this event received, paying attention to the ways that
different media are required to adopt different perspectives. Conclude your essay with an evaluation of
the coverage. Which type of coverage seemed most appropriate?
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Your challenge in this activity is to approach something (a place, an object, etc.) in an interesting way.
Select an object or place that most people take for granted, and study it carefully. Compose a short
essay that describes your subject, but attempt to do so in a way that, even though your description is
accurate, your audience will not know what you are describing.
This technique is called defamiliarization, and it can be useful for taking a fresh look at something that
we take for granted. This is an excellent opportunity to be creative. For example, what would a fastfood restaurant look like from the perspective of a hamburger patty? How would an umbrella respond
to a rainy day?
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Read “Reporting Factual Information,” and complete the following exercise:
1.
Locate two newspaper articles on the same event, one from the regular news coverage of the event
and the second from the editorial or opinion page. Mark every sentence in each piece either F
(factual) or NF (not factual). Of the nonfactual statements you find, which of them seems
justifiable? Do certain statements require more information?
2.
Compose a short essay in which you compare the two articles on the basis of the fact/nonfact
analysis you completed in Step 1. We frequently believe that news coverage is objective, while
editorials are always subjective. Does your own investigation prove this to be the case? How do
news reporters include opinions? How closely do editorial writers stick to the facts?
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Read the section “Inferring.”
1.
Choose one of the following situations, and write a paragraph explaining in detail the inferences
that you drew from the factual observations:
a.
You wake up with a start at 1:30 A.M. You thought a noise in the house woke you, but your
spouse has not stirred and you cannot hear any noise from three teenagers who are sleeping
over. The dog is barking, but you cannot see or hear anything further.
b.
It is Friday afternoon. Your boss has been calling each member of the office staff into the
office. After about ten minutes, each person comes out and, without saying a word to
anyone, leaves the office.
2.
Read your paragraph to your group or to the entire class. Did everybody make the same
inferences? If not, can you understand the reasoning others used to arrive at different conclusions?
3.
Write another paragraph setting up a situation from which different inferences can be drawn. Read
it to the group, and discuss the different responses.
CHAPTER 5
OVERVIEW
Chapter 5, “Constructing Knowledge,” is particularly important for reinforcing analytical reading skills,
which are necessary tools as students begin to do research. It also encourages students to be specific in
their own writing, and it should help the composition instructor to build on the issue of audience
awareness.
ASSIGNMENTS
distributed.
1.
2.
Students are to list three different people who would have different perceptions about each of the
following people. They should be ready to explain their answers.
a.
Thomas Jefferson
b.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
c.
Nelson Mandela
d.
Britney Spears
e.
Albert Einstein
f.
Elizabeth Taylor
g.
Bill Clinton
h.
Prince Charles
Divide the class into several small groups and have them decide on a group answer of true or false
for each of the following statements:
a.
I believe that time travel is possible.
b.
I believe that childbirth is painful.
c.
I believe in ghosts.
d.
I believe that 2 + 2 = 4.
After each group has presented its answers, evaluate any differences between the answers. Have
students decide which statements that get a majority of true answers can be changed to “I know...”
statements. Have the class discuss why these statements can be changed to “I know” statements.
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Then discuss the statements that get a variety of answers. List the compelling evidence for or
against changing these statements to “I know” statements. Each statement that the class decides to
leave as an “I believe” statement must be changed to one of the following formats: “My
interpretation of . . . ,” “My evaluation of . . . ,” “My conclusion about . . . ,” or “I predict that…”
(These categories are covered in the “Believing and Perceiving” section of Chapter 4.) To
complete each interpretation, evaluation, conclusion, or prediction, students must give supporting
reasons; for example, “My conclusion about ghosts is that they must exist, because energy has to
go somewhere when a body dies and because paranormal specialists have repeatedly recorded the
presence of ghosts over time.”
Writing Activity 5.1 will turn students’ attention to examining their beliefs by asking them to write
paragraphs about a statement in Thinking Activity 5.1, a belief that is different from one held by their
parents or spouse, or one of several statements in the handout. Assign Thinking Activity 5.1, and
Writing Activity 5.2 asks students to read “Seven Accounts of Events at Tiananmen Square,” found in
Thinking Activity 5.5, and to analyze and synthesize the accounts. Assign the reading, and distribute
the handout for this activity.
This activity asks students to write three advertisements: a promotional ad for a course that they are
now taking, a personal ad describing themselves, and an ad for a commercial product that they use and
enjoy. Students then evaluate each others’ ads on the basis of the Information Evaluation Questions
provided in “How Reliable Are the Information and the Source?”
In Writing Activity 5.4, students choose a belief that they personally hold or may have held at one time
and search for websites that support this belief. Using the evaluation questions they are asked to
evaluate each website according to the quality of the information provided. Assign the sections “Beliefs
Based on Indirect Experience” and “Looking Critically at Evaluating Internet Information,” and
distribute the handout for Writing Activity 5.4.
Reading Activity 5.1
Reading Activity 5.1 asks students to compare the two accounts included in “Was the United States
Justified in Dropping Atomic Bombs on Japan?” and to examine the various types of evidence used to
support each position. Assign the reading and distribute the handout for this activity.
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Choose one of the following assignments:
1.
Choose one of the statements in Thinking Activity 5.1 (or come up with your own belief), and
write a paragraph explaining that belief in detail. Pay careful attention to the language you use in
stating your belief (always, usually, sometimes, rarely, never, etc.) and the explanation that
follows.
2.
Think of a belief that you hold that is different from one that is held by your parents, your spouse,
or a close friend. Write a letter to that person or those people explaining your belief and the
reasons that you hold it.
3.
Choose one of the following stereotypes that you do not believe to be true and write a paragraph
explaining why:
a.
African Americans are better athletes than people from other ethnic backgrounds.
b.
Men are supposed to “bring home the bacon” for their families.
c.
Americans are loud and obnoxious.
d.
There’s something wrong with a person who’s not married by age thirty.
e.
Asian American students are just naturally better students.
f.
People on welfare don’t want to work.
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Read the “Several Accounts of Events at Tiananmen Square, 1989,” from Thinking Activity 5.5.
Compose an essay in which you discuss the differences you see among different accounts of the events.
Based on your reading, what issues are at stake in the accounts? How might the beliefs of the authors
have influenced their recounting of the events? What are the issues that seem to provoke the most
disagreement? Are there questions for which further research seems necessary?
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In this activity, you will be composing a series of advertisements, and while each will differ in certain
ways, you should feel free to complete this assignment creatively, particularly if you have access to a
computer with a scanner. Read the section “How Reliable Are the Information and the Source?” and
complete the following assignments:
1.
Write an advertisement for one of the courses that you are now taking. Depending on the course,
your audience may be other majors in your field or prospective students from throughout the
school.
2.
Compose a personal advertisement for yourself to be submitted to a local singles magazine. You
are only allowed one hundred words, and it is a text-only advertisement.
3.
Write an advertisement for a commercial product that you use and would endorse. Your ad will
appear in a magazine with a general audience and should fit on a single page.
Working in small groups, use the evaluation questions in the section to examine the information
provided in each ad. After you have looked at each other’s ads, answer the following questions for each
of the three assignments. How does the audience of a prospective ad influence its composition? Does
the product advertised make a difference in how it is presented? What kinds of authority are employed
in advertisements of this nature?
259
Review the section “Believing and Knowing,” and complete the following assignment:
For this exercise, you will need to choose a belief that you hold or that you may have held at one time,
such as the following examples:
a.
A social belief about a particular ethnic, racial, or gender group
b.
A scientific belief (including the paranormal)
c.
A belief about a political issue of importance
Your first step in this assignment is to examine your own belief. Is that belief based on direct
experience, indirect experience, or both? Using the questions provided in the “Final Thoughts” section
of Chapter 5, evaluate your belief as objectively as possible. You might also search the Internet for sites
that relate to your belief and apply the evaluation questions in “How Reliable Are the Information and
the Source?” as you examine the site. Compose an essay that recounts this process of self-examination
and concludes with your evaluation of the belief. Has this exercise affected your belief in any way?
Strengthened or weakened it?
Unlike a persuasive essay, in which you are attempting to change someone’s mind, this essay is more
expository. You are being asked to explain your belief rather than assert it.
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READING ACTIVITY 5.1
Read “Was the United States Justified in Dropping Atomic Bombs on Japan?” and answer the
following questions:
1.
Chapter 5 emphasizes the difference between direct and indirect experience. When you read
passages written by historians, what kind of evidence do you expect?
2.
Examine the various sources used by each historian. Are there certain types of evidence that
would seem to be more persuasive than others? For example, what is the difference between
reading a diary entry and reading an official report?
3.
What are the key issues or points of disagreement between the two historians? Is there additional
evidence that would help to resolve these questions?
4.
How much of each position is supported by perception, how much by belief, and how much by
knowledge? Which argument strikes you as the stronger of the two? Do these ratios
(perception/belief/knowledge) affect your choice of the stronger argument?
5.
Does either historian seem to be taking into account the probable belief system of the audience?
CHAPTER 6
OVERVIEW
Chapter 6, “Language and Thought,” introduces students to significant concepts about language. It
moves from abstract ideas, such as language’s symbolic nature, through discussions of semantic,
perceptual, syntactic, and pragmatic meanings to practical analyses of the effects that language choices
have on audiences.
ASSIGNMENTS
distributed.
1.
Ask students to define a symbol and to discuss the different levels of symbolism in our language,
for example, universal (the alphabet), linguistic (a particular language), professional (jargon),
social (slang), interpersonal, and so on. Ask them to consider those times when they consciously
use symbols and to discuss why they do so.
2.
Ask students for examples of symbols that represent the following:
3.
a.
Freedom
b.
Happiness
c.
Danger
d.
Education
e.
Intelligence
f.
Crime
Important aspects in students’ writing ability are word choice and precision. Ask students to
brainstorm situations in which they would need to be as specific as possible in their choice of
words (such as courtroom, hospital) as well as situations in which it might not be advisable to be
precise (such as a movie review that would ruin the ending). Practice converting sentences as a
class from the vague to the specific.
Writing Activity 6.1 asks students to “evolve” some language taken from an older literary text. Assign
the section “The Evolution of Language,” and distribute the handout for this activity.
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Students are asked to choose a place and then to write a paragraph in which they describe the actions of
a person or an animal typical of that place without mentioning the place’s name. Students are asked to
use similes and to make sure that their sentences fit together smoothly. Students will then exchange
papers with a partner to see if that person can guess the place being described.
Writing Activity 6.3 asks students to read Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky,” and to consider how the
meaning within is almost entirely syntactic. It also asks them to rewrite one stanza of “Jabberwocky”
according to their interpretation, and to compose a four-line stanza of poetry that uses nonsense words
and depends on syntactic relationships for meaning. Assign the reading, “Jabberwocky,” and distribute
the handout for Writing Activity 6.3.
Writing Activity 6.4 asks students to review a movie, CD, or live performance for an audience that is
likely to be unfamiliar with the material under review. It encourages students to focus on specific
language and audience awareness.
This activity involves revising a paragraph about the first day of class. Students will be provided with a
paragraph that is vague. They should rewrite it, using details from their imaginations and experiences to
make it more specific without altering the original message of the paragraph. Assign the section
“Improving Vague Language,” and distribute the handout for this activity.
Students are asked to write a paragraph of dialogue using primarily slang words or jargon words.
Students will then exchange paragraphs and write their best interpretation of their partner’s paragraph
using standard language. After partners have discussed their interpretations, they will share some of the
best, funniest, or most indecipherable dialogues with the entire class. You should distribute the handout
after you have reviewed “Using Language in Social Contexts” in class.
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At the beginning of Chapter 6, there are three examples of the Lord’s Prayer and how its language has
evolved over time. For this activity, you will need to find an example of language use that is at least a
couple of hundred years old (you might consider Shakespeare or Chaucer). The passage does not have
to be long (100–150 words).
Copy down this passage, and on the same sheet of paper, rewrite it into contemporary English. You will
want to consider the meaning and tone of the passage you select, for most translations of older authors
retain as much of the original style and language as possible. Some popular examples of this kind of
exercise include the movies Clueless, Cruel Intentions, and The Lion King. Your aim is to keep true to
the spirit of the passage even as you rewrite it.
264
1.
Write three sentences that describe one of the places on the following list. Choose an animal or
person typical of that place. Your three sentences should describe the actions of that animal or
person, using specific verbs and nouns. Do not mention the place by name.
a.
Shopping mall
b.
Favorite park
c.
Favorite trail or walk
d.
Favorite restaurant
e.
Your family kitchen
f.
Student center at your school
2.
Now add words or additional sentences to your paragraph so that the sentences flow together
smoothly. Be sure that you have not mentioned the place by name anywhere.
3.
Exchange your paragraph with someone. As you read over your partner’s paragraph, try to guess
what place she or he is describing. Is the description effective? Are there particular details that
gave away the place? If you couldn’t guess the place, was the description accurate?
265
Read Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” from the text. You will notice that many of the words are
nonsense words—Carroll’s own playful creations—yet you can still get a feeling that the poem makes
sense. We get this sense through the syntactic relationships between the words. Syntactic meaning
depends on what function each word serves in the sentence: content words express the major message
of the sentence, description words elaborate or modify the major message of the sentence, and
connection words join together the phrases that make up the major message of the sentence.
Choose one stanza of “Jabberwocky” to interpret. Copy the stanza and mark each nonsense word as a
content, description, or connection word. Then rewrite the stanza using standard language. Remember
that no interpretation is right or wrong. Concentrate on keeping the syntactical relationship the same,
but interpret the actual words as you will.
After you are done with your interpretation, write your own four-line stanza of nonsense poetry. Follow
the simple rhyme scheme of Carroll’s stanzas: the first and the third lines should rhyme, and the second
and the fourth. Feel free to play with language and create words according to your whim, but also try to
make sense through the syntactic relationships between the words.
266
Read the section on “Improving Vague Language,” and use the questions in Thinking Activity 6.4 as a
guide for this activity.
In this activity, you will be reviewing a cultural text. It may be a book that you have read, a movie or
performance that you have seen, or a recording (CD, tape, record, etc.) that you have heard. Your
review will be targeted at an audience who has not seen, read, or heard the text that you are reviewing.
Your purpose is to try to convince members of your audience that this text would be worth their time.
Compose an essay using your evaluation of the text as your thesis. You will need to provide specific
examples and supporting details to convince your audience. You will also need to give some thought to
establishing your qualifications: Why should your audience trust your judgment in this matter?
267
Review the section on “Improving Vague Language” in Chapter 6 in preparation for this activity.
Rewrite the following paragraph by adding details from your imagination or experience to make it more
specific. You may change words in the paragraph itself, but your rewrite should retain the attitude of
the original.
The First Day of Class
The first day of class is always bad. The students are usually unhappy about coming. New students may
have trouble finding their classes. Some classes are usually cancelled, and students have to add other
classes in their place. There is too much standing in line. Most instructors hand out lots of stuff about
the course. There are always all sorts of rules. All of them say the same things. The time passes slowly
in each class. Finally, however, the day is over, and real classes can begin.
268
Refer to the section on “Using Language in Social Contexts” in Chapter 6 while working on this
activity. Write a paragraph of dialogue using almost entirely slang or jargon words. Slang words are
expressions and terms you use everyday with friends. They can be words that are specific to your group
or words that you have borrowed from popular culture. Jargon words are expressions and technical
terms that you use in professional or special-interest groups. If you have ever been a member of any
club—musical, like the school band; intellectual, like the chess or math club; or social, like a fraternity
or sorority—you have probably used jargon.
After you have written your paragraph, exchange your paper with another student. Write your best
interpretation of his or her dialogue; specify whether the dialogue is jargon, slang, or a mixture of both.
Then discuss your interpretations. Be prepared to share your dialogues and interpretations with the rest
of the class.
CHAPTER 7
OVERVIEW
For composition teachers who use organizational strategies, Chapter 7, “Forming and Applying
Concepts,” is quite useful in teaching students to classify, define, and compare. The readings included
in the chapter effectively model definition and comparison, while the text provides numerous examples
of classification strategies. Insofar as it also works with the general (sign) and the specific (referents),
Chapter 7 provides a nice counterpoint to Chapter 6. Students should be encouraged to range up the
“ladder of abstraction,” when it comes to concept formation, while they move down that same ladder in
terms of linguistic precision.
ASSIGNMENTS
distributed.
1.
Students are often encouraged to use mapping techniques as a form of prewriting, but Chapter 7
introduces the mind map, which is significantly different. Rather than a random set of associations
springing forth from an initial idea, the mind map provides students with a means of spatially
defining concepts. Ask them to review the discussion of mind maps and to review the examples
throughout Chapter 7. Instructors might also call their attention to the first page of each chapter,
which contains a mind map of the material for the chapter.
Ask students to construct their own mind maps for their writing process, using Thinking Activity
7.5 (on the companion website) as a guide. Ask them to focus on the steps they take in writing an
essay, as well as the order and relative importance of those steps. Ask them to construct, as a
class, what they conceive of as an ideal mind map of the writing process. Instructors may wish to
consult the work of Linda Flower and John Hayes for examples.
2.
Divide the students into groups of four or five. Ask them to make a statement suggesting a
concept they think applies to a classmate in their group. Students should base their concept on
some observation they make about the person. Let one member begin, then go around until
everyone has had a turn. For example,
a.
I can tell by your ring that you’re married (concepts: union, loyalty, conformity).
b.
I can tell by your accent that you’re from X.
c.
The cross you are wearing suggests that you are religious.
d.
The fact that you sit in the back of the room means you’re shy.
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Now ask students to assign a concept to each observation. Suggest that students ask their group to
help them out. Then students are to generalize and try to interpret what the concept means. For
instance, the concept behind the first example might be about marriage, conformity, or happiness.
Ask each student to write a definition of the concept that her or his group assigned to her or him
and evaluate the information that led the observer to draw that concept. Is the concept accurate?
Can students think of a concept that would describe their personalities or lifestyles better?
Students are asked to write an essay of classification that contains at least three subgroups. Suggestions
are provided in the handout. Assign the section “The Structure of Concepts,” and then distribute the
handout for this activity.
In this activity, students will read and follow the directions for Thinking Activity 7.3. Then they are
asked to write an essay of definition based on it. Assign Thinking Activity 7.3, and then distribute the
handout for Writing Activity 7.2.
This activity asks students to extend their analysis and understanding of the concepts of masculinity and
femininity. Assign the Thinking Passages on femininity and masculinity, and distribute the handout for
this activity.
Students are asked to write an essay describing their own concepts of religion. Assign the reading
“What Is Religion?” as found on the student website and distribute the handout for Writing Activity
7.4.
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This activity asks you to write an essay of classification, the end result of which should be a concept.
Your concept should include a sign, referents, and properties as discussed in Chapter 7. Begin with
three referents that you believe should be connected, and analyze them according to their properties.
Your initial choice will determine whether you end your essay with a unified concept.
You might choose from the following:
•
Television movies
•
Assignments in college classes
•
Bosses
•
Careers
•
Musical groups
•
Books
272
Read and follow the directions for Thinking Activity 7.3. Using the items listed in Thinking Activity
7.3, write an essay of definition on one of the following topics, or choose your own:
1.
A particular type of television show or movie (e.g., soap opera, sitcom, horror)
2.
A particular style (e.g., punk, slacker)
3.
A particular kind of food (e.g., Mexican, Italian, or Thai)
4.
A slang term that you now use or once used
273
Answer Question 1 or 2.
1.
After reading the sections from Brownmiller’s and Brown’s essays, write a narrative essay in
which you discuss when you first became aware of the importance of the concept of either
masculinity or femininity. Discuss the people and events that were important at that time and how
they led you to your realization of this concept. Also discuss whether other social forces, such as
mass media (including television and movies), religion, or education played a role in teaching
you.
2.
If you have not already done so, read Deborah Tannen’s “Sex, Lies, and Conversation” from the
end of Chapter 6. Observe your friends, or watch a contemporary television show or movie
closely, and take notes in either case. On the basis of what Brown and Brownmiller say, to what
degree do your observations coincide with our culture’s concepts of gender? Write an essay in
which you classify the people or characters in the show that you observed. Is this person or
character typically feminine? Typically masculine? Do your friends’ or the characters’ patterns of
speech seem to fall along traditional lines in terms of gender roles?
274
Read the selection from “What Is Religion?” as found on the student website. Using the Questions for
Analysis as a guide, write an essay in which you describe and evaluate your own concept of religion.
You may also compare your concept to the concepts of your classmates or friends. Conclude by stating
whether you are satisfied with your concept as it now exists.
CHAPTER 8
OVERVIEW
The goal of this chapter is to encourage students to become active in their relationship to the world.
Composing and mapmaking are clearly activities that put the student in control. As the following
section on using Thinking Critically to teach writing suggests, this chapter is central to the process of
learning how to write as well as how to think. Encourage as much writing as possible here, even if only
list and chart making. Have students spend as much time as possible sharing their results with others
who can offer alternative perspectives on how to organize or compose. This is where the developing
thinker/writer must learn that writing is the act of making choices and considering alternatives.
Revision will be more successful if students can see alternative strategies.
The organizing strategies of narrative, process analysis, comparison, and causal analysis are covered,
and the explanation of mind maps is useful as a prewriting strategy. All the Thinking Activities provide
excellent writing suggestions.
Because the text offers so many suggestions, no sequenced writing assignment is provided.
ASSIGNMENTS
distributed.
1.
Place students in groups, and assign each group a topic of current interest. Each group should
research the topic and bring to class at least three essays or articles about their topic. Ask students
to break each article down into facts, inferences, and judgments. Each group should then speculate
about what additional information might be required to arrive at a conclusion about the particular
issue.
2.
Ask students to do the following:
a.
Report three facts about a course they are taking.
b.
Make three inferences based on these reports.
c.
List three judgments that can be drawn from the data.
This activity asks students to write two short essays on college-level writing, one as an essay of
definition and the second as a process essay. It then asks students to reflect on the contexts in which
each type of essay might be more appropriate. Assign “Chronological and Process Relationships,“ and
276
After reading the section “Comparative and Analogical Relationships,” students are asked to write an
essay that draws on one of the two types of relationships, either comparing recent decisions that they
have made or writing an extended analogy. Assign the reading and then distribute the handout for
Writing Activity 8.2.
This activity asks students to apply their knowledge of cause and effect. After reading the section
“Causal Relationships,” they will choose an effect from a list and write an essay that explains the chain
of causes that led to this effect. They will then compose a second essay about the same effect from
another person’s perspective. Assign the reading, and distribute the handout for this activity.
277
Read the section “Chronological and Process Relationships,” and do the following:
1.
You have been asked by a former English teacher to compose two short essays for high school
students who are curious about what college teachers will expect of them. First, you should
compose a short essay of definition that answers the question “What is good writing in college?”
(You may wish to review Chapter 7, concerning the forming of concepts.) Your second essay
should be one that narrates your own writing process.
2.
When you have finished these two essays, consider the relative advantages and disadvantages of
each approach. Which essay is more likely to interest the teacher? Which will the students find
more accessible? In what circumstances would you use a process essay instead of an essay of
definition?
278
Read the section “Comparative and Analogical Relationships” in Thinking Critically. Then choose one
of the following:
1.
A friend of yours is making a decision and has asked for your advice. That decision may be about
where to eat, what movie or concert to see, or what class to take next semester. Write an essay in
which you choose one of these topics, select a few possible alternatives, and ultimately arrive at a
conclusion for your friend. Remember that you will need to generate some criteria to justify your
advice.
2.
Write an analogy on one of the following subjects and then write an essay that explains or extends
it:
a.
Friendship (for instance, “Being friends with Billy is like a game of Russian Roulette.”)
b.
Loyalty
c.
Parents
d.
Hatred
e.
Bad habits
279
Read the section “Causal Relationships,” and complete the following:
1.
2.
Choose one of the following effects; then write an essay that explains the chain of causes that led
to the effect:
a.
Being late to an important activity such as class or a job
b.
Losing a game
c.
Having a disastrous date or party
d.
Failing an exam
Choose a person who was involved in the chain of causes that you describe, and write a second
essay that discusses the chain of events from that person’s perspective. Don’t forget that the effect
may change here (for example, “losing a game” becomes “winning a game” if you write your
second essay from the perspective of the opponent).
CHAPTER 9
OVERVIEW
Chapter 9, “Thinking Critically About Moral Issues,” asks students to look at moral decisions and their
consequences. The work in this chapter will help to enhance the student’s analytical skills as it requires
an honest self-examination of their moral character. This examination will deepen the student’s
understanding of how he or she relates to the larger world as a writer with ethical responsibilities to the
audience.
ASSIGNMENTS
distributed.
1.
Place students in groups. Ask the students to select one of the scenarios from the beginning of the
chapter to discuss.
2.
Ask students to answer the following questions in their discussion:
a.
What moral value is involved in this scenario?
b.
What moral choices can you make when faced with this situation?
c.
What are the positive and negative outcomes for each choice?
d.
Based on the above answers, what is the morally responsible thing to do and why?
Using Thinking Activity 9.1, students are asked to write an essay describing someone they believe to
have an outstanding moral character and explain why. The student is asked to expand on the essay by
conducting an interview with this person concerning their moral beliefs. A discussion of how to write
interview questions and conduct an interview should be done before assigning this paper.
In this Writing Activity, students are asked to describe a past moral dilemma they found themselves in
and then analyze the way that they handled the situation. Finally, after reflecting on the event, the
student is asked to relate how she or he might now handle the situation differently. Because these
papers may deal with very personal subject matter, it is important to remind the students not to write
about something that they would feel uncomfortable sharing with the class.
281
Arrange for the class to see the film Jerry Maguire (1996) either as a group or individually as class time
permits. Ask students to read Thinking Activity 9.7 and write their own moral manifesto like that of
Jerry Maguire, based on the concepts listed in 9.7. Because the subject of this essay asks for a great deal
of personal reflection, some students may be reluctant to participate. The film helps to motivate
discussion and participation. There are several famous manifestoes online that can be shown to students
as examples.
Here are links to a select few.
1.
The Declaration of Independence 1776
http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration.html
2.
The Russell-Einstein Manifesto of 1955
http://www.pugwash.org/about/manifesto.htm
3.
The Port Huron Statement of Students for a Democratic Society, 1962
http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/huron.html
282
Read and complete Thinking Activity 9.1 and complete the following assigment:
1.
Contact the person that you described in Thinking Activity 9.1 and ask if you can conduct an
interview with that person.
2.
Compose a list of questions that ask your subject to reflect on how he or she feels about morality.
Be sure not to ask questions only requiring a yes/no answer or questions that lead the interviewee
to respond in a certain way. For example, do not ask, “Don’t you think that global warming is a
hoax?” Instead reword it so that an answer is not implied in the question, such as “Do you believe
in the concept of global warming?”
3.
Compose a short essay in which you introduce the person that you believe to have an outstanding
moral character, explain why you feel this way, and discuss how this person feels about morality;
add quotes from your interview to help support your descriptions and reasons.
283
Read the section “Your Moral Compass.” Write a short essay on a moral dilemma you have faced in the
past. Select a dilemma that you do not mind sharing with fellow students in group work. Be sure to
include the following items in your paper:
1.
Describe the dilemma.
2.
Explain how you handled the situation originally.
3.
Discuss how you might now react differently to the situation and why.
284
Watch the film Jerry Maguire and read Thinking Activity 9.7. Create a personal manifesto or a
public declaration of your principles and intentions, just as Jerry Maquire did. Describe how you
will cultivate a continued moral growth in your personal, educational, or professional life. Be sure
to consider all of the concepts listed in 9.7 when creating your declaration.
CHAPTER 10
OVERVIEW
For many college writing programs, argument is a central feature. Chapter 10, “Constructing
Arguments,” will provide writing students with much helpful advice. The discussion of cue words in
the section on “Recognizing Arguments” presents a valuable technique, significant to most kinds of
writing, as well as to argument. The material on purposes of arguments and evaluating arguments can
help students to become more mature writers and readers. The section on “Constructing Extended
Arguments” reiterates common principles that are at the heart of composition courses.
ASSIGNMENTS
distributed.
1.
Discuss the exchange of ideas between Caroline and Dennis at the beginning of the chapter. Ask
students to infer what they can about each of the participants, based upon the arguments that each
makes. The conclusions that they reach might provide a starting place for discussions of ethos,
logos, and pathos.
2.
Ask students to come up with examples from their own experience for each of the argumentative
purposes described at the end of the section on “Recognizing Arguments.” You might also ask
them to list as many different venues for argument (courts, legislatures, talk shows, home, etc.) as
they can and then to consider which of these purposes tends to be most appropriate for each
venue.
3.
Ask students to list examples of each of the types of sound and unsound arguments discussed in
“Evaluating Arguments.” Discuss with them the difference between truth and validity in
argumentation.
This activity asks students to construct an argument about drug education or about the possibility that
drug use may diminish if other social problems are relieved. Assign the readings, and then distribute the
This activity focuses on identifying convincing arguments. Students are asked to read two selections on
human cloning and then to write a review of the selection that they think presents a more convincing
argument. Assign the readings “Even If It Worked, Cloning Wouldn’t Bring Her Back” and “No Fear,”
286
and then distribute the handout for Writing Activity 10.2. You may also have students read the Reuters
news report on cloning, “U.S. Company Says It Cloned Human Embryo for Cells,” if they need more
background on biomedical research and cloning.
This activity asks students to write an argument about an issue connected with their major field of
study, with their community, or with their college. Help the students identify their positions and
develop responsible arguments.
287
Read “Drugs” and “The Case for Slavery” (on the companion website). Neither of these arguments
addresses more than the issue of legalizing drugs, but there are many sides to the drug problem and,
correspondingly, more arguments about solving this problem. Review both arguments as writing
samples, and construct an argument based on one of the topics listed below.
1.
Drug education—at home, in the media, in churches and schools—has been a fact of life in the
United States for at least the last decade, and yet our society is still plagued by drug abuse. Are
these programs working? Would our society be better off without them? Would it help to increase
funding to strengthen these messages further? Write an essay that argues one or more of these
points. Offer a solution, as Gore does in his argument, or write an argument expressing
dissatisfaction with a solution, as Rosenthal’s article does.
2.
A case can be made that drug use in itself is not the problem––that the real problem is an
economic and social one and that drug use is only a symptom of underlying conditions such as
unemployment, racial inequality, and the erosion of family values. This argument states that drug
abuse will diminish when these problems are solved. Is this a valid argument? Write your own
essay for or against this position.
288
Read Thomas H. Murray’s “Even If It Worked, Cloning Wouldn’t Bring Her Back” and Richard T.
Hull’s “No Fear.” Compose an essay in which you discuss the argument you found to be most
convincing. Remember to consider both the arguments being made as well as your own ideas when you
determine which is most convincing. If you need more information on biomedical research and human
cloning, read the Reuters news report on cloning, “U.S. Company Says It Cloned Human Embryo for
Cells.”
289
Think about issues connected with your major field of study or a question within your community or a
problem at your college. Decide on one concern about which you have strong convictions. Then write a
short argumentive piece in which you try to bring a specific audience into agreement with your
position. Your audience will obviously depend on the issue you choose as your focus. Be sure that your
essay explicitly reflects the position that you are taking.
On a separate piece of paper, specify the audience you’ve chosen, and also write a paragraph explaining
why you care about this issue. Ask your instructor or your classmates whether you should include either
of these items in your paper.
CHAPTER 11
OVERVIEW
Chapter 11, “Reasoning Critically,” introduces students to some rudiments of theory building and of
logic that are among the foundations of Western culture and, therefore, of college composition courses.
Its emphasis on logical fallacies and, by implication, sound reasoning makes it an excellent chapter to
teach alongside Chapter 10. The concepts and vocabulary in this chapter may be new to students, but
the situations that are represented should not be. Students should be encouraged to translate the ideas in
this chapter into their everyday experience.
ASSIGNMENTS
distributed.
1.
Have students complete Thinking Activity 11.1 in pairs or small groups and report the evaluations
to the class, supporting answers to the questions in the activity with specific citations from the
arguments.
2.
As a class, design a poll as described in Thinking Activity 11.2. Choose an issue that will be
relevant to the class, design the questions, and discuss as a class the potential limits that polling
the student body might produce (for example, regional or cultural biases).
3.
Using the procedure in Classroom Activity 11.1, work through Thinking Activity 11.4.
In this activity, students are given the opportunity to explore stereotypes. They are first asked to choose
a stereotype from a list on the handout. Then, they are given a choice of essay topics regarding the
stereotype they have chosen. Assign the selection “Fallacies of False Generalization,” and distribute the
Students are asked to choose one of the false dilemmas in “Fallacies of False Generalization,” and then
write an essay that explains the dilemma, outlines the consequences if the dilemma is accepted, presents
additional alternatives, and restates the dilemma in a logical form. Assign the section on false
dilemmas, and then distribute the handout for Writing Activity 11.2.
291
This activity focuses on the fallacies discussed in Chapter 11. Students are to write an essay attempting
to incorporate as many fallacies as possible. Several of these essays should be read aloud, with the
audience attempting to spot as many of the fallacies as they can. After students have completed Chapter
11, distribute the handout for this activity.
Writing Activity 11.4 asks students to look closely at advertising. After finding an example of an
advertisement or commercial that depends on a fallacy or fallacies of relevance, students are asked to
write an essay that includes a description of the ad, an analysis of the intended audience, an evaluation
of the probable success of the ad, an analysis of the fallacy, and an analysis of the effects of the fallacy
on the intended audience. Assign “Fallacies of Relevance,” and distribute the handout for Writing
Activity 11.4.
After reading “Critical Thinking and Obedience to Authority” and “Pressure to Go Along with Abuse Is
Strong, but Some Soldiers Find Strength to Refuse,” students will write an essay that synthesizes many
of the elements discussed in this text. Alternatively, students will write an essay on one of five
suggested topics. Assign the reading, and distribute this handout.
292
1.
2.
Read the section “Fallacies of False Generalization.” Select one of the following stereotypes or
another one of your choice:
a.
Men are better drivers than women.
b.
Blondes have more fun.
c.
Boys don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses.
d.
Women are more sensitive and caring than men.
Write one of the following essays about the stereotype that you chose:
a.
Describe the stereotype specifically, giving examples that every reader can understand.
Explain why this stereotype developed.
b.
Explain the stereotype in detail, and then argue that it is false. Support your arguments with
logical reasons and examples.
c.
Define the stereotype carefully and specifically, and then analyze the effects that belief in
that stereotype has on the subject of the stereotype.
293
Choose one of the false dilemmas from “Fallacies of False Generalization” (or select one of your own),
and compose an essay that contains the following elements:
1.
Explanation of the false dilemma
2.
Consequences if the false dilemma is accepted
3.
Additional alternatives that should be considered
4.
Restatement of the dilemma in a logical form
294
Chapter 11 lists a number of fallacies, modes of reasoning that, for one reason or another, are logically
unsound. While most of the writing that you will do in your academic career will be spent avoiding
fallacies, this activity is an opportunity to be a little creative.
Compose an argument in which you use as many of the fallacies in Chapter 11 as you can fit into your
essay. Since you will be intentionally making bad arguments, you may want to choose a topic that is
somewhat outlandish or unbelievable. When you are finished with your essay, read it aloud to your
class or group, and see how many of your fallacies they can spot. Other students in your class will do
the same, and you should practice spotting them yourself.
295
Read the section “Fallacies of Relevance.”
1.
Find an example of an advertisement or television commercial that depends primarily on one or
more of the fallacies of relevance: appeal to authority, pity, fear, ignorance, or personal attack.
2.
Write an essay that includes the following elements:
a.
Description of the ad or commercial so that your reader can picture it
b.
Analysis of the intended audience
c.
Evaluation of the probable success of the ad in reaching its audience
d.
Analysis of the fallacies present
e.
Analysis of the effects of the fallacy on the intended audience
296
Read “Critical Thinking and Obedience to Authority” and “Pressure to Go Along with Abuse Is Strong,
but Some Soldiers Find Strength to Refuse,” and choose one of the following assignments:
1.
2.
Write an evaluation of your course, including the following elements:
a.
The effect of the course on preventing you from being one of the 65 percent in Milgram’s
experiment
b.
The effect of the course on your development of moral responsibility
c.
The effect of the course on your willingness to confront authority
d.
The effect of the course on understanding that you always have a personal choice
Choose one of the following statements, and write an essay that explains your personal
experiences, feelings about the issue, or both:
a.
People must be taught how to confront authority.
b.
People must be trained to expose their thinking to others and to open themselves up to
criticism from their peers as well as from authority.
c.
Students should learn how to use social pressure to support their own values.
d.
People must learn that it is not always evil people who do evil acts.
e.
All those who participate in evil are responsible for their own actions.
CHAPTER 12
OVERVIEW
Chapter 12, “Thinking Critically, Living Creatively,” encourages students to become more creative in
their own lives. It distinguishes between creative and critical thinking, but it reminds students of the
tightly interwoven relationship between the two processes. Narrative and description are often treated
as second-class types of writing (compared to exposition and argument) because they are considered
creative and somehow uncritical. The readings in Chapter 12, by Carlo Rotella and Alan Lightman, can
do much to dispel this notion in the minds of students, who are often taught that creative writing is
something that takes place outside the composition classroom. In each of these essays, the writers
connect work with creativity, vocation, and a sense of self. This chapter stresses the creativity of the
thinking and writing process and the ways in which thinking critically and creatively can lead to
fulfilling work. The chapter also contains a number of Thinking Activities that would make excellent
writing assignments.
ASSIGNMENTS
distributed.
1.
In pairs or small groups, ask students to make two lists on a sheet of paper, one under the heading
“academic writing” and a second under the heading “creative writing.” Ask each group to share its
results, and record them on a blackboard or overhead. Discuss each quality with the idea in mind
that most of them should belong in each.
2.
After completing Thinking Activites 12.1 and 12.2, conduct a discussion about the pressures to
find economically profitable work as opposed to personally satisfying careers. How closely do
students’ academic programs coordinate with their dream jobs? Encourage students to see their
dream jobs as expressions of their creativity as thinkers.
3.
Ask students to share experiences where they were either rewarded or punished for doing
something that they considered creative. Generate a number of experiences and stories for each
category, and ask the class to generalize from the lists. Are there times when creativity is more
likely to be rewarded? Less likely?
Writing Activity 12.1 asks students to consider the meaning of the concept vocation and to think about
what it is in their life experience that has most felt like a calling. Students consider the essays by Carlo
Rotella and Alan Lightman as they use comparison to develop their own definitions of vocation.
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After reading the section “Thinking Critically About Personal Relationships,” students are asked to
compose an essay reflecting on a past relationship in which their behavior was not as creative as it
could have been.
In a class discussion, have students describe their own working environments, whether at their jobs or
in their homes, and assess them according to the creativity the environments express. After the
discussion, have students complete Thinking Activity 12.2 and review the section of “Original Spin” on
“Creating the Right Atmosphere” in Chapter 1, and then distribute the handout for Writing Activity
12.3.
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Write a comparative analysis illuminating the term vocation as you believe it would be defined by
Rotella and Lightman. Use examples from your own and other people’s experiences to help define and
distinguish these concepts from each other.
300
Read the section “Thinking Critically About Personal Relationships,” and reflect on your own
experiences in preparation for this activity. Write an essay detailing a relationship that would have
benefited from the guidelines established in “The Thinker’s Guide to Healthy Relationships.” Explain
how the relationship described might have turned out differently, and be sure to include any lessons that
you learned as a result of your experience.
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In the reading “Original Spin” in Chapter 1, Dormen and Edidin discuss the importance of “Creating
the Right Atmosphere” for creativity to flourish. After completing Thinking Activity 12.2, choose a
place where you do a significant amount of work (a workplace, kitchen, home computer, etc.), and
describe that place in an essay. What elements of that place provide stimulation to your creative
faculties? Are you at your most creative when you are in this place? Are there elements that serve to
restrict your creativity? If you were able to design a place in which you could do your dream job, what
changes would you make?
Part Four
Using Thinking Critically
in Freshman Year
Experience Courses
First-year students arrive at college excited and full of hope, somewhat anxious about the challenges of
college life, and often with little understanding of what the college experience is about. Recognizing
that this condition creates special first-year needs, colleges and universities have created Freshman
Year Experience (FYE) courses designed to help entering students make the transition from high school
or the world of work to college life. The hope of those involved in these efforts to help first-year
students is that the courses will give them a better understanding of the scholarly communities they
have joined and thereby result in higher retention of students.
FYE courses exist in several forms that can be classified into two categories: (1) continued orientation
and (2) academic courses. Most of those that are academic courses focus on either study skills or an
introduction to the values and purposes of higher education, particularly general or liberal education.
John Chaffee’s Thinking Critically can be used in either of these types of academic FYE courses. In the
case of study skills courses, this textbook’s emphasis on critical reading and writing can help students
practice skills that are the keys to academic success in college. By completing the assignments within
the Thinking Activities and Thinking Passages, first-year students practice the very study skills that are
important for effective reading of textbooks, organized and meaningful writing, and careful thinking.
In the case of courses introducing first-year students to the values and purposes of college education,
Thinking Critically focuses on the very foundation of higher education, reflective thinking. The
readings and activities in the textbook reveal to students that the educated person is someone who takes
a disciplined and thoughtful approach to creating meaning from human experience and who, when
faced with important issues and problems, chooses to practice careful reasoning to reach decisions
about these matters.
Thinking Critically is useful for FYE courses for another reason. Many FYE courses are intended to
help first-year students begin to deal with serious issues of campus life. These courses present students
with issues and problems related to sexual behavior, attitudes about sexual orientation, appreciation of
ethnic and cultural diversity, AIDS, freedom of speech, and other significant campus concerns.
Thinking Critically includes Thinking Activities and Thinking Passages that focus on these and other
matters that first-year students must think critically about to achieve personal and academic success.
Chaffee’s textbook is an attempt to weave together three academic disciplines’ theoretical approaches
to thinking: cognitive psychology, linguistics, and philosophy. The first part of the book follows a
sequence of topics that is reminiscent of the stages of cognitive development described in several
prominent psychological theories. Thinking Critically provides readings and activities for students that
help them confront their dualistic and relatively uncritical worldviews. This textbook can thus be used
as a vehicle for helping first-year students come to grips with the cognitive changes that are stimulated
by the college experience.
This textbook additionally helps first-year students understand that careful use of language is the way to
clarify and express thinking, a principle that is essential for academic success. The chapters that deal
with the structure and meaning of language help students understand the complexity of language and
the necessity for careful use of words to avoid confused thinking and communication. The chapters on
analyzing and evaluating arguments introduce first-year students to the idea that argument and
persuasion are fundamental ways that we use language to clarify and present our thinking to others for
306
the purpose of influencing them. In fact, after fist-year students study Thinking Critically, one hopes
that they will see that the college experience is an argument about the educated life.
Instructors who use Thinking Critically in an FYE course may want to read several publications
that deal with the first-year student experience and cognitive development.
Astin, Alexander, Lee Knefelkamp, Arthur Levine, Reginald Wilson, Lee Upcraft, and Peter Scott.
Perspectives on the Freshman Year. Monograph Series Number 2. University of South Carolina:
National Resource Center for The Freshman Year Experience. 1991.
Boyer, Ernest L., Stephen D. Brookfield, Sheila Tobias, William C. Hartel, Stuart L. Smith, and Laura
I. Rendon. Perspectives on the Freshman Year. Vol. 2. Monograph Series Number 8. University of
South Carolina: National Resource Center for the Freshman Year Experience. 1992.
Erickson, Bette LaSere, and Diane Weltner Strommer. Teaching College Freshmen, Revised and
Expanded Edition of Teaching College Freshman. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006.
Pascarella, Ernest T., and Patrick T. Terenzini. How College Affects Students, Findings and Insights
from Twenty Years of Research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.
Pascarella, Ernest T., and Patrick T. Terenzini. How College Affects Students, A Third Decade of
Research. Vol. 2. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2005.
Upcraft, M. Lee, and John N. Gardner. The Freshman Year Experience. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
1989.
Other useful readings on FYE courses can be found in an extensive bibliography published on the
National Resource Center’s website at the following url:
http://www.sc.edu/fye/resources/fyr/bibliography.html#E
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SAMPLE SYLLABI WITH AN FYE EMPHASIS
Southeast Missouri State University
Title of Course: Creative and Critical Thinking
1.
Catalog Description and Credit Hours of Course
An introduction to the dispositions and skills of liberally educated thinkers as described by the
University Studies objectives. 3 credit hours.
2.
Prerequisites
None.
3.
4.
Purposes or Objectives of the Course
a.
To help students understand the value of a liberal education
b.
To introduce students to the University Studies objectives as skills important for liberal
education1
c.
To help students develop the ability to use the resources and services of the library for
becoming effective learners
d.
To acquaint students with the dispositions and skills they must develop to become effective
thinkers
e.
To help students develop a plan for completing their University Studies program
Expectations for Students
Students are expected to participate in all class activities and complete all assignments and
examinations.
5.
Course Outline
a.
UNIT I Introduction to GS101 and University Studies
(1)
The purposes and content of GS101
Introduction to the course syllabus and semester schedule
What should we learn to become educated persons?
(2)
The nine objectives and liberal education
The nine objectives as skills and dispositions of the educated person
Introduction to the student performance objectives
b.
UNIT II Developing the skills and dispositions of effective thinkers
(1)
Introduction to using the library as a learning resource
Introduction to the library’s resources
Learning to locate and gather information—SADIE, indexes, and abstracts
1
University Studies objectives that are emphasized significantly.
308
(2)
Learning about thinking creatively
Skills and dispositions associated with the creative process
Creative thinking and its products
Practicing creative thinking
(3)
Learning about thinking critically
Skills and dispositions characteristic of critical thinkers
Applications of thinking critically (analyzing issues, pursuing goals, solving problems)
Practicing thinking critically
c.
UNIT III Thinking creatively and critically about your college education
(1)
The University Studies Program and its requirements
The themes and structure of the program
The University Studies curriculum
(2)
Planning your University Studies program
Part 2 of Unit III including academic advising for preregistering in courses to be taken
in the next semester.
d.
UNIT IV Practicing the applications of thinking creatively and critically
Instructors choosing learning activities focusing on the application of creative and critical
thinking to topics agreed upon by them and their students, with emphasis on studying the
chosen topics in the context of the nine University Studies objectives
6.
7.
Textbook(s) and other related materials or equipment
a.
Chaffee, John. Thinking Critically. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
b.
Holt, D., N. Baker, C. Begley, J. Eison, J. Gaskins, D. Grebing, and J. Strickland. Writing
Across the Curriculum, a Student Handbook. The Writing Center, Southeast Missouri State
University, 1992.
c.
University Studies Handbook.
Basis for student evaluation
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Class participation
Two essay/short-answer examinations
Reading journal
Short written papers
Other assignments
15 percent
20 percent
10 percent
30–35 percent
20–25 percent
Note: Because instructors of this course are from several academic departments, the syllabus is written
to allow for some variation in the learning activities used in different course sections. Consistency
across sections is based on a set of student performance objectives common to all sections. As a result
of this attempt to permit variation in the way the performance objectives are taught, the syllabus units
necessarily are somewhat general. A sample semester schedule is included with the syllabus as a model
of how an instructor might guide students’ learning of the performance objectives.
GS101 Creative and Critical Thinking
Semester Schedule—Fall
Week
Topic and Assignments
08-25
Topic:
Introduction to the nine objectives and liberal education
Read:
Hinni, John. 1989. What is University Studies and why is it important?
Memos to Students, 1(1): 2–4.
GS101 syllabus and semester schedule
Chapter 1, Thinking Critically (TC)
Writing Across the Curriculum, a Student Manual (WACSM): “Writing
as a process,” (page 2); “Some characteristics of good writing,” (page 6)
Write a short paper about how you decided to attend college.
09-02
Topic:
Basic thinking strategies—solving problems, making goal-oriented
decisions, analyzing issues
Read:
Chapter 1 (TC)
Write:
Write in your reading journal your responses to the chapter’s active
reading assignments
Answer the questions in Thinking Activity 1.2 in Chapter 1 (due 9/10).
Short paper about your goals for your first year (due on 09-04) Follow
instructions in Thinking Activity 1.4.
09-07
Topic:
Components of thinking critically
Read:
Chapter 2 (TC)
“Writing Essay Exams” (WACSM, p. 29)
Write:
Write responses to text exercises (pp. 43–51) in your reading journal
Complete Thinking Activities 2.5 and 2.8 (due 09-09)
SHORT ESSAY EXAM ON 9-11
09-14
Topic:
Solving problems
Read:
Chapter 3 (TC)
Outside reading
Write:
Complete Thinking Activity 3.1 (due 09-14)
309
310
09-21
Topic:
The influence of perception on thinking
Read:
Chapter 4 (TC)
Writing Across the Curriculum, a Student Manual: “Writing as a
process” (page 2), “Some characteristics of good writing” (page 6),
“Grammar and mechanics (page 35), “The Writing Center” (page 57)
09-28
Write:
Complete Thinking Activity 4.5 as a short paper (due 09-30). In your
paper, focus on how one or two major factors (persons, places, events, or
media) have significantly affected your perception of the world. You
must have the first draft of your paper evaluated at the Writing Center.
Topic:
Examining how we form beliefs and construct knowledge
Read:
Chapter 5 (TC)
Outside reading—the war with Iraq
10-05
Write:
Complete Thinking Activity 5.6
Topic:
The relationship of language and thinking
Read:
Chapter 6 (TC)
Outside reading—creative writing
Write:
10-12
Topic:
Using language as a tool
Read:
Chapter 7 (TC)
Outside reading—language and gender issue
Write:
Short paper analyzing the use of language in the outside reading (due 1023)
FALL BREAK FRIDAY, 10-16
10-19
Topic:
The importance of conceptualizing
Read:
Chapter 8 (TC) “Chronological and Process Relationships,”
“Comparative and Analogical Relationships,”and “Causal Relationships”
Write:
10-26
Topic:
The importance of conceptualizing
Read:
Chapter 8 (TC), “Chronological and Process Relationships”
Write:
Write responses to text exercises in your reading journal (due 10-28)
11-02
Topic:
Thinking about moral issues
Read:
Chapter 9 (TC)
Write:
Complete Thinking Activity 9.1 (first draft of short paper due 11-04)
11-09
Topic:
Understanding arguments
Read:
Chapter 11 (TC)
Outside reading—liberal education
Write:
11-16
11-23
Topic:
Thinking creatively and critically about liberal education
Read:
Outside readings—What is college for? (WACSM)
Write:
Short paper analyzing an issue about liberal education and presenting
your position on this issue. You must have the first draft of this paper
edited at the Writing Center.
Topic:
Open—students choose topic
Read:
Write:
FRIDAY, 11-28, THANKSGIVING RECESS
11-30
Topic:
Read:
Write:
12-7
Topic:
Read:
Write:
12-14
Final exam
311
312
Student Skill and Disposition Objectives for GS101 Creative and
Critical Thinking
After successfully completing the course, students will demonstrate progress on the following skills and
dispositions:
1.
Using SADIE, indices, and abstracts to complete a simple literature search
2.
Locating, gathering, and using the various types of media (books, periodicals, and microform)
available in the library
3.
Using informal writing as a method of summarizing what has been learned in a class
4.
Writing in their own words a short summary of an essay or journal article
5.
Using the Writing Center for assistance in revising a short paper
6.
Writing a short (2–3 pages) position paper clearly stating a conclusion and its supporting reasons,
demonstrating good grammar and mechanics and appropriate documentation
7.
Manifesting the characteristics of productive intellectual discussion (i.e., adequate preparation,
careful listening, clarification of what you think you heard, responding directly to the point,
respect for the rights of others, enabling others to participate)
8.
Developing and articulating a coherent argument that logically justifies an opinion or position
9.
Identifying and evaluating the people, media, and personal experiences that have contributed most
to the development of their values and thinking
10. Respecting the right of others to hold views different from their own
11. Understanding the value of examining diverse views of an issue through constructive, charitable
discussion with individuals holding those views
12. Recognizing the importance of reflectively evaluating their own world views
13. Carefully and rationally examining one’s thinking before deciding whether an opinion or idea is
justified
14. Using experience and external evidence to examine ideas and values
15. Willingness to go beyond traditional thinking and cultural constraints to engage in creative and
critical thinking
16. Understanding the importance of intuitive thinking in the process of developing new insights
17. Appreciating and using the creative thinking process
18. Identifying and discussing the values that are the foundation of liberal education as defined by the
nine University Studies objectives
19. Valuing through examination of the concept of liberal education and other topics
20. Understanding the importance of a commitment to lifelong learning as an integral part of liberal
education
21. Articulating precisely several present and several lifelong educational goals
22. Understanding important academic terms, policies, and resources for academic assistance
23. Developing a study plan for completing the University Studies program
24. Using the University Bulletin, the Schedule of Classes, the University Studies Handbook, and the
degree audit to prepare a schedule of classes to take in the semester after completing GS101
CHAPTER 1
Thinking
Chapter 1 introduces students to the idea that effective thinking is a disciplined approach to making
sense out of human experience. This chapter’s emphasis on thinking as clarifying goals, making
decisions that support one’s goals, and thinking creatively, is particularly appropriate for first-year
students. Many first-year students have vague college goals; others have clear but imposed goals that
are not necessarily what the student would choose; a few have self-determined goals. In any case
helping them think carefully about the goals they want to pursue during college––and evaluating
creative risks that will help them expand their sense of what is possible––is an important step on the
journey of becoming a critical thinker. By analyzing and evaluating goals and their sources, students
can develop a sense of ownership of their goals. They can also develop a better sense of the decisions
they will need to make to attain their goals for the semester and for their college years.
The college years are a time of very significant decisions in a student’s life. Yet a methodical,
disciplined approach to making decisions is not automatic for first-year students. The introduction to
deliberate and careful decision-making is very useful for entering students, and thus serious practice
applying the method presented in this chapter to various decisions that are typical in the first year of
college should occur in course assignments.
WORKING TOWARD GOALS
Assign this activity as an informal writing assignment to be done prior to the next class period.
Although students may assume that the goal should be an educational one, an important financial,
personal, or social goal is acceptable.
The key to this activity is classroom discussion of what the students have written. It is helpful to divide
the class into groups of two or three students to share what they have written. After a few minutes of
this small-group activity, reconvene the class and ask students to volunteer to share their statements
with the larger group. Write their goals on the chalkboard or an overhead transparency. To emphasize
that choosing goals modifies our lives, ask each volunteer how choosing this goal made a difference in
her or his life. Following this listing of some of their goals, focus the discussion on the importance of
goals as motivators in our lives.
At an appropriate point in the discussion ask the students to analyze how they developed a strategy for
working toward the goals they wrote about. Some—maybe most—probably did not develop a step-bystep plan for achieving their goals. If this is the case, it is a good opportunity for discussion of the value
of disciplined thinking about how to achieve one’s important goals. Refer the students to the author’s
advice about achieving short-term and long-term goals.
An alternative assignment that is appropriate for a freshman experience course is to have the students
write a short formal paper in which they identify the two most important goals they want to achieve
during the first year or semester and list actions they must take to keep focused on these goals. Firstyear students usually are making so many psychological adjustments and becoming aware of so many
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Chapter 1: Thinking
exciting opportunities on campus that it is easy for them to become overwhelmed and lose sight of their
important goals. Asking students to write a careful analysis of what they want to accomplish in the first
year or semester can help them come to grips with the decisions they must make to permit significant
progress on their goals.
It is important that you emphasize to the students the value of precision in stating their two goals. For
example, students often write something similar to the following: “I want to be happy” or “I want to get
a good GPA.” These are laudable wishes, but it is necessary for students to articulate what they mean
by terms such as happy and good. Only by operationalizing these goals in a more precise way can the
students identify the steps that they must take to achieve their goals. Likewise, students often list steps
that are too imprecise: “I will make new friends” or “I will study hard.” Again, these statements are
directive but imprecise. Encourage students to list specific steps that they need to take to make a new
friend and to define what study hard means in the context of the goal of a good GPA.
It is important for students to examine the origins of their goals. The goals of entering students may not
be wholly their own. This is a significant point for entering first-year students to discuss. Very often
their goals of a college degree and a particular type of job have been imposed on them by parents or
others; or they may have goals imposed on them by family financial conditions. It is important for the
students to consider that, although external imposition of goals can provide strong motivation for the
short term, internally created goals, deliberated on and chosen by the individual, are the better longterm motivators.
Thinking Passage: The Autobiography of Malcolm X
This reading may be used in conjunction with Thinking Activity 1.2. By reading about how Malcolm
X—despite tremendous obstacles—was motivated to define and achieve his goals, students should be
inspired to consider their own goals and find ways to reach them.
For first-year students it is important to discuss the role of self-motivation in Malcolm X’s rise to
success. This discussion can be related to the need for the students to develop their own strong internal
motivations for succeeding academically and in life after college.
Making Decisions
Entering first-year students have enrolled in college after various degrees of reflection. Some enroll
with very little thought and simply because other peers are; some enroll after family discussions
resulting in a parental mandate; some enroll after very careful consideration of the costs and benefits of
the college experience. Often recent graduates from high school have not made a thoughtful decision to
attend college. In contrast, older students, who have responsibilities related to work, family, and
community, usually have had to make difficult, carefully considered decisions to attend college. This
section of Chapter 1 is an opportunity for students to analyze and evaluate how they decided to seek a
college education.
This activity can be focused on decisions the students made that led them to enroll in college or the
decisions that they have had to make since the semester or academic year began. Ask the students to try
and recall what process or factors influenced how they defined the decision that they had to make. How
might the decision have been defined differently if they had used the decision-making method
advocated in the textbook? Was the success of the decision due to careful thought or to luck?
Emphasize the importance of the first step in the method. Students tend to resist putting in the
disciplined thought and effort that is necessary for precisely identifying the decisions they have to
Chapter 1: Thinking
315
make. Prior to having the students complete steps 2 to 5 of the method, it is helpful to ask them to
submit a one-page analysis of the decision they must make. This assignment will permit you to write
comments that help the students develop a more limited and exact statement of the decision.
In their first semester, first-year students must make many decisions about academic and social life. The
career decision activity can easily be adapted for decisions about topics such as alcohol and other drugs,
sexual behavior, time management, or conflict between family responsibility and academic demands.
Thinking Activities 1.5 and 1.6
First-year students may not have a good understanding of their own interests and aptitudes. Traditional
students (eighteen to nineteen years old) may have had parents and other adults tell them what they
should be interested in. Ask the students to consider which activities and interests are truly their own.
Do they want to develop interests that they have not been able to pursue in the past?
To help students complete these activities, again make use of the campus career-counseling services.
Your campus may have a computer application program (for example, SIGI) that helps students identify
their interests and aptitudes. Another possibility is to have students search the World Wide Web for
sites that provide career-counseling information.
Note: Gifted students often have some difficulty with this type of activity. Because they tend to have
many interests and talents, narrowing down their choices can be a struggle.
A few words of caution. Students often have the impression that they need to make a decision about
their major rather early in their college experience. Witness how often they are asked, “What’s your
academic major?” or “What are you going to do after college?” Emphasize to the students that there is
no need to hurry their decisions. They should not feel compelled to choose a major early in their college
experience. Point out that college is a time and place for exploring one’s interests and the various fields
of human activity so that students can find out what interests they want to pursue and develop.
For class discussion of Activity 1.6, try having the students work in small groups to identify abilities
that seem to be common to a variety of important accomplishments. Most often, these lists will not
include mastery of specific content of an academic discipline. Instead, the lists will include various
general intellectual, interpersonal, and motivational factors. This activity gives students an opportunity
to consider the importance of the general or liberal education and cocurricular experiences college
provides for them.
The instructor should be sensitive to the fact that individuals from certain cultures and ethnic
backgrounds have been taught that announcing one’s significant accomplishments is not a positive trait.
For these students it may help to assure them that their written response to the assignment will be kept
private. It would be best to make this an ungraded assignment.
THINKING ACTIVITY 1.8
Creativity is best done, rather than talked about. Ask the students to create a product of the creative
activity that they identify in responding to this Thinking Activity. This product should be brought to
class to permit students to talk about the creative process they used to create it.
First-year students have a unique opportunity to create new personas or to emphasize characteristics
they had to limit at home or in high school. Thus, this activity will have special meaning for the
students. Ask them to write a short paper describing a specific incident when being creative had some
negative social result. Have the students consider what caused people to react negatively to this creative
behavior.
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Chapter 1: Thinking
Have the students try for one week the tactics for eliminating the VOC. Have them report what
differences, if any, they noted about themselves after this week.
This activity will work best if students identify a specific area on which to focus. If students answer too
generally, they will not be able to develop a useful plan for taking a more creative approach to the
identified area. After an area of life has been selected, the students should write a somewhat detailed
plan for how they will cultivate more creativity in that area.
CHAPTER 2
Thinking Critically
The thinking critically activities in Chapter 2 are very pertinent for freshman experience courses. A
difficult transition for any first-year student, but particularly those recently graduated from high school,
is taking control of and responsibility for one’s life. Although there is no stereotypical traditional firstyear student, many have experienced lives controlled by other adults and thus they may have little
experience with real self-control. Older nontraditional first-year students may be in a similar situation
with spouses, children, parents, and bosses who have not permitted them much freedom of choice about
how to live. This chapter therefore is a crucial introduction to the idea that thinking critically requires
independence, initiative, and acceptance of responsibility for the results of one’s decisions.
One might view the four characteristics of thinking actively as
•
Getting involved in campus activities and becoming engaged in the classes one is taking
•
Taking the initiative for making good decisions about managing one’s behavior for success in
college
•
Being persistent in meeting the demands of effective studying and completing class assignments
•
Accepting the academic consequences (good and bad) of one’s behavior
One hopes that students understand that a college education should prepare them for a thoughtful life as
citizens facing many significant civic and moral issues. The Mary Barnett activity helps students
understand how to analyze the components of a complex issue carefully.
After reading the story of Socrates, one of the most famous “expert thinkers,” students are asked to
identify thinkers they admire and to list their traits. This kind of creative visualization can help firstyear students create and emulate an ideal critical thinker. Throughout the course, have them think about
and revise this ideal.
Because first-year students have recently received many brochures, view books, videotapes, and even
computer disks of marketing information from colleges and universities, try having them analyze and
evaluate several that you provide. Your institution may have a videotape or World Wide Web home
page that the students can evaluate.
The incident portrayed here was reported in the national news media. This activity provides a good
opportunity to send first-year students to the library to find newspaper and magazine reports about the
actual incident in Springfield, Missouri. Although reading these news articles is not crucial to the
success of the activity, it can make the situation more real for the students.
An interesting form of this Thinking Activity is to have the students play the key roles in the situation.
It is helpful to have a copy of the play’s script so that the students know more about the content of the
play. Assign the roles in the Springfield incident (but not scripted lines) several class periods before you
318
intend to ask certain students to somewhat extemporaneously act the parts. Students can use the time to
find out a little more about Springfield, Missouri, and the incident and to think about how students in
their assigned roles might act. On the day of the role-playing activity, set up the situation so that those
students selected to play out their roles are in a small discussion group at the front of the room. Ask the
rest of the class to observe quietly as the role-players discuss the controversy. After a few minutes,
permit the observers to question the role-players and thereby practice asking careful questions.
During this role-playing activity, individuals generally become emotionally charged. Because the topic
of AIDS is associated with sexual behavior and because some students may know someone who is HIV
positive or someone who has died from AIDS-related complications, at some point in the discussion the
students’ comments will probably move energetically away from careful questioning to irrational
statements. When this happens, gently remind the students that the importance of the activity is to
practice careful questioning.
After the discussion, ask the students to analyze and evaluate it. You can use the opportunity to
compare the effectiveness of periods of careful questioning with any periods of emotional outbursts.
Ask them to consider how the practice of asking questions led them to decide what course of action
should be taken.
This section of the chapter can be very useful in the context of a freshman experience course. Although
there is no stereotypical first-year student, many first-year students view important aspects of their lives
from the dualistic perspective described by Perry or the quiet stage described in the book Women’s
Ways of Knowing. Many first-year students hold beliefs mainly on the basis of spoken and written
authorities. Their lives have been directed mainly by deferring to what others have told them is the
correct set of values and behaviors. In fact, because asking them to analyze and evaluate sources of
specific beliefs challenges the trustworthiness of important people and writings in their lives, this
activity can be somewhat threatening. Although one wants to cause students some discomfort about the
veracity of their beliefs, it takes some calculated caution to avoid causing students to foreclose their
views to protect themselves from anxiety.
In the analysis and discussion of the students’ beliefs, it is important to focus on the process of
analyzing the sources rather than trying to judge or reach agreement about the beliefs. (Agreement is
impossible to achieve in a class period anyway, especially regarding the existence of God or the moral
judgment of abortion.)
In the section “Thinking Independently,” Chaffee warns students that “thinking for yourself doesn’t
always mean doing exactly what you want to.” Young first-year students recently graduated from high
school do not always see the wisdom of this. In their pursuit of independence, they can forget that two
components of thinking critically are analyzing the costs and benefits of decisions and accepting the
consequences of actions. It is worth discussing with the class the balance of individualism and
community welfare. This can be done, for example, with regard to student behavior in residence halls
and disruptive behavior in the classroom.
Assign this as a one- or two-page paper. After the students have completed their papers, devote a class
period to discussing them. Divide the class into small groups for initial discussion. Direct the students
to compare the bases for their own and differing beliefs. After concluding the small-group discussions,
reconvene the class and discuss the value of considering other points of view and their underlying
bases.
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The following modification of this activity more closely fits a freshman experience course:
Describe a belief that you feel strongly about that has been challenged by your recent experiences
in college. Identify the reasons you have held this belief and explain why your college experience
is challenging this belief. The student essay “A Belief That I Feel Strongly About” by Olivia
Heredia is actually about an experience that changed a deeply held conviction and thus supports
this modified assignment.
Many first-year experience courses include a focus on developing an understanding of diverse
viewpoints and behavior that emerge from the various cultural backgrounds of students. This section of
Chapter 2 helps students grasp the importance of viewing issues from multiple perspectives, and thus it
can serve the objective of seeing situations from more than one cultural perspective.
An interesting reading regarding differences between cultural perspectives is the following account of
an anthropologist’s interaction with members of an African culture about the story of Hamlet:
Bohannan, Laura. “Shakespeare in the Bush.” In Crossing Cultures: Readings for Composition, ed.
Henry Knepler and Myrna Knepler, 197-206. New York: Macmillan, 197-206.
This activity can be used to foster a sense of community among first-year students. It can also give
them practice with presentation skills if you assign it as a group project and presentation.
Divide students into three or four groups and have each group choose an historic or contemporary wellknown person. The first in-class task will be for each group to identify and list different perspectives
from which the person can be viewed. Read to them the example given in the textbook—Oprah
Winfrey as pop culture icon, black activist, cult leader, feminist, wealthy celebrity, self-help guru,
actress, nutrition and fashion authority, political liberal—and any others you want to include. (You can
also choose from the well-known figures listed in Part Three of this manual, under the Classroom
Activities for Chapters 4 and 5.) Each group should then choose two of their listed perspectives and
research them outside class.
The second in-class task will be for each group to discover, through an investigative analysis, the
interactive relationship between the two perspectives, the basis of their interaction, and the ways that
each perspective supports the other. Have each group write a conclusion summarizing their findings and
present it to the class.
In completing this activity, students may list reasons for the claims that differ from the position they
hold but not really see the legitimacy of these reasons. During class discussion of the diverse positions
on the issues, it is important for the students to talk about why their less preferred positions may be
reasonable arguments. Students should also understand that perspectives other than the stated opposing
claims are possible for each issue. Otherwise, students might erroneously conclude that issues are
always win-lose dichotomies.
If this activity is to serve as the basis of class discussion, it is best completed by dividing the class into
groups of three to five students and assigning one passage to each group. This activity can also be
completed outside the class period, and the skills applied to the following passage:
Freshmen should be required to attend classes. They usually are very naive about what it takes to
be academically successful in college and need guidance about the importance of class attendance
for achieving good grades. All too often they are distracted by their new-found freedom and the
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many social aspects of campus life, easily convincing themselves that skipping classes is not a
grave error. Then, at about the fourth to sixth week of the fall semester, freshmen realize how far
behind they are in their classes but cannot effectively catch up on the material that has been
covered.
Colleges have a responsibility to help freshmen make a successful transition to college life and
know that this success depends partly on regular class attendance. When a college does not
require freshmen to attend classes, it wrongly sends the message that skipping classes is
acceptable behavior. That message seems to be in direct conflict with the basic academic values of
a college community and is damaging to many freshmen.
To tailor the activity to first-year student life, one can use the following issues:
•
Should first-year students be required to attend classes?
•
Should college students be required to undergo periodic HIV blood tests?
•
Should traditional grades be eliminated for first-semester, first-year students in favor of pass/fail
grades?
•
Should campus parking policy provide the most convenient parking spaces for faculty and staff or
for students, who are the customers of the college?
•
Should first-year resident students all live together in several designated residence halls?
Students typically view discussion of an issue as a chance to champion their side of an issue. They need
to be reminded that the objective of these dialogue exercises is to practice analyzing an issue through
scripted discussion designed to clarify claims and their supporting reasons. Encourage the students to
see their role in a discussion as helping themselves and others articulate and clarify their positions.
It is possible to combine Thinking Activity 2.9 and the Thinking Passages about liberty versus security.
Have students read the passages and script a discussion between the authors. These scripts can serve as
preparation for a class discussion of the issue.
A useful associated library assignment is to have the students search for newspaper reports or opinion
columns about the recent controversy surrounding civil liberties and the need for heightened security
after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
After students write their papers, have them read more about the Mary Barnett case in the following
magazine article:
Ball, Aimee Lee. “The Cradle Will Fall.” Mademoiselle, 1990, 184–187, 205–206 (included in Part
One of this manual).
The additional information in this article should enhance class discussion of the Thinking Passages
“Jurors Hear the Evidence and Turn It into Stories” and “Judicial Reasoning Is All Too Human.” In the
subsequent class period, complete a class discussion based on the Questions for Analysis that follow the
passages.
CHAPTER 3
Solving Problems
INTRODUCTION TO SOLVING PROBLEMS
In the problem-solving procedure presented here, it is useful to emphasize that how one defines the
problem may be the most significant step. As Chaffee points out, one’s description of the problem
imposes limits on the types of solutions that will be considered. Ask the students to develop five
different definitions of the same problem in first-year student life. The following two situations are
possible springboards for this exercise:
•
Tom Harden, an eighteen-year-old student from a small town, and Samuel Chung, an eighteenyear-old student from a large city, are roommates. Tom’s father is a high school teacher, and his
mother owns a small realty business. Sam’s father owns a business equipment and supplies
company; his mother is a full-time homemaker.
After several weeks of living together, Tom’s side of the room is very neat; Sam’s is piled with
books, papers, and clothing, and his bicycle leans against the wall. Furthermore, Tom has been
very disciplined about studying in the evening, whereas Sam is not around much and often comes
in after midnight. The two finally had a loud argument, and Tom told Sam that he was
irresponsible, was messy, and should move out. Sam shouted that Tom was the one who should
move and that he should lighten up and have a little fun.
•
Sandra is a thirty-three-year-old woman with a husband, a ten-year-old son, and an eight-year-old
daughter. She recently enrolled for the first time in two college classes. Although very busy with
family responsibilities, Sandra has been able to maintain grades of a C and a B in her two classes.
Within the last few weeks, her husband has complained that the children miss her and that he
would like to spend more time with her in the evenings and on the weekends. Sandra explained
that she just cannot afford to let her grades decline, and thus she must study during evenings and
on part of the weekends. Her husband said he understood, but the situation has continued to be a
source of family tension.
If this activity is used as written in the textbook, focus it on describing a problem associated with
starting college that the student has had to solve in the first few weeks of the semester. Most first-year
students will identify problems of working with the campus bureaucracy, leaving behind old friends and
making new ones, dealing with homesickness, adjusting to life with a roommate, or meeting the
academic demands of college classes. This is a good opportunity to develop some rapport among class
members by having them share their problems in small groups. The students will find their problems,
which they thought were unique, are shared by others in the class.
First-year students can be reluctant to reveal a substantial problem. They are new to campus, are trying
to establish an identity, and probably will not want to inform classroom peers of significant problems. It
may be more productive to have them seek fresh perspectives from one or two close friends and write
their paper as an ungraded assignment to which you respond with advice about defining the problem
and generating possible solutions. Because freshman experience course instructors often act as mentors
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for the students in their course section, you can use this activity as an opportunity to establish rapport
with the students and help them make a successful transition to college life. Instructors may read words
of caution about having students write about and share their personal lives in an article published in the
Chronicle of Higher Education:
Swartzlander, Susan, Diana Pace, and Virginia Lee Stamler. “The Ethics of Requiring Students to Write
About Their Personal Lives.” Chronicle of Higher Education 17 (February 1993): B1–B2.
Each of the problems described in this Thinking Activity is commonly faced by first-year students.
Divide the class into small groups and assign one problem to each group. Have each group turn in a
written analysis of the problem or appoint a group reporter who will inform the rest of the class of the
group’s work at the end of the class period.
This activity works well when presented in the following way: Inform the students that they will be
working on a real problem in student life on campus (for example, the parking problem, child-care
needs, campus food quality) and will generate a report to be sent to the appropriate college
administrator or governing body. (It’s best to forewarn the recipient.) Have the students find out as
much as they can about the situation by interviewing people involved with the issue and reading any
campus documents that may relate to the matter. Once the class has accumulated sufficient information
for working on the problem, ask the students to write definitions of the problem and bring them to class
for discussion. Use the next class period to formulate several definitions that the class agrees are most
appropriate. Then have the students brainstorm possible solutions to the problems. Guide the class in
choosing several solutions that will be developed through steps 3 to 5 of the problem-solving
procedure. Divide the class into several groups, assign one of the chosen solutions to each group, and
instruct the groups to write responses to questions under steps 3 to 5. (For step 5, have them identify
measures that could be used to assess the effectiveness of each proposed solution.) Coalesce the groups’
work into a short report to be submitted to the selected administrator or governing group and be sure to
ask for a reply.
One benefit of this assignment is that it helps students develop a sense of membership in the campus
community and responsibility for its well-being. The students may be pleasantly surprised by a written
reply from or visit to the class by the administrator or a representative of the governing group.
Thinking Passages: Liberty Versus Security
The topics in this reading generate rather strong reactions from first-year students. Consequently, the
instructor should have a detailed plan for class discussion of the issues raised in the articles. Inform the
students of this plan and insist on following the principles of an organized discussion as developed in
Chapter 2 of the textbook. Asking the students to write informally about their analysis of the issues,
reactions to the events, and possible responses to the issues before discussing these matters in class
gives them time to gather their thoughts and temper any emotional reactions. When the discussion gets
too heated, call a time out and ask the students to take a few moments and analyze what was happening
in the discussion. This break almost always results in a return to more rational discussion.
CHAPTER 4
This chapter covers a very broad range of experience. It begins with activities that focus on analyzing
the reception and organization of mainly visual stimuli into meaningful patterns and ends with activities
and readings that examine the differences between factual information, inferences, and judgments. The
chapter is particularly appropriate for introducing first-year students to some of the issues associated
with the analysis of media sources.
Most first-year students assume that their perceptions are an accurate, photograph-like facsimile of an
objective reality. In short, they think they are right (or at least they think those who are authorities in
their lives are right). A result of this condition is that they often presume that others must have these
same or very similar facsimiles of reality. This chapter is an opportunity for the students to delve into
the subjective nature of experience and the consequent necessity of careful analysis and evaluation of
one’s perceptions.
THINKING ACTIVITIES 4.1
The students obviously will generate different stories about the boy at the desk and the people in the
photograph on the companion website. These stories can be the basis for discussing what factors
predispose individuals to perceive situations differently. It is useful as well to talk about how, if the
students really encountered this situation, their different perceptions would lead them to different
behaviors. After completing the exercise, students should understand better that learning to analyze
carefully the factors that predispose them to certain perceptions is an important step in expanding their
world view.
First-year students might enjoy completing this activity on their own and then comparing their
prescriptions with those of other students. You can also divide students into small groups to discuss the
variations in their perceiving “lenses” and then match students to groups with similar viewpoints.
Finally, have a group-versus-group discussion about conflicting perspectives. Use this activity as an
opportunity to introduce students to tactful debate and discussion skills. Because the debate takes place
within groups, students with little or no debating or presentation experience can develop their skills in a
nonthreatening atmosphere.
Despite publicity about Malcolm X, some first-year students are only superficially familiar with his life.
Others may claim to know quite a bit about him, but in reality their knowledge of him is a mixture of
truth and myth. If the students know little about Malcolm X, the instructor may have to provide a
biographical sketch of Malcolm X’s life. To put the excerpts of the news media accounts of Malcolm
X’s death in context, it is helpful to direct the students to readings that summarize his life or to spend
part of a class period discussing some of the significant details of his life.
The commercial film about the life of Malcolm X resulted in a number of opinions about the accuracy
of the film account and other biographies of this leader’s life. Various film reviewers and commentators
wrote about the difficulty of sorting myth from reality in determining which perception of Malcolm X
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is most accurate. Having students complete a library and online search for newspaper and news
magazine articles and columns about this controversy is an excellent assignment to use for class
discussion about the challenges of carefully evaluating our perceptions of people. This activity then can
serve the dual roles of analyzing perceptions and learning to use the library.
•
The 1992 video “Malcolm X: Militant Black Leader” is available from Schlessinger Video
Productions of Bala Cynwyd, PA.
•
The 1986 publication Malcolm X: A Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography is available from
Garland Publishers of New York.
•
If the students have access to the World Wide Web, have them complete a search for information
about the assassination of Malcolm X. Several websites deal with this topic.
This activity is located on the companion website. All students have been affected in some way by the
September 11 terrorist attacks and therefore have a story to tell. Many first-year students will not be
comfortable, however, sharing such personal and emotionally intense experiences with the class. Before
they read the accounts of the attacks, ask students to write individually their thoughts on the attacks.
After the students have read the accounts, have them answer the Questions for Analysis in small
groups. Finally, discuss each group’s answers as a class. At this point, if students want to share their
personal experiences with the rest of the class, let them know that they are welcome to do so.
Use this as a short formal writing assignment in which students analyze a change in perception that has
occurred since beginning college. This change might be related to racial or ethnic groups, gender,
sexual orientation, faculty members, family members, or roommates. It is important to emphasize the
specific reasons or evidence that triggered the change. This emphasis will help the students realize the
importance of testing perceptions rather than jumping to conclusions and leads nicely into the content
on the textbook pages following this activity.
To complete this activity, divide the class into small groups and ask the students to identify perceptions
and beliefs that they held on entering college but that they changed after some experience in the college
setting. It is important to focus their discussion on question 2, which asks that the students consider how
perceptions formed their beliefs.
For students living in residence halls, perceptions and beliefs about roommates and the diversity of
people living in the halls are a good source for this activity. Another source is perceptions about faculty
and themselves and how these influence what they believe their college experience will be like. For
example, nontraditional first-year students, who have entered college several years after graduating
from high school, often believe strongly that they are at a significant disadvantage because they have
not been in an academic setting for quite some time. This belief usually is based on their perceptions of
how they performed in high school and an inaccurate model of traditional fist-year students as having
greater motivation and better study skills.
Students have the most difficulty differentiating between reporting observations and drawing inferences
from those observations. Admittedly, the difference is sometimes small (but significant). For example,
if one examines a photograph that looks like a bird sitting on a limb, students may state as an
observation, “There is a bird perched on a limb.” In fact, that statement is an inference because the
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object may not be an actual bird but a model of a bird. In this example, the difference seems trivial but,
of course, in other more serious circumstances (e.g., a court case or an accusation of plagiarism or
cheating on a test), it is extremely important.
Ask the students to listen to the evening television news or read the campus newspaper and write an
analysis of reporters’ comments, identifying them as reports, inferences, and judgments. Ask the
students to bring their written analysis to the next class period for discussion.
To tailor this activity to issues important in higher education, provide an article about college life. The
“Point of View” commentary page of the Chronicle of Higher Education is a good source of such
articles. For example, the following articles were published in past volumes of the Chronicle:
Broaddus, William G. “Is the VMI Decision an Omen or an Aberration?” Commentary. Chronicle of
Higher Education 12 (July 1996): A48.
Detweiler, Richard A. “Democracy and Decency on the Internet.” Commentary. Chronicle of Higher
Education 12 (July 1996): A40.
Greenberger, Marcia D., and Deborah L. Brake. “The VMI Decision: Shattering Sexual Stereotypes.”
Commentary. Chronicle of Higher Education 5 (July 1996): A52.
Although popular culture provides countless examples of this kind of visual manipulation, a good
research project would be for students to consider less entertaining, more subversive, or deliberately
misleading examples of visual manipulation. Place examples of such manipulation along a continuum,
from the entertaining or harmless to the most vicious or falsifying. For example, during the same week
in June 1994 both Time and Newsweek carried a police mug shot of accused murderer O.J. Simpson on
their covers. Time, however, digitally manipulated the photograph to make Simpson’s skin appear
several shades darker. Many readers and critics found this to be an outrageous manipulation of racist
fears.
Restate the first sentence of this assignment as, “Describe an experience during the first four weeks of
your first semester at college in which you made an incorrect inference that resulted in serious
consequences.”
If you want the students to be very straightforward in completing this activity, make the assignment a
short informal paper. Assure the students that what they write will remain confidential unless they wish
to discuss the experiences in class.
Remind students that erroneous inferences are often the result of not critically evaluating the
perceptions and beliefs that influence how we process the information that is the basis of our inferences.
Students will have some difficulty differentiating criteria from reasons and evidence. For example, in
the first passage, the claim or judgment is “pizza is not junk food.” The criterion for determining
whether a food item is junk is that food “fulfills our basic nutritional requirements.” Students may
consider the statement containing this phrase a reason, but it is a general statement of a standard. The
reasons or evidence are stated in the last sentence.
The second passage is more difficult because the judgment is implicit in the two questions asked in the
last two sentences. Presumably, the author wants the reader to answer, “No hope for international
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relations; no hope for the future. Thus, the United States has a moral responsibility to feed the
starving.” Therefore, we must sacrifice and do what it takes to make more food available to starving
people. The criterion for moral responsibility seems to be the degree of affluence one nation has relative
to other nations. The main reason or evidence the author cites is that the people of the United States
apply 3.5 million tons of fertilizer to golf courses and lawns. This recreational use of fertilizer that
could be used to grow food is presented as a measure of considerable affluence.
Thinking Passage: “Experience Shapes Your Perceptions”
Ask students to think about a time when their perceptions were strengthened or changed by an event in
their lives. Then ask them to share these experiences with each other and discuss how a college
education will help them to further develop their perceptions of the world and how it is important to test
our perceptions for validity at times.
Thinking Passage: Perception and Reality on Reporting Katrina
These passages and the questions following them give first-year students a chance to practice their
critical thinking skills on emotionally stirring events and how these events can affect people’s
judgment. This will also give the students a chance to examine the widely held belief that everything
reported on the news is true. Before the students read the passages, answer and discuss as a class the
following questions adapted from the textbook:
•
Major Ed Bush felt that the rumors had been dispelled concerning the faulty reporting on Katrina;
however, many people in America and around the world still believe that the citizens of New
Orleans shot at rescue helicopters. How can media outlets do a better job of correcting their
misinformation once the public has heard an erroneous report, or is that possible. Why does the
public’s tendency to believe everything reported in the news media as true hinder this effort?
•
Which of the “lenses” you explored in this chapter seems to have the greatest influence on how
you view the world around you? How did this lens affect your judgment of the news concerning
New Orleans’s supposed chaos?
•
Can you think of other news stories before or since Katrina where confusion between reports,
inferences, and judgments led to inaccurate and biased accounts presented to the world media?
How can you be more aware of this type of reporting in the future?
CHAPTER 5
As the textbook points out, believing is both a function and a determinant of perceptions. This chapter
helps first-year students realize that one purpose of a college education is to challenge our view of the
world through careful analysis and evaluation of the beliefs and the perceptions that are their basis.
Because many first-year students have not thoughtfully considered their belief systems, this chapter is
an opening for introducing the idea that healthy skepticism is a necessary state for their development as
critical thinkers.
The key objective of this activity is to help students realize that one’s confidence in beliefs varies with
the quality and number of reasons that support them. The important aspect of the activity therefore is
the students’ assessment of how effectively their explanations directly support their evaluations of the
accuracy of the statements of belief. It is also important in this activity for the instructor to ask the
students to identify the types of reasons or evidence that are necessary to test and establish the accuracy
of various beliefs. For example, the type of evidence necessary to evaluate the statement about the
difficulty of essay versus multiple-choice exams is different from the type needed to determine whether
the Earth is round or flat. The subjective nature of the term difficulty requires an operational definition
somewhat arbitrarily agreed upon; subjectivity is less problematic in the case of determining the Earth’s
shape.
If the idea that accuracy is a continuum from accurate to inaccurate, rather than a simple dichotomy, is
confusing, substitute degree of confidence and focus the students’ attention on the relationship between
confidence and qualities of evidence or reasons.
Thinking Activity 5.2 can be presented as the Thinking Passage: Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, found at
the end of this chapter, to build first-year students’ enthusiasm about the progress they are making and
will make with their critical thinking skills. The first parts of the activity—creating a diagram to
illustrate the stages of knowing and identifying well-known people who fall into the categories—can be
done as a group activity in class. First-year students will be more reluctant to share their honest
thoughts about which stage they fall into. Students can therefore do the last part of the activity—
identifying the stages their beliefs on various aspects of their lives fall into—on their own. In addition,
students can write down the stage they would like to be in by the end of the semester. On the last day of
class, remind them of the stages of knowing and have them assess their progress. Ask them to identify
which stage they would like to be in by the end of their college careers. Encourage them to post for
themselves in their study area an inspirational reminder about the predominant thinking patterns of this
stage.
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THINKING ACTIVITY 5.3 (SURVEY) AND THINKING ACTIVITY 5.4
(EVALUATION)
These activities are related and can be assigned to students to do individually and as a class. Assign the
questions in Thinking Activity 5.3 as homework and have students bring their answers to class. As a
class, discuss the questions, debate the answers, and devise a group answer for each question. Use the
next class meeting to evaluate several of the answers according to the guidelines in Thinking Activity
5.4.
Thinking Activity 5.5 serves well the objective of helping students come to grips with the difficulty of
determining from observer accounts what actually occurred in a complex event. A crucial concern in
each case is reliability of the source reporting the event.
Because first-year students may be only superficially familiar with the events described in this activity,
it is worthwhile to provide supplementary information about the context of the events. The accounts of
events at Tiananmen Square can be supplemented with the following video program:
“Tragedy at Tiananmen Square: The Untold Story,” available from Coronet Film and Video, 108
Wilmot Road, Deerfield, IL 60015 (800-621-2131).
Key documents from the National Security Archives on the Tiananmen Square massacre are available
at http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB16/.
The supplementary material is most effectively used after the students have read and discussed the
excerpts in the Thinking Activity.
Ask the students to concentrate on a recent campus event that has received publicity. The students can
extend their search from media accounts to interviews of other students, faculty, professional staff, and
administrators. Focus the classroom discussion of the results of the students’ research on the “lenses”
through which different individuals saw the event and how these lenses colored their views. The
emphasis here should be on the way in which our beliefs and values directly influence what we pay
attention to and how we interpret situations.
The most difficult of the Information Evaluation Questions is, Is there anything that you believe has
been left out? Without a considerable amount of background information about the topic, students may
not be able to judge what omitted information is critical to judging the reliability of the passages.
Most colleges and universities publish a view book that is distributed to prospective students as a
recruitment document. The first-year students in your class thus recently will have looked through some
of these publications. Ask the students to compare the information presented in a view book with
information about their school that is available in one of several national publications that describe
colleges and universities across the United States.
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Have the students complete a World Wide Web search using the key words atomic bomb, Hiroshima,
and Nagasaki. They will find useful files of information about these events, ranging from accounts of
the bombings to current comments by U.S. and Japanese leaders to photographic exhibitions.
Thinking Passage: “On Plato’s Cave” by Sonja Tanner
“On Plato’s Cave” is an excellent way to get first-year students excited about the intellectual journey
they are currently undertaking. Read the Thinking Passage aloud to the class, and then have the class
answer the Questions for Analysis as a group. Have students individually write down in which stage of
Plato’s allegory they think they are and in which stage they would like to be by the end of the semester.
Ask them to save this writing until the end of the semester. On the last day of classes, remind students
of Plato’s allegory, ask them to assess their progress, and ask them to choose the stage they would like
to be in by the end of their college career. Suggest that they post their choice in their home study area as
an inspiration.
CHAPTER 6
This chapter helps first-year students understand that effective use of language is essential for success
in college. It also provides an opportunity for students to consider ways in which different languages
influence the structure of thinking and the development of a world view.
An additional reading that can be used to introduce the topics of language, meaning, and socialization
can be found in the second section of the book Seeing Voices by Oliver Sacks, the well-known clinical
neurologist. This book is an investigation of the development of language through the study of deaf
persons. The first twenty-four pages of section 2 of his book are accounts of deaf children who, because
they had been isolated or uneducated, had no language.
The readings in Chapter 6 on bureaucratic and scientific language will introduce first-year students to
specialized language, its complexity, and its impact on an audience. Assign the readings on “The
Language of War” as homework, and then discuss as a class the quotations they find to illustrate the use
and meaning of each word. Write each of the words—crusade, infinite, justice, endure, Apollo, and
veritas—on the board, then list all of the meanings given by students. As a class, compare and discuss
these meanings.
As a related activity, read “That Scientific Breakthrough Thing” in class and write on the board the list
of terms from the textbook. As a class, decide on and discuss the semantic, perceptual, and pragmatic
meanings associated with each term.
Most first-year students will enjoy flexing their creative muscles with this activity. Working with the
poem in small groups provides a fun and stimulating way to build an easy rapport among students.
Read (or call on students to read) aloud Lewis Carroll “Jabberwocky.” Separate the students into
groups, and have each group interpret one stanza of the poem. With the whole class, read the
interpretations in sequence. Finally, discuss the importance of the syntactic relationships between
words.
Ask the students to write about experiences with campus life. After the students read the excerpt from
Blue Highways, ask them to create their own descriptions of an
•
Interesting or important campus location they have become familiar with
•
Important experience they have had in the first few weeks of the semester
•
Interesting person they have gotten to know since starting college
Experiences such as saying goodbye to family and friends, moving into a residence hall or commuting
to campus, and working out an arrangement with spouse and family that permits attending classes offer
more than sufficient material for this activity.
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To help students become familiar with cocurricular activities provided for them, have them attend and
review a film, play, concert, or lecture presented on campus.
Thinking Passage: “An Account of Avianca Flight 52”
Because the reading “An Account of Avianca Flight 52” focuses on conversational miscommunication
that leads to disaster, this may be an even more appropriate point to focus on the need to avoid
miscommunication between potential sexual partners, between individuals from different cultures, or
between professors and students.
In the passage, the representative of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association criticizes the pilot
for not using the precise terms fuel emergency and minimum fuel. This problem can be related to the
problems many students face with mastering the terminology of academic disciplines. After the
students discuss the Avianca communication problem, ask them to apply what they concluded from the
debate about effective communication between men and women or from the relationship between
precise use of academic terminology and academic success.
Ask the students to listen carefully to conversations among students and keep a list of slang terms that
the participants use. Have the students bring these lists to class and compile a dictionary of campus
slang. Encourage them to identify slang terms that refer to various aspects of college life.
An important sentence in the section “The Social Boundaries of Language“ states: “The ability to think
critically gives us the insight and the intellectual ability to distinguish people’s language use from their
individual qualities, to correct inaccurate beliefs about people and avoid stereotypical responses in the
future.” Ask the students to analyze why this distinction is so difficult to achieve. Have them list on the
chalkboard the values (e.g., conformity, ethnocentricity, individual superiority, community, and
correctness) from which prejudice about dialect emerges.
This activity can be related to the readings, activities, and discussions that students completed while
studying Chapter 4, “Perceiving and Believing.” The controversy over whether so-called standard
English should be required of all students or diverse language forms should be tolerated in classrooms,
business, and government can be a topic of investigation and discussion. You might ask the students to
do some library research on the controversy in San Antonio, Texas, about whether the city should enact
a law making English its standard language.
The controversy over standard English can be a point of discussion about success in college. Have the
students discuss whether they think that mastering the use of various styles of language for different
contexts is important. Should academic success depend on the ability of students to use formal
language, especially for writing assignments?
Ask the students to write a list of educational euphemisms. Some examples of these are limited campus
lighting spaces—a dangerous, dark path for students to walk at night; campus diversity—ratio of white
to nonwhite students, faculty, and administrators; developmental course—remedial course for students
with poor academic skills; intellectually demanding class—a class characterized by a heavy workload
and few A grades; nontraditional student—a student who did not come to college in the fall after
graduating from high school, often an older adult; lifestyle options—choice of living on same sex or
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coeducational residence hall floors. Good sources of these euphemisms are administrative reports about
campus problems, the student handbook, and institutional policy statements.
An Additional Activity
Jargon and gobbledygook are problems in much bureaucratic and academic writing. First-year students
can get caught up in this when they think that writing for professors means writing in a puffed up style.
To demonstrate the prevalence and silliness of jargon and gobbledygook, collect examples from
campus policy statements and memoranda. (If you value your life, do not identify the authors.)
Distribute these examples to the students and ask them to analyze, evaluate, and rewrite the statements
in clear, intelligible English.
Another way to sensitize the students to these two language problems is to give them the following
assignment: “For the next class period, please write one paragraph that is a model of jargon and
gobbledygook. The class will select the best three paragraphs to receive abstruseness awards.” The
students will write some wonderfully bad paragraphs.
Have the students look for examples of emotive language in the campus newspaper editorial section,
political flyers posted on campus, television political advertisements, and various institutional
publications. Have the students try to identify the specific values and emotions that these examples of
emotive language are designed to take advantage of.
As students will discover in the Thinking Passages on “Persuading with Political Speeches,” emotive
language is not always bad. Effective public speaking depends on the use of emotive language. In
addition to the speeches included in the textbook, you might read part of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s
famous “I Have a Dream” speech to the class as an example of an extremely effective use of emotive
language. Ask students to discuss the appropriate use of emotive language or invite a speech
communications teacher to talk with the class about this topic.
Thinking Passage: “Sex, Lies and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard
for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?”
This reading is another opportunity for first-year students to discuss the need for plain and frank
conversation between men and women to avoid confusion about meaning and behavior. The key to
Tannen’s view of how to approach language differences between genders is that she considers the
interaction as cross-cultural. If the students can see stereotypical male and female patterns as
characteristics of two different cultures, understanding how to overcome any confusion between the
cultures becomes a matter of learning the language traits of the other culture. The students’ responses to
the third and fourth Questions for Analysis can be directed toward misunderstandings that lead to
critical situations like misreading cues about sexual and emotional needs.
To make the content of the essay real for the students, divide the class into pairs (as many male-male
and female-female pairs as possible) and have them complete the following out-of-class assignment:
Choose a topic or situation that typically results in misunderstandings between men and women.
Write a five-minute dialogue between a man and a woman conversing about this topic or
situation. Include notations about body language that accompanies the characters’ words.
Inform the students that at the next class period you will ask pairs to act out the dialogues they have
written. After selected pairs have acted out their dialogues, lead the class members in a discussion of
why they think communication between men and women can be difficult.
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Tannen’s article can be related to the topic of stereotypes in Chapter 4. Ask the students to consider
whether Tannen’s descriptions of communication styles of men and women are unfairly stereotypical of
these two groups.
Another possibility is to ask the students to observe unobtrusively other students conversing in various
campus settings. Ask the observers to record their observations about the patterns of conversation
between women, between men, and between men and women. In a subsequent class period, lead the
students in a discussion of the degree to which their observations support or contradict Tannen’s claims
about gender differences.
CHAPTER 7
Although at first glance this chapter may seem a little less adaptable to a freshman experience course,
that is not the case. The formation of concepts is one of the most significant—and most difficult—tasks
a college student faces in introductory courses. These courses usually are surveys of the major concepts
that are the framework of an academic discipline. The ability of entering students to understand what a
concept is and to master major concepts in the disciplines thus is the key to academic success and a
determinant of which major they choose.
Encourage the students to choose concepts that are directly related to their experience as a college
student. For example, they might choose two of the following concepts: academic major, academic
success, commuter student, credit hour, first-year student, full-time student, professor, and residence
hall.
This activity is related to Thinking Activity 4.6. Remind the students that a concept is constructed on
the basis of perceptions and beliefs, pointing out that what they learned in Chapters 4 and 5 will be
useful in completing Thinking Activity 7.1.
To apply this activity directly to the college experiences of the students, suggest the following concepts
for analysis: cafeteria food, dean, final exam, financial-aid office, fraternity, library, registrar, research
paper, and sorority.
After the students complete Thinking Activity 7.1, ask them to bring a textbook from another course to
the next class period. In that class period ask the students to identify concepts in the other course that
they are finding difficult to master. Then ask them to analyze the concepts using the sign, referents, and
properties model presented in Chapter 7.
Students spend most of their time in classes listening to lectures about specific concepts and taking
notes. A very useful adaptation of Thinking Activity 7.2 is to present a highly organized ten-minute
lecture about some concept to the students. Instruct the students that they are to listen to the minilecture and take notes as they would in any other class. Inform them that before the end of the class
period, they will take a short quiz about the mini-lecture’s content.
Following the mini-lecture, ask the students to form groups of three people and compare their notes.
The objective of this sharing is to determine how well they have identified the properties and referents
of the concept presented in the mini-lecture.
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When the student groups have finished discussing their notes, administer a brief quiz about the concept.
For example, ask the students to do the following:
Please list below the column headings appropriate information about the concept presented in the
mini-lecture.
Sign
Properties
Referents
After the students have completed the quiz, discuss ways that they can improve their listening and notetaking skills. For example, most of the students probably did not take notes during the comparison
activity; yet that was an opportune time to add information to the notes they had already taken.
A variety of study-skills books present information about how to listen effectively to lectures and take
useful notes. Most college and university libraries have a collection of these books. Bring several studyskills books to class and discuss their advice about note-taking strategies. Or ask a staff person who has
expertise in teaching study skills to visit your class and provide information about various strategies for
taking notes.
To direct this activity at the students’ academic experiences, instruct the students to substitute
generalizations about various courses or academic disciplines for generalizations about music.
Generalizing and interpreting are two of the most fundamental processes by which scholars construct
the knowledge of the academic disciplines. After the students have completed this activity, have them
examine a short excerpt from a college textbook and analyze how the content is organized as
generalization and interpretation.
Thinking Passages: “Femininity” by Susan Brownmiller and “The
Return of Manly Men” by Patricia Leigh Brown
Prior to assigning the reading of these passages, have the students form pairs and carry on a dialogue
concerning the question, What are your concepts of femininity and masculinity? After the pairs of
students have completed their dialogues, reconvene the class and ask the students to list adjectives that
are the major properties of the two concepts. Write the adjectives on the chalkboard or a transparency.
Using the concept model presented in Chapter 7, have the students draw a diagram of the class
definitions of the two concepts.
At the end of the class period in which the dialogues were carried out, assign the passages by Susan
Brownmiller and Patricia Leigh Brown. In the next class period, discuss how reading these two essays
influenced the students’ understanding of these two concepts. The two excerpts suggest that these two
concepts are mutually exclusive. Have the class discuss whether their experiences support this
exclusivity model or indicate some other way to view femininity and masculinity.
This activity can be used to make the students more aware of the effect of culture on concepts. If the
class includes international students, ask them to explain their culture’s predominant concepts of
masculinity and femininity. Then ask the students to compare the views of the various cultures.
If no international students are in the class, check out books from the library or visit websites that
present photographs or drawings representative of non-Western cultures’ concepts of masculinity and
femininity.
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Entering first-year students certainly are dealing with increased responsibility. Focus the activity on
responsibilities related to matters such as time management, preparation for class, attendance at class,
participation in campus life, healthy lifestyle, family life, and sexual behavior.
Many students attribute the consequences of their behavior to external factors. By assigning
responsibility for their academic and social situations to some external controls, they rid themselves of
a sense of responsibility for difficult decisions about matters such as study time, academic honesty,
balancing home and campus life, and completing one’s tasks in group work. This activity provides a
good opportunity to discuss the students’ commitment to their educational and career goals and the
responsibility that is required to achieve them.
The problem of group work that is described under Interpreting is common. You can focus on this
problem by assigning the completion of Thinking Activity 7.4 as a group task. After the students have
completed the activity, have them write an evaluation of the group process that their groups went
through in drafting responses to the activities statements.
The readings for this activity can be found on the student companion website. This activity can lead
into a discussion of why authors should site sources in their writing and the new problems of online
plagiarism. Ask students to write a brief response to the idea of ownership of information using
examples from their own experience. Ask the students to bring their written responses to the next class
for discussion.
Thinking Passage: “Identify Yourself: Who’s American?” by
Gregory Rodriguez
Have students write down their answers to the question “Who’s American?” and then have a class
discussion about their responses. Then assign Rodriguez’s essay and the Questions for Analysis as
homework. At the next class meeting, discuss any changes in the students’ concepts of national identity.
The use of mind or concept maps is a powerful tool for analyzing the relationships among components
of a concept. This activity causes students to identify specific relationships of which they are unsure.
Obviously, if they are not certain about how to draw lines linking various components of the map, they
do not fully understand the concept being diagrammed.
Prior to assigning Thinking Activity 7.5, located on the companion website, it is a good idea to
demonstrate the construction of a mind or concept map for the students. The most useful approach is to
develop the map as you work at the chalkboard or on an overhead transparency. By performing this
process rather than handing out a completed map, you help the students see how to think through the
primary, secondary, tertiary, and so on, relationships among the map’s components.
If a computer and LCD projector are available in the classroom, you may want to purchase and use a
program application titled “Inspiration: The Visual Way to Quickly Develop and Communicate Ideas.”
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This program makes it easy to brainstorm and construct and edit concept maps on screen. For
information about Inspiration, contact
Inspiration Software, Inc.
7412 SW Beaverton Hillsdale HWY
Suite 102
Portland, Oregon 97225-2167
Website: http://www.inspiration.com/
Phone: (800) 877-4292
Mind or concept maps are an effective and efficient way to assess students’ understanding of course
content. For example, to determine whether students understand the concepts of generalizing and
interpreting (or the more difficult concepts of semantic, syntactic, perceptual, pragmatic, and sentence
meaning of words), one simply has to ask them to draw maps of these concepts. By scanning the lines
linking the components of the concepts, the instructor can readily identify incorrect associations that
indicate a student does not understand some aspect of the diagrammed concept.
Thinking Passage: “What Is Religion?”
This reading can be used to help students reach the multicultural goals of a first-year experience
seminar. Most entering students have not had a great deal of experience with religions other than the
one practiced by their family or friends. Most also have evaluative rather than descriptive definitions of
religion. This passage provides an opportunity to have the students consider their views of religion
within the diversity of religions and religious experience.
If the class has little religious diversity, invite a person who practices a religion quite different from the
dominant one in the class to visit and explain his or her beliefs and practices. An alternative is to divide
the class into small groups that are to visit a worship site for a religion other than their own and to
interview a religious leader of the people who worship there.
CHAPTER 8
Although relating and organizing are important intellectual skills for first-year students to practice, the
rhetorical categories presented in this chapter are often covered in a rhetoric and composition class that
the students will take. Consequently, no comments advising instructors about ways to adapt the
rhetorical content of this chapter to a freshman experience course are included here. Nevertheless,
instructors may wish to inform the students that many lectures and textbook readings can be classified
as one or another of the rhetorical strategies. In fact, certain rhetorical strategies seem to be used more
frequently in some disciplines than they are in others. By learning to recognize the organization of these
strategies, students can better understand the structure of a course’s content and improve their notetaking skills.
CHAPTER 9
This chapter asks students to examine moral issues and decisions in their lives. The first-year students
may find this chapter particularly challenging since many of them are away from home for the first
extended period of time in their lives. However, this is an important aspect of their college life to
consider for this very reason. Students who do not examine why they hold the moral beliefs that they do
often react to the freedom of college life in extreme ways. When faced with their first encounter with
moral choices without a parent or guardian’s intervention, students often rebel against ethics that have
been taught to them find themselves in very destructive situations. On the other hand, many students
hold fast to the ethics of home like a security blanket, keeping these students from growing into
thinking moral persons in their own right.
Most students have a clear picture of a mentor or significant person in their lives that they consider a
moral person, yet they have never considered why they feel this way about that person. Ask students to
write a short description of their “moral person” to share with the class. It will be enlightening for first
year students to hear from others about why they feel certain people are moral. They are often surprised
by how much morality means to their fellow students.
This activity asks students to examine their own values through a series of questions and to give reasons
for why they feel this way. For many students, this will be the first time that they have ever been asked
to undertake this kind of examination. Be prepared to push the student past answers such as “because
that is the way it should be.”
This activity can be reworked into small group projects where each group is given one of the moral
dilemmas to solve. Each dilemma can be altered to fit group work easily. For example in “the lifeboat”
dilemma, instead of having a captain make the decision as to who stays, it can be done by majority vote
after a brief discussion of reasons to save or throw overboard each person. All students in the group can
be assigned life descriptions that they must take on and defend. By working together as a group to come
up with the best moral decision in these situations, the first-year students can begin to understand why
values other than the ones they hold to be true should be considered.
Depending on the sophistication of the group, this activity can be useful for first-year students to gain a
deeper level of understanding of the reasoning behind their moral beliefs.
This activity allows the first-year students to begin to think about themselves as global citizens and how
their moral choices affect others.
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Depending on the level of sophistication within each group, this may be an exercise beyond the scope
of an FYE class. This exercise can help first-year students to begin to examine what is meant by an
“essential moral nature of people” versus a socially constructed morality. However, for many students,
this process will take much more time than allowed by this exercise.
This exercise asks students to reflect on the concepts from this chapter as a lifetime project. The
concept list in this exercise can be given as a handout at the end of the semester for students to use as a
compass for their moral growth throughout their college and professional life.
Thinking Passage: The Disparity Between Character and Intellect
Most first-year students have never thought to question the role of higher education in helping them to
become morally enlightened individuals. This reading will help them to begin to reflect deeper on what
they expect to gain morally from their college experience and to what level they believe their institution
of higher learning is responsible for their moral education. Ask students to write a one-page paper on
the role higher education should play in their moral growth to bring in for larger group discussion.
Much of this can center on the idea of an overriding human ethics code that transcends religions,
cultures, and ethnicities.
This activity can further the discussion on ethics and responsibility based on the Thinking Passage
above. Be prepared for students to ask you questions about how you feel on this issue and experiences
you have had concerning the matter.
CHAPTER 10
Students often approach this chapter (and the next) with some glee. They see this section of the course
as an opportunity to—as one student put it—“really get into it in class.” The difficulty in teaching this
chapter’s content is to keep the students focused on the idea that argumentation is a strategy for
clarifying and organizing thinking, not for embarrassing one’s opponents. To help students remember
that argumentative dialogue is a critical thinking process, it is important to begin the study of this
chapter by referring to the section in Chapter 2 that deals with organized discussion.
It is worthwhile to spend a class period teaching the students to identify very simple arguments that
might occur in everyday conversation. After you have explained the structure of an argument, ask the
students to complete the activity on the next page (the statements include nonarguments, inductive
arguments, and deductive arguments).
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Label each of the following statements that is an argument with an A:
1.
______
Tom got a C in that class, so it must be pretty tough.
2.
______ About 30 percent of the members of the first-year class are adults over twenty-five
years old, and most of the older students are women.
3.
______
4.
______ That professor must not like me, or she wouldn’t have ignored me when I wanted to
ask a question.
5.
______
you do.
In the first place, you shouldn’t think less of people just because they don’t dress like
6.
______
Look, if she gave a quiz in the last class, she won’t give a quiz today.
7.
______
If most students complain about the food in the cafeteria, it can’t be very good food.
8.
______ First-year students are adults who can make their own decisions; they shouldn’t be
required to attend classes.
9.
______
Because she acted real friendly at the party, I’ll bet she wants to go out with me.
Probably, the campus crime rate will increase over the next few years.
10. ______ Because the outside door to the residence hall is always locked and yet someone stole
the TV from the lounge, a hall resident must have been involved in the theft.
11. ______ Since they began studying together, the members of the group have all gotten better
grades in math.
12. ______ The more students a college has, the more fun you can have; and our college has lots of
students.
13. ______ All first-year students took the writing test; and since Susan is a first-year student, she
must have completed the writing test.
Answers appear on the following page.
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Answers: The following statements should be marked with an A:
1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13
After the students have made their decisions about the statements, discuss why some statements are
arguments whereas others are not (argument = premises and conclusion). Point out that sometimes cue
words are implied (for example, statements 4 and 8) and that sometimes cue words may be present but
not indicate an argument (for example, statements 5 and 11). Complete the activity by asking the
students to identify the premises and conclusions for statements 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, and 13. Explain
that statement 12 is an argument with an implied conclusion: Therefore, you can have more fun at our
college.
It is important to limit this activity to analysis of the arguments. Students will want to evaluate the
arguments or, at least, the values underlying the arguments. However, the goal is to teach them that
thinking critically requires a careful objective analysis of arguments before making judgments about
them.
Thinking Passages: “Drugs” and “The Case for Slavery”
Completing the Questions for Analysis for these readings will require considerable time. The students
must comprehend the essays, find the main argument’s conclusion and its main premises, and identify
and analyze the arguments within the main argument.
The essays are available on the book’s companion website, so to complete this activity you’ll want to
have students print out copies of each essay. One way to help the students comprehend the passages is
to have them diagram mind or concept maps of the associations between conclusions, reasons,
evidence, and descriptive information of each passage.
Ask the students to mark in the margins a letter C where the major conclusion is stated and an R where
a major reason is stated. Then ask them to identify any minor arguments within the major reasons cited
to support the major conclusion. The best approach is to guide the students through analysis of the first
essay and then let them analyze the second essay on their own. It is helpful to analyze the passage by
Gore Vidal as a demonstration and then ask the students to do the same to the passage by Rosenthal.
The Vidal passage may be analyzed as follows:
The major claim is made in the first two sentences of paragraph 1. The remaining information in this
paragraph qualifies how drugs should be made available and emerges from the first reason Vidal states
in paragraph 5, “Yet, it seems most unlikely that any reasonably sane person will become a drug addict
if he knows in advance what addiction is going to be like.”
In paragraph 2 Vidal attempts to establish his authority on the topic by admitting that he has tried most
drugs and did not become an addict. The students should consider whether this experience contributes
to his reliability as the source of this argument.
Paragraph 6 contains Vidal’s second reason for his claim. He writes, “Nevertheless, forbidding people
things they like or think they might enjoy only makes them want those things all the more.” The next
few sentences in paragraphs 7, 8, and 9 are an attempt to support this contention by making an
association between controlling drugs and the prohibition act that banned the use of alcohol.
In paragraph 11 Vidal gives a fourth reason for his claim. He states that if drugs were sold at cost, there
would be no profit and therefore organized crime would no longer be interested in pushing drugs. He
points out that an added fiscal savings would accrue because we would do away with the bureaucracy
of the Bureau of Narcotics.
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Evaluating the truth of the reasons is a complex and important task for the students. Extended
discussion of the evaluation of statements in the section “Truth: How True Are the Supporting
Reasons?” is necessary.
Explain to the students that in a deductive argument the reasons given for a conclusion are either true or
false and that the truth of a deductive argument’s reasons is a component of the validity and soundness
of that argument. To determine validity, one asks, “If I accept the argument’s reasons, must I logically
accept its conclusion?” If the answer is yes, the argument is valid. (Note that a valid argument might
have true reasons and a true conclusion, false reasons and a true conclusion, or false reasons and a false
conclusion.)
Explain that an argument that is deductively invalid is not necessarily worthless. Most arguments in
daily life are not valid and sound because the reasons cannot be established as absolute determinants of
the conclusion and their truth may be difficult to determine. This point is made in the second paragraph
of the chapter summary: Most arguments about significant issues and problems in life are inductive
arguments. In these arguments a person’s limited knowledge may require a judgment about the
likelihood that a reason is true or false, and one’s confidence in a premise must be qualitatively
estimated by referring to factors such as direct experience, reputation of authorities, and knowledge of
statistics. Evaluating an inductive argument thus requires assessing as thoroughly as possible the
accuracy of its reasons and recognizing the limits of the relationship between the reasons and the
conclusion.
For each additional argument the students have written to continue the dialogue about marijuana, ask
them to identify the standard that would be necessary to judge the likelihood that the supporting reason
is true or false.
Students will have to work carefully to analyze these arguments. Several of the passages have structures
and vocabulary that will challenge the students. Two are analyzed below as examples.
For the brain is a machine of ten billion nerve cells and the mind can somehow be explained as the
summed activity of a finite number of chemical and electrical reactions, [then] boundaries limit
the human prospect—we are biological and our souls cannot fly free. E. O. Wilson, On Human
Nature.
Premise
For if the brain is a machine of ten billion nerve cells and the mind can somehow be
explained as the summed activity of a finite number of chemical and electrical reactions
(implied that the brain is such a machine)
Conclusion
[then] boundaries limit the human prospect—we are biological and our souls cannot fly
free. (Humans are biologically limited and not capable of truly free will.)
Wilson’s argument is an example of modus ponens.
If the increased power which science has conferred upon human volitions is to be a boon and not a
curse, the ends to which these volitions are directed must grow commensurately with the growth
of power to carry them out. Hitherto, although we have been told on Sundays to love our
neighbor, we have been told on weekdays to hate him, and there are six times as many weekdays
as Sundays. Hitherto, the harm that we could do to our neighbor by hating him was limited by our
incompetence, but in the new world upon which we are entering there will be no such limit, and
the indulgence of hatred can lead only to ultimate and complete disaster. Bertrand Russell, “The
Expanding Mental Universe.”
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Premise 1
If the power of choice made possible by science is to be for good and not bad, the goals
of humans must grow or improve morally.
Premise 2
Until now, people have been exhorted more often to hate rather than to love their
neighbor.
Premise 3
Until now, humans’ ability to harm each other has been limited by our lack of technical
knowledge.
Premise 4
In the new world there will be no limit on humans’ ability to harm those they hate.
Conclusion
Indulging or encouraging hatred will result in the destruction of the human species.
This argument is an example of modus tollens.
The readings for this activity can be found on the student companion website. Most students have
strong opinions concerning the regulation of the Internet. These readings can be used to push students
to understand viewpoints other than their own. The readings here can also be used as subject matter for
The previous section of the chapter, “Constructing Extended Arguments,” on the book’s companion
website provides excellent advice to students about writing a paper. It may seem more appropriate for a
composition course, but a seminar for first-year students is just as fitting a course for this information.
Have the students pay close attention to the advice. Point out that following the advice will greatly
increase their chances for academic success in courses where they must write papers in which they must
take a position on an issue or analyze the arguments others have made about issues.
To make this assignment most useful, the students should submit the paper in steps so that you can
make revision suggestions throughout the writing process. Have the students submit their paper in the
following stages:
1.
An explanation of the main idea of the paper they want to write
2.
A bibliography and brief summary of the key information in these bibliographic references
3.
A mind map and proposal for the organization of the ideas in the paper
4.
A rough draft of the paper to be revised after comments by the instructor
5.
A final copy of the paper
By going through this process with considerable input from the instructor at each step, students will
understand more clearly what must be done to create a well-written paper. They will also see that
careful writing is closely related to careful thinking.
CHAPTER 11
This chapter focuses on inductive arguments and errors of reasoning or fallacies. Most extended
arguments about complex problems and issues are, in fact, invalid and inductive; that is, the conclusion
does not follow with certainty from the premises but may be probable depending on the likelihood that
the premises are true. In complex situations, one seldom can be 100 percent sure that the reasons
guarantee that the conclusion is true. In the case of an invalid argument, we therefore must make our
best judgments about the accuracy of the reasons and how strongly they support the conclusion. In other
words, we must ask, “If the reasons are true, how probable is it that the conclusion is true?” The answer
requires at least two evaluative steps: judging our confidence in the reasons and estimating the
probability that the conclusion is true.
Because studies of college students’ cognitive development suggest that first-year students are dualistic
and have beliefs that are mainly the result of heeding authority, this chapter’s emphasis on inductive
argument and errors of reasoning is important. When presented with arguments in which cherished
values are at stake (for example, Should we punish those who burn the U.S. flag? Should students who
use offensive language be punished?), first-year students are very susceptible to fallacious reasoning. It
is difficult for them to defer judgment and remain open-minded while analyzing and evaluating these
types of arguments; thus they can fall prey to writers who use errors of reasoning to influence the
reader.
Most of the thinking activities in this chapter can be used without modification for a freshman
experience course.
INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY
To demonstrate for the students the nature of evaluating inductive arguments, ask them to contrast the
strength and reliability of the following simple inductive arguments:
Argument 1
Seventy percent of the college students in a sample from a well-known large university reported that
they studied about two hours a day on weekdays.
Ken is a student at that well-known university.
Ken studies about two hours each weekday.
Argument 2
About 55 percent of the students surveyed at colleges and universities reported that they used condoms
during sexual intercourse.
Jim is a student at one of these schools.
Jim uses condoms when he has sexual intercourse.
The students will easily explain why they have less confidence in the argument about Jim. The lower
percentage reported in the second argument obviously leads one to have less confidence in the
statement about Jim’s behavior. You might point out to the students, however, that one would want to
347
know the characteristics of the samples obtained in the two surveys and the surveying procedures
before placing much confidence in either of the conclusions. This discussion will lead directly into
To make evaluation of the arguments easier, instruct the students to simplify the statements to “bare
bones” claims and premises statements. For example, the first argument about pornography might be
written as
Conclusion There is no strong relationship between pornography and antisocial behavior. (Note that
this conclusion is implied, not stated, in the textbook paragraph.)
Premise
Eighty percent of psychiatrists and psychologists reported no cases in which a causal
connection is suspected between patients’ antisocial behavior and pornography.
To prepare for teaching this chapter, the instructor may wish to read about inductive arguments in one
of the many textbooks on argument or informal logic. Additionally, the following essay is a useful
resource for instructors:
Cross, Donna Woolfolk. “Propaganda: How Not to Be Bamboozled.” In Outlooks and Insights, ed. Paul
Eschholz and Alfred Rosa, 511-522. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1987.
Do this activity as a class project. After the students choose an issue, help them construct a brief survey
form and simple protocol for completing the survey. Ask the students to survey students about the
issue. Then work as a class to compile and summarize the data. This approach will help the students
understand the difficulty of obtaining a representative sample and the hazards of extrapolating from the
sample to the student population.
Thinking Passage: “She’s Not Really Ill . . .” by Maureen Dowd
In this New York Times article, Dowd purposely uses sweeping generalizations, hasty generalizations,
and false dilemmas to prove her points about the overprescription of antianxiety medication for women.
The students should be able to see that Dowd uses the fallacies to stress the fallacious thinking of both
the medical community and the general public when it comes to diagnosing and treating anxiety
disorders. The article even hints that these disorders are symptoms of the fallacies themselves rather
than of anxiety or depression. The article and the questions that follow are therefore well suited to
analyzing dualistic thinking—either on the part of Dowd or on the part of those she criticizes—and the
real-life problems that arise from it. Assign the reading and divide the class into small groups to work
on the Questions for Analysis. Discuss students’ answers as a class.
It is important to place considerable emphasis on the process required to complete step 3, “Develop a
theory or hypothesis to explain what is happening.” Guide the students by helping them revise their
hypotheses until they are precise statements of the expected relationship between the proposed cause
and its effect. Then have the students write specific predictions about the effect of manipulating the
causal variable on the responding variable (effect).
Statement 4, “Explain how well the experimental results support the proposed theory or hypothesis,” is
the most difficult for the students to answer. The various excerpts of research reports in this activity
must be evaluated on the basis of the likelihood that the differences in compared groups are due to
348
chance. This is determined statistically, but students will not have the expertise to do a statistical
analysis. They must examine the reported quantitative differences between the compared groups and
judge the probability that the differences might be due to randomness or sampling flaws.
Some students may confuse the information about the .05 level of significance and the 95 percent
confidence statement (see section “Cause-to-Effect Experiments [with Intervention]”) with the various
percentage values reported in the examples cited in this Thinking Activity. The instructor may have to
explain in simple terms that the .05 significance level and 95 percent confidence statements are
generated by statistical analyses of the raw data and thus cannot be computed directly from the
percentage values reported in the examples.
The keys to success of this activity are to insist that the scope of the problem be very limited and that
the measure used to test the hypothesis be easily quantified. Students typically propose a hypothesis
that is complex and measures of the effect that can be difficult to obtain or are vague. Keep it very
simple.
Thinking Passages: “‘3 by 5’ Progress Report” and “Treating
Breast Cancer”
The paragraphs introducing UNAID’s “‘3 by 5’ Progress Report” (located on the companion website)
contrast the unscientific way in which fourteenth-century people attributed the bubonic plague to
various causes with the scientific way twenty-first-century people approach determining ways of
diagnosing and managing AIDS and other diseases. This passage provides a good opportunity to
reinforce the necessity of using critical thinking to analyze complex and volatile issues. Have the
students investigate the various unscientific conclusions people have jumped to concerning the spread
of the virus that causes AIDS. For example, you might discuss the response of first-world agencies to
third-world social issues (some U.S.-funded programs are pressured by political factions to not discuss
birth control or condoms, promoting abstinence instead). The point to be made is that, even in the
twenty-first century, when faced with frightening unknowns, people tend to think unscientifically and
behave in irrational ways. Students should discuss how they can avoid this problem when they have to
make decisions about important volatile civic issues (for example, welfare or sex education).
The introduction to Gina Kolata’s “Study Sets Off Debate over Mammograms’ Value” (located on the
companion website) warns of the confusion and contradiction often caused by the “twisted path of
scientific exploration.” The essay describes the conflicting evidence, brought about by a 2002 medical
report on the results of a Denmark study, for the efficacy of mammograms in preventing radical surgery
and death in breast cancer patients. This passage can be used with “‘3 by 5’ Progress Report” to
introduce a discussion about how fears and biases affect scientific studies. Have students consider and
discuss the complexity of gender, race, and sexuality biases in communities expected to be the most
objective. Ask students to find and bring to class examples of faulty or confusing research done on
other diseases that primarily affect (or are dangerously perceived as primarily affecting) minority
groups.
Often students look only for text or verbal examples. Visual examples serve well, too; for example, the
local politician who arranges to have a state or federal politician stand with her as she makes remarks to
a crowd. The visual image of the state or federal officeholder near the speaker can be an appeal to
authority. Television commercials and magazine advertisements are another source of visual means of
using the various fallacious appeals listed in this activity.
349
This is a complex task and is best given as an extended formal writing assignment.
Thinking Passages: “Critical Thinking and Obedience to
Authority” and “Pressure to Go Along with Abuse Is Strong, but
Some Soldiers Find Strength to Refuse”
These readings are very appropriate for a first-year seminar that focuses on teaching students that they
should develop the skills and dispositions that are the characteristics of effective thinking. The articles
are especially meaningful because first-year students are so likely to defer to authority. That, after all, is
the condition that William Perry and others describe as the stereotypical stage of cognitive development
that characterizes most entering first-year students.
The following is a good activity to do just prior to assigning the reading:
Arrange a situation to be acted out in class (without the students’ knowledge) that will create a
conflict between obedience and freedom. For example, one instructor planned with a student a
sham fainting. During the next class period, the student faked fainting and slipped from his desk
to the floor. When several students moved to help the “unconscious” student, the professor told
them to stay in their seats, explaining that the student had informed her that he had a condition
that occasionally causes him to faint and not to worry about it. The students obeyed despite the
fact that the student remained lying on the floor for some time.
After revealing that the incident was planned, the class talked about their reactions to the
instructor’s authority. The reading was assigned following this discussion.
Caution: One obviously must judge very carefully the appropriateness of this type of activity for
each class. Some students may be upset by the fact that deception was used.
The planned-obedience-test event does not have to be so dramatic. One can do simple things, such as
asking the students to perform a silly motion or to make animal sounds. These things work as well to
provoke the students’ interest in critical thinking and its conflict with blind obedience. Another
prereading activity that works is to have the students keep a diary for one day, recording the number of
times they obey authorities (including peers) without question. They immediately see how prevalent
this behavior is in their lives.
After the students have read and discussed the readings, have them complete one of the following
assignments:
•
Write a short formal paper about the role of authority in their own lives.
•
Design and complete a simple experiment that investigates obedience. (Make sure that this
assignment is consistent with any campus policy about human subjects.)
•
Write a five-minute play about a situation in which authority is challenged.
CHAPTER 12
This chapter is a particularly fitting conclusion for a first-year student seminar. The focus is on living
our lives in a positive and creative way, on using effective thinking to continually create oneself.
Because first-year students are acutely aware of the new opportunities that college offers for developing
their individual interests and talents, they should find the advice about tapping into their creativity and
developing a sense of who they are and want to become thought provoking.
THINKING ACTIVITIES 12.1 AND 12.2
Because many first-year students do not know a great deal about various careers, these activities present
a good opportunity to take advantage of the campus career center. Following the activity, a class trip to
the center or an assignment for each student to visit the center and complete an analysis of various
careers is very useful.
The textbook mentions the availability of computer software designed to help students identify potential
careers that match their interests (for example, SIGI). Thinking Activity 12.1 can be followed with an
assignment to complete a computer-assisted analysis of careers that meet the ideal conditions the
students have delineated. Contact the career counseling office and find out what software they have
available for students to use.
Some first-year students come to college with career options instilled by parents or unrealistic visions
of the daily life of certain vocations and professions. The students’ descriptions of the history of their
career interests will reveal the extent to which the interests are truly their own. Other first-year students,
particularly older students returning to college a number of years after graduating from high school,
have specific career objectives that they have considered carefully. If the class includes traditional and
nontraditional first-year students, ask them to compare their perceptions of making a career decision.
In Thinking Activity 12.2, it should be no surprise that job security and wealth will occur in most of the
students’ descriptions of an ideal job. There is, of course, nothing wrong with wanting a job that
provides these factors. However, security and wealth can determine what other job qualities students
include on their lists. To free the students from this constraint and help them imagine their ideal job,
one can qualify the assignment by adding that whatever ideal jobs they create the students will be
guaranteed a high salary and lifelong employment.
Another possible assignment for this thinking activity is to have each student interview a person with
many years of work experience about what jobs they have had and what skills and dispositions have
been most important for them in their work lives. The responses of this person can be compared with
the list of skills from the survey of personnel directors (see suggestions from the section “Making
Decisions”).
Instruct the students to relate their responses to the second item of this activity to the goals that they
identified in activities they completed in Chapter 1.
Part Five
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UNDERSTANDING CONTENT
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DELIVERING INSTRUCTION
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GROWING PROFESSIONALLY
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Thinking Critically and Reading and Writing
CHAPTER 1, “THINKING”
The following essays are narratives that give accounts of life-changing problems that the authors
overcame:
Angelou, Maya. “Graduation.” I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1969.
In this excerpt from an autobiographical work, Angelou describes her graduation and discovering
her pride in being black.
Didion, Joan. “On Going Home.” Slouching Towards Bethlehem. New York: Farrar, 1968.
Didion experiences “the ambush of family life” when she returns to her family’s home on her
daughter’s first birthday. Although depressed by the experience, she is saddened that she will not
be able to offer the same experience to her daughter.
Douglass, Frederick. “Learning to Read and Write.” The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass:
An American Slave. 1841.
Douglass explains how his mistress introduced him to reading. At first she treated him “as she
supposed one human being ought to treat another,” but the effects of being a slave owner turned
her against educating Douglass. He began to learn from any white boy who would befriend him.
Hughes, Langston. “Salvation.” The Big Sea. New York: Hill and Wang, 1940.
This excerpt from Hughes’s autobiography recounts a revival experience and his calling to Jesus.
Hurston, Zora Neal. “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.” I Love Myself When I Am Laughing, ed. Alice
Walker. Old Westbury: Feminist Press, 1979.
Hurston discovered that she was “a little colored girl” when, at thirteen, she traveled from her allblack community to school.
Kazin, Alfred. “Brownsville: The Kitchen.” A Walker in the City. New York: Harcourt, 1979.
Kazin, in this selection from one of his autobiographical works, describes the focal point of his
childhood in a Brooklyn ghetto—the kitchen.
Laurence, Margaret. “Where the World Began.” Heart of a Stranger. Toronto: McClelland, 1977.
Laurence writes of the value of one’s roots: “I did not know then that I would carry the land and
town all my life within my skull.”
Walker, Alice. “Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self.” In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens. New
York: Harcourt, 1967.
Walker writes of her appearance and how its transformation affected her life.
359
———“The Black Writer and the Southern Experience.” In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens. New
Walker uses a story about her mother to illustrate how the “close community” affects Southern
writers.
Welty, Eudora. “Clamorous to Learn.” One Writer’s Beginnings. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1984.
Welty writes of the continuous influence that early education had on her life.
ADDITIONAL READINGS: FICTION AND NONFICTION
Fiction
Auchincloss, Louis. “Greg’s Peg.” The Best Maine Stories, ed. Sanford Phippen. Augusta: Tapley,
1986.
A young man sets his goal to make something of his life at the suggestion of a teacher. Greg, the
young man, fails to achieve his goal.
Cather, Willa. “Paul’s Case.” Willa Cather’s Collected Short Fiction, ed. Virginia Faulkner. Lincoln:
University of Nebraska Press, 1970.
A teenager attempts to find a place for himself and still please his father.
Lawrence, D. H. “The Rocking-Horse Winner.” The Complete Short Stories of D. H. Lawrence. New
York: Viking, 1961.
The story of a boy’s obsession with horse racing and the desire to please his mother.
Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. “Harrison Bergeron.” Fantasy and Science Fiction. New York: Delacorte/Seymour
Lawrence, 1961.
Set in the year 2081, the story deals with a young man’s attempt to return feeling and love to a
cold, sterile society.
Welty, Eudora. “A Worn Path.” A Curtain of Green and Other Stories. New York: Harcourt, 1969.
The story of an old black woman and the trip she makes to town to purchase medicine for her
grandson. Phoenix Jackson is an excellent character for analysis.
Nonfiction
Bazell, Robert. “Catching Up to AIDS.” New Republic, February 23, 1987, 12–13.
The author presents information about why there should be aggressive testing programs for AIDS
despite cries over violations of private rights.
Dershowitz, Alan M. Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O. J. Simpson Case.
New York: Touchstone, 1997.
The famed defense attorney and Harvard law professor gives his thoughts on how the Simpson
jury arrived at its not guilty verdict.
Fleming, Anne Taylor. “Crime and Motherhood.” New York Times on the Web, March 17, 2002.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/17/weekinreview/17FLEM.html.
Fleming, as essayist from PBS’s The Newshour with Jim Lehrer discusses the American judicial
system in connection to the 2002 case of Andrea Pia Yates, a mother who drowned her five
children.
360
Keller, Helen. “The Most Important Day.” The Story of My Life. West Haven, CT: Pendulum, 1974.
This selection deals with the first time Helen Keller was able to make sense of her world through
words and her resolve to continue in this manner.
Malcolm, Andrew H. “Dad.” New York Times Magazine, January 8, 1984, 58.
The essay recounts a father-son relationship over a period of years and how it changed and grew.
Meyerhoff, Michael K., and Burton L. White. “Making the Grade as Parents.” Psychology Today,
September 1986, 38 ff.
The authors argue that parents can be trained to aid children in intellectual and social growth and
development.
Phillips, John Aristotle, and David Michaelis. “How I Designed an A-Bomb in My Junior Year at
Princeton.” Esquire, August 1978, 38–42+.
This essay outlines the goals of a Princeton junior who designed an atomic bomb.
Weisburd, Stefi. “Surgery Without Sutures.” Science News, April 1987, 234–235.
One scientist’s goal is to create a glue to replace surgical sutures.
FILMS (WITH DISTRIBUTORS)
Fundi: The Ella Baker Story
Soldier Girls
First Run Features, 153 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10014
Gandhi
Swank Motion Pictures, 201 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63166
Martin Luther King, Jr.: From Montgomery to Memphis
BFA Educational Media, P.O. Box 1795, Santa Monica, CA 90406
A Raisin in the Sun
Sounder
Budget Films, 4590 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90029
The Color Purple
Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist
Janus Films, 888 Seventh Street, New York, NY 10019
A Soldier’s Story
G.I. José
Third World Newsreel, 335 West 38th Street, New York, NY 10018
361
CHAPTER 2, “THINKING CRITICALLY”
The following essays are grouped by topics and provide various perspectives on the problems
discussed:
Death
Cousins, Norman. “The Right to Die.” Saturday Review, June 14, 1975. (This can also be found in The
Lexington Reader, ed. Lynn Z. Bloom. Lexington, MA: Heath, 1987.)
Cousins supports the right of people to make their own decisions about death. Death, he says, is
not the greatest loss. “The unbearable tragedy is to live without dignity or sensitivity.”
Huttmann, Barbara. “A Crime of Compassion.” Newsweek, August 8, 1983, 15.
Barbara Huttmann describes her refusal to resuscitate Mac, a cancer patient who had been
resuscitated fifty-two times in one month and who had no hope for recovery. Huttmann gives her
view on euthanasia.
Thomas, Lewis. “Death in the Open.” Lives of a Cell. New York: Penguin, 1995.
Thomas says that because life and death are natural, both should be acknowledged instead of
hidden.
Trillin, Alice Stewart. “Of Dragons and Garden Peas.” New England Journal of Medicine, March 19,
1981.
This moving account of one woman’s struggle with cancer focuses on the will and desire to live.
LIBERTY VERSUS SECURITY
Carter, Christine. The Other Side of Silence: Women Tell About Their Experiences With Date Rape.
Gilsum, NH: Avocus, 1995.
Hall, Nathan. Hate Crime. London: Willan, 2005.
Taslitz, Andrew E. “Willfully Blinded: On Date Rape and Self-Deception.” Harvard Journal of Law &
Gender 28 (2005): 381-446. (This article takes seriously men’s claims that they believed the
woman had consented.)
Wessler, Steven, and Margaret Moss. Hate Crimes on Campus: The Problem and Efforts to Confront It.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2001.
http://www.securityoncampus.org/schools/187249.pdf.
StoptheHate.org. Association of College Unions International. http://www.stophate.org/stophate.
Fiction
Connell, Richard. “The Most Dangerous Game.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, 8th ed., ed.
Carl E. Bain, Jerome Beaty, and J. Paul Hunter. New York: Norton, 2001.
A man faces another man in a fight to see who is the strongest and who can survive.
Garza, Daniel. “Everybody Knows Tobie.” Reading Beyond Words, ed. W. Royce Adams, 321-326.
New York: Holt, 1983.
A young boy faces prejudice in his town.
362
O’Connor, Frank. “My Oedipus Complex.” Collected Stories of Frank O’Connor. New York: Knopf,
1981.
A little boy faces many decisions when his father returns from the war.
Nonfiction
Bennett, William J. “Why Johnny Can’t Abstain.” National Review, July 13, 1987, 36–38, 56.
The author presents statistics regarding reasons for teenage sexual activity and offers
recommendations for the development of sex education programs.
Friedrich, Otto. “Looking for What Went Wrong.” Time, February 10, 1986, 36–37.
An account of the initial theories of what caused the space shuttle Challenger to explode.
Gansberg, Martin. “38 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police.” New York Times, March 27, 1964, 4.
The article describes the murder of Kitty Genovese and the people who witnessed it and decided
not to call the police for various reasons.
Marshall, Eliot. “Recalculating the Cost of Chernobyl.” Science 8 (May 1987): 658–659.
The cost of treating cancer patients in Europe must be included in the cost of the Chernobyl
accident.
O’Keefe, Anne Marie. “The Case Against Drug Testing.” Psychology Today, June 1987, 34.
The essayist argues that drug testing is an invasion of privacy.
Stinnett, Caskie. “Massachusetts Drivers: Heels on Wheels.” Atlantic Monthly, October 1978, 26–28.
The essay describes incidents and statistics regarding Massachusetts drivers and allows the reader
to decide who are the most dangerous drivers in this country.
CHAPTER 3, “SOLVING PROBLEMS”
The following essays are analyses that encourage students to view problems from several different
perspectives:
Brand, David. “The New Whiz Kids.” Time, August 31, 1987.
Brand analyzes the educational success of Asian American students.
Ehrenreich, Barbara, and Annette Fuentes. “Life on the Global-Assembly Line.” Ms., November 1979.
(This can also be found in Making Connections Across the Curriculum: Readings for Analysis,
ed. Patricia Chittenden et al. New York: St. Martin’s, 1986.)
This article is a startling look at the new “sweat shop” labor force in the third world.
Goodman, Ellen. “In the Male Direction.” Keeping in Touch. New York: Summit, 1985.
Goodman humorously addresses the inability of men to ask for directions.
King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Nonviolent Resistance.” Stride Toward Freedom, 211-216. New York:
Harper, 1958.
Dr. King addresses the African American’s need to get the respect of his oppressor. King writes
that nonviolent action is the only way to obtain that goal.
Rodale, Robert. “What Happens When Earthworms Eat?” Organic Gardening, October 1982.
Rodale discusses his realization that he has, after getting far away from his education, only begun
to learn. He discovers that posing questions is just as important as answering them.
363
Syfers, Judy. “Why I Want a Wife.” Ms., December 1979, 144.
Syfers humorously looks at the responsibilities of a wife by declaring that she too needs one.
Fiction
Carson, Rachel. “A Fable for Tomorrow.” Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1962.
This futuristic look at the world is an example of incorrect problem-solving (doing nothing).
Holst, Spencer. “The Zebra Storyteller.” The Language of Cats and Other Stories. New York: Dutton,
1971.
This animal fable illustrates incorrect problem-solving (acting impulsively).
Kingston, Maxine Hong. “Conflicting Loyalties.” Reflections. Boston: Houghton, 1985.
A decision must be made between cultures and parents and children.
London, Jack. “To Build a Fire.” Jack London: Short Stories, ed. Maxwell Geisman. New York: Hill
and Wang, 1960.
This short story involves man against nature and man’s will to survive.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. “The Wall.” Intimacy and Other Stories. New York: Berkeley, 1956.
The ideas of human against human, society, and the environment and how people may react are
considered.
Stockton, Frank. “The Lady, or the Tiger?” The Lady, or the Tiger? and Other Short Stories. New
York: Garrett, 1969.
This short story offers the reader the choice between the lady and the tiger. Use it for class
discussion about the outcome.
Walker, Alice. “The Abortion.” You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down. New York: Harcourt, 1980.
This short story can serve as an exercise in prediction for readers.
Nonfiction
Asimov, Isaac. “There’s No Way to Go but Ahead.” The Reader and the Writer, ed. Robert Yarber.
New York: Scott, Foresman, 1982.
Humanity, faced with new advances in technology, has no choice but to continue to advance.
Congressional Digest.
The instructor can use this publication for dealing with relevant, recent issues.
Forssell, Jeff and Eva. “Life After Chernobyl.” Mother Earth News, May–June 1987, 95–101.
The authors discuss the hazards they faced on their farm in Sweden after the Chernobyl accident
and how they reacted.
King, Coretta Scott. “The Death Penalty Is a Step Back.” Patterns Plus, ed. Mary Lou Conlin. Boston:
Serves as the companion piece for the Royko essay noted below and sets forth arguments against
the death penalty.
364
Martin, Carolyn A., and Bruce Tulgan. Managing Generation Y: Global Citizens Born in the Late
Seventies and Early Eighties. Amherst, MA: Human Resource Development, 2001.
In this book written for business managers, Martin and Tulgan explore the general personality
characteristics of Generation Y.
“Outlaw Lie-Detector Tests?” The Language of Argument, ed. Daniel McDonald. New York: Harper,
1983.
The article presents a dialogue in which Senator Birch Bayh and Ty Kelly offer their views on the
use of lie detectors.
Royko, Mike. “Death to the Killers.” Patterns Plus, ed. Mary Lou Conlin. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1986.
Sets forth arguments favoring the death penalty.
Sachs, Susan. “A Nation Challenged: The Two Worlds of Muslim American Teenagers.” New York
Times, October 7, 2001, late ed., B1+.
Sachs discusses American Muslim students who feel torn between loyalty to the United States and
concern for Islamic countries.
Schulman, Steven. “Facing the Invisible Hardships.” Psychology Today, February 1986, 55 ff.
The author addresses learning disabilities faced by adults and examines ways to deal with them.
Weisburd, Stefi. “AIDS Vaccines: The Problem of Human Testing.” Science News, May 23, 1987,
329–332.
The author investigates a multitude of ethical, legal, logistical, and scientific problems for AIDS
vaccine scientists and their human guinea pigs.
CHAPTER 4, “PERCEIVING AND BELIEVING”
Descriptive Essays
The following essays are descriptive. The descriptions, however, are expository in nature; that is, they
make an important point through the concrete images they contain.
Dillard, Annie. “The Copperhead and the Mosquito.” Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. New York: Harper,
1974.
Dillard compares a mosquito sucking the blood from a copperhead to life.
Merrill-Foster, J. “At 85, Frightened by a Loss of Power.” New York Times, January 31, 1988, 14, 27.
Merrill-Foster beautifully describes his mother and his mother’s lack of preparation for growing
old.
Miner, Horace. “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema.” American Anthropologist 58 (1956): 503–507.
The anthropologist Miner describes the extreme magical beliefs of the Nacirema.
Orwell, George. “Shooting an Elephant.” Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays. New York:
Harcourt, 1978.
Orwell addresses the degrading treatment of the natives by the British government and his part in
that treatment.
365
Scudder, Samuel H. “Take This Fish and Look at It.” Readers as Writers, ed. Kate Kiefer. New York:
Holt, 1986.
Scudder remembers his experiences with a demanding science teacher and what he has learned
from him.
Analysis Essays
The following essays represent various kinds of analyses. Each essay is appropriate for developmental
students:
Calandra, Alexander. “Angels on a Pin.” Saturday Review, December 1968.
A student demonstrates that his professor’s answers are not the only answers.
Didion, Joan. “Marrying Absurd.” Slouching Towards Bethlehem. New York: Farrar, 1966.
Didion humorously reduces marriage rites to the basics.
Goodman, Ellen. “Watching the Grasshopper Get the Goodies.” At Large. New York: Summit, 1981.
Goodman examines the frustrating effects of inflation on individual lives.
Kozol, Jonathan. “A Third of the Nation Cannot Read These Words.” Illiterate America. New York:
Doubleday, 1985.
Kozol, a critic of education, examines the alarming rise in adult illiteracy.
Kramer, Jane. “Cowboy.” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing, ed.
Gary Colombo et al. New York: Bedford, 1989.
Using a particular old-fashioned cowboy as an example, Kramer examines the myth and reality of
the West.
Leonard, John. “My Son, the Roman.” Private Lives in the Imperial City. New York: Knopf, 1976.
Leonard uses his son’s experiences to comment on the difficulties of high school.
Macintosh, Prudence. “Masculine/Feminine.” Thundering Sneakers. Garden City, NY: Doubleday,
1981.
Macintosh looks at the difficulties of rearing nonsexist males.
Shepherd, Jean. “The Van Culture and the Camper Crowd.” A Fistful of Fig Newtons. New York:
Doubleday, 1981.
Shepherd describes two very different groups traveling the roads.
Fiction
Barthelme, Donald. “Lightning.” Overnight to Many Distant Cities. New York: Putnam, 1983.
A reporter interviews several people for an article.
Bowen, Elizabeth. “Demon Lover.” The Collected Stories of Elizabeth Bowen. New York: Knopf,
1981.
The reader is left to infer the outcome.
Bradbury, Ray. “The Veldt.” The Stories of Ray Bradbury. New York: Knopf, 1981.
An interesting look at a futuristic family room.
366
Cheever, John. “The Torch.” The Stories of John Cheever. New York: Ballantine, 1986.
Deals with a man’s perceptions of a woman friend. He comes to the startling realization that she is
death.
Malamud, Bernard. “Angel Levine.” The Magic Barrel. New York: Farrar, 1955.
The author uses stereotypes for his two main characters, Manischevit, a tailor, and Alexander
Levine, a misdirected black angel.
James, Henry. “The Pupil.” The Novels and Tales of Henry James. New York: Scribner’s, 1936.
The idea of appearance versus reality is presented.
Mansfield, Katherine. “The Garden Party.” The Short Stories of Katherine Mansfield. New York:
Knopf, 1967.
Addresses the concept of class distinction.
Munro, H. H. “The Open Window.” The Short Stories of Saki. New York: Viking, 1903.
The short story deals with the main character’s perception of who appears through the open
window.
Stockton, Frank. “A Piece of Red Calico.” The Lady, or the Tiger? and Other Stories. New York:
Garrett, 1969.
In a letter to a newspaper, a man explains the frustration of unsuccessfully trying to match some
calico material for his wife.
Nonfiction
Cressey, Jeffrey. ”Air Bags Are a Proven Vaccine.” Thought to Theme, ed. William F. Scott and
Raymond Leidlich. New York: Harcourt, 1986.
The author uses facts to support his judgment on the use of air bags.
Heilbronere, Robert L. “Don’t Let Stereotypes Warp Your Judgment.” Reader’s Digest, January 1962,
66–68.
The author defines stereotype, looks at why we stereotype, and offers solutions.
Horne, Jed. Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City. New
York: Random House, 2006.
This book, written by the metro editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, offers an
unsensationalized look at what happened in the days after Katrina from a seasoned reporter with
roots in New Orleans.
Rooney, Andy. And More by Andy Rooney. New York: Warner, 1982.
Selections from this book can be used to discuss how Rooney “infers” the point he is making.
Taubes, Gary. “The Game of the Name Is Fame. But Is It Science?” Discover, December 1986, 28–52.
This lengthy article expresses various viewpoints about a questionable discovery.
“The Alligator Story.” Values Clarification: A Handbook of Practical Strategies for Teachers and
Students, Sidney B. Simon, Leland W. Howe, and Howard Kirschenbaum. New York: Hart,
1972.
Have students answer and discuss the inferences in this short story.
367
Thomsen, D. E. “End of the World: You Won’t Feel a Thing.” Science News, June 20, 1987, 391.
Two astronomers offer their theories of possible endings of the world.
Vietmeyer, Noel D. “The Puffer—World’s Deadliest Delicacy.” National Geographic, August 1984,
260–270.
Report of a Japanese fish served as a delicacy.
Zoglin, Richard. “Covering the Awful Unexpected.” Time, February 10, 1986, 42, 45.
An account of how the different news organizations perceived and reported the space shuttle
Challenger disaster.
CHAPTER 5, “CONSTRUCTING KNOWLEDGE”
These essays can be used to assess the credibility and reliability of the writers.
Bennett, William J. “Why Johnny Can’t Abstain.” National Review, July 3, 1987, 36–38.
Bennett presents statistics that suggest reasons for teenage sexual activity and offers
recommendations for developing sex education programs.
Bettelheim, Bruno, and Karen Zelan. “Why Children Don’t Like to Read.” On Learning to Read: The
Child’s Fascination with Meaning. New York: Knopf, 1981.
Bettelheim and Zelan conclude that materials that bore students cause them to lack motivation to
learn to read.
Gansberg, Martin. “38 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police.” New York Times, March 24, 1964, 4.
Gansberg describes the murder of Kitty Genovese and analyzes the reactions of the witnesses.
Himmelfarb, Gertrude. “Manners into Morals: What the Victorians Knew.” American Scholar, Spring
1988, 223–232.
Himmelfarb looks at the Victorian era and suggests a connection between public behavior and
private belief.
Sizer, Theodore. “What High School Is.” Horace’s Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High
School. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984.
Sizer describes a typical American high school student’s day and explains the problems in
secondary education.
Staples, Brent. “Black Men and Public Space.” Harper’s, December 1986, 19–20.
This black journalist describes his reaction to the fear he elicits as he walks down city streets.
Stinnett, Caskie. “Massachusetts Drivers: Heels on Wheels.” Atlantic Monthly, October 1978, 26.
Stinnett, using Massachusetts statistics, lets the reader decide who are the country’s most
dangerous drivers.
Fiction
Anderson, Sherwood. “I Want to Know Why.” The Portable Sherwood Anderson, ed. Horace Gregory.
New York: Viking, 1969.
A young boy has questions about understanding his coming of age.
368
Atushi, Nakajami. “The Expert.” Encounter, May 1958.
The protagonist learns what it means to strive for perfection
Bambera, Toni Cade. “The Lesson.” Gorilla, My Love. New York: Random House, 1972.
The story of what two young girls learn from a shopping excursion.
Bierce, Ambrose. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” The Collected Writings of Ambrose Bierce.
New York: Citadel, 1966.
Deals with a hanging and the victim’s perception that by chance he has been freed..
Camus, Albert. “The Guest.” Exile and the Kingdom, trans. Justin O’Brien. New York: Knopf, 1958.
Leaves the reader with several questions about the outcome.
Chase, Virginia. “The Search.” The Best Maine Stories, ed. Sanford Phippen. Augusta, ME: Tapley,
1986.
A small boy has a unique perception of the phrase “a lost hand.”
Chewing Blackbones. “Old Man and Old Woman.” Indian Legends from the Northern Rockies, ed. Ella
B. Clark. Tulsa: University of Oklahoma Press, 1966.
This fable relates the creation myth from the Indian point of view.
Chopin, Kate. “Desiree’s Baby.” Bayou Folk. Ridgewood, NJ: Gregg, 1967.
Beliefs about and outcomes of “mixed blood” are considered.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “The Freshest Boy.” Babylon Revisited and Other Short Stories. New York:
Scribner’s, 1960.
A young man recognizes his own character faults and what he must do to change.
Herr, Michael. Dispatches. New York: Avon, 1978.
Jewett, Sarah Orne. “The White Heron.” The Best Maine Stories, ed. Sanford Phippen. Augusta, ME:
Tapley, 1986.
A young girl instinctively knows she must save the white heron from the hunter.
Kovic, Ron. Born on the Fourth of July. New York: Pocket Books, 1984.
Munroe, H. H. “Laura.” The Short Stories of Saki. New York: Viking, 1903.
The story is about a young woman’s belief in reincarnation.
Neinardt, John G. Black Elk Speaks. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1961.
Sections of this novel can be used to discuss Indian culture and beliefs.
Oates, Joyce Carol. “My Warszawa.” Prizewinning Stories of 1983. New York: Doubleday, 1983.
A middle-aged woman comes to terms with her religious beliefs.
Sillitoe, Alan. “The Loneliness of a Long-Distance Runner.” The Loneliness of a Long-Distance
Runner. New York: Knopf, 1960.
Relates a young man’s self-evaluation and decision to adopt the honest life.
Stone, Robert. Dogs of War. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975, 1981.
———. Flag for Sunrise. New York: Ballantine, 1981.
369
Twain, Mark. “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” Great Short Works of Mark Twain, ed. Justin
Kaplan. New York: Harper, 1967.
A self-righteous town and its townspeople are made to see their vulnerability and greed.
West, Jessamyn. “The Pacing Goose.” Friendly Persuasion. New York: Harcourt, 1945.
A man reexamines the manner in which he views his wife.
Nonfiction
Asimov, Isaac. “Intelligence.” Models for Writers, ed. Alfred Rosa and Paul Eschholz. New York: St.
Martin’s, 1982.
The author offers the thesis that intelligence is what we make of it.
Bloom, Alan, trans. and ed. The Republic of Plato. New York: Basic Books, 1991.
Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” can be found in Book IV of The Republic.
Berne, Eric. Games People Play. New York: Grove, 1964.
Sections of this can be used to discuss people’s actions.
Edwards, Robert, and Patrick Steptoe. A Matter of Life. New York: Morrow, 1980.
Selections from this book can be used for discussion of in vitro fertilization.
Fitzgerald, Francis. Fire in the Lake. New York: Random House, 1973.
Hardy, Zoë Tracy. “What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?” Ms., August 1985, 75–78.
Hardy acknowledges that she helped create the atomic bomb used on Nagasaki by working in a
factory. She also realizes the danger that the bomb has created for the world.
Hersey, John. “Hatsuyo Nakamura.” Hiroshima. New York: Knopf, 1985.
Hersey describes a woman who has lost her husband in the war. After digging her three children
out from under a bombed building, she had to try to survive radiation sickness in the impoverished
Hiroshima.
Johnson, Paul. “Why I Believe in God.” Reader’s Digest, June 1985.
The author offers his reasons for belief in God.
Ornstein, Robert, and David Sobel. “The Healing Brain.” Psychology Today, March 1987, 48–52.
The authors discuss the brain’s ability to aid in the healing process.
Parker, Jo Goodwin. “What Is Poverty?” Subject and Strategy, ed. Paul Eschholz and Alfred Rosa. New
York: St. Martin’s, 1985.
An insightful look at what poverty really is.
Perry, William Graves. Forms of Intellectual and Ethical Development in the College Years: A Scheme.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998.
Chaffee bases his discussion of the stages of knowing on Perry’s famous scheme.
Sagan, Carl. “In Praise of Science and Technology.” New Republic, 1977, 21–22.
The author believes in the advancement of both science and technology for the good of humanity.
370
Schweickart, Rusty. “Back Against the Bomb, Eyes on the Stars.” Discover, July 1987, 62–65.
A former astronaut addresses theologians and philosophers about the effects of space travel on his
beliefs.
Theroux, Paul. “Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds.” The Old Patagonian. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1979.
Deals with a young woman’s obsession with maintaining a healthy body and a healthy mind.
FILMS (WITH DISTRIBUTORS)
These films deal with the Vietnam War and the civil war in Nicaragua.
Vietnam
Apocalypse Now
Stone Gardens
Platoon
Coming Home
MGM/United Artists, Home Entertainment, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
Hearts and Minds
Paramount Pictures, Non-Theatrical Division, 5451 Marathon Street, Hollywood, CA 90038
Go Tell the Spartans
Films Inc. (Northeast), 440 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
Ashes and Embers
Myphduh Films, 48 Q Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20002
Nicaragua
In the Name of the People
Waiting for the Invaders: U.S. Citizens in Nicaragua
Icarus Films, 200 Park Avenue South, 1319, New York, NY 10003
From the Ashes: Nicaragua Today
The Cinema Guild, 1697 Broadway, 802, New York, NY 10019
Chronicle of Hope: Nicaragua
Third World Newsreel, 335 West 38th Street, New York, NY 10018
Witness to War
First Run Features, 153 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10014
371
CHAPTER 6, “LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT”
The following essays focus on both the theory of language and its practice. Many of the writers’ focus
stresses the importance of specificity. The essays in this section (except Lakoff’s) can also be found in
About Language: A Reader for Writers, 2d ed., ed. William H. Roberts and Gregoire Turgeon. Boston:
Burchfield, Robert. “Dictionaries and Ethnic Sensibilities.” The State of the Language, ed. Leonard
Michaels and Christopher Ricks. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980.
Burchfield demonstrates that dictionaries have caused startlingly violent controversies.
Davis, Ossie. “The English Language Is My Enemy.” Negro History Bulletin, April 1967.
Davis argues that English is biased in favor of white and against black.
Iyer, Pico. “In Praise of the Humble Comma.” Time, 13 June 1988.
This beautifully written essay demonstrates the connection between punctuation and culture.
Lakoff, Robin. “You Are What You Say.” Purpose and Process, ed. Jeffrey D. Hoeper and James H.
Pickering. New York: Macmillan, 1989.
Lakoff argues that our language reveals negative and belittling attitudes toward women.
Olmert, Michael. “Point of Origin.” Smithsonian, August 1982.
Olmert gives a brief history of the Oxford English Dictionary and, through examples, shows why
it is one of lexicography’s greatest achievements.
Roberts, Paul. “A Brief History of English.” Understanding English. New York: Harper, 1958.
Roberts demonstrates that before we can understand language, we must understand history.
———. “How to Say Nothing in Five Hundred Words.” Understanding English. New York: Harper,
1958.
With humor, Roberts shows how revision can produce an essay worth reading.
Rodriguez, Richard. “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood.” Hunger of Memory. New York:
Godine, 1981.
Arguing that language is necessary for public identity, Rodriguez opposes bilingual education.
Swift, Marvin H. “Clear Writing Means Clear Thinking Means . . .” Harvard Business Review,
January–February 1973.
Using a business memo as an example, Swift demonstrates the importance of revision to any task.
Thomas, Lewis. “Social Talk.” The Lives of a Cell. New York: Viking Penguin.
Dr. Thomas argues that human beings differ from animals only because of language.
Wrighter, Carl P. “Weasel Words: God’s Little Helpers.” I Can Sell You Anything. New York:
Ballantine, 1972.
Wrighter gives examples of words that advertisers use to deceive consumers.
372
Fiction
Brooks, Gwendolyn. “The Rise of Maud Martha.” The World of Gwendolyn Brooks. New York:
Harper, 1959.
A companion piece to Chopin’s short story (listed following). Relates how one woman deals with
her husband’s death.
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” The Little Brown Reader, ed. Marcia Stubbs and Sylvan Barnet.
Boston: Little, Brown, 1983.
Use for the idea of an experience with an ironic twist. It is about a woman dealing with her
husband’s death.
Faulkner, William. “Barn Burning.” Collected Stories of William Faulkner. New York: Random House,
1939.
Exemplifies the idea of a symbolic action; this story is also useful for language usage.
Gaines, Ernest J. “The Sky is Gray.” American Negro Short Stories, ed. J. H. Clark. New York: Hill
and Wang, 1967.
The story is told through the point of view and language of an eight-year-old boy.
Galsworthy, John. “The Japanese Quince.” Caravan. New York: Scribner’s, 1925.
A very short story in which almost every detail can be interpreted as having a meaning.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Birthmark.” Hawthorne’s Short Stories, ed. Newton Arvin. New York:
Vintage, 1946.
Deals with the idea of attaining perfection.
Hughes, Langston. “Thank You, Ma’am.” The Best Short Stories of Negro Writers, ed. Langston
Hughes. Boston: Little, Brown, 1967.
A dialect story.
Lawrence, D. H. “The Odor of Chrysanthemums. The Complete Short Stories of D. H. Lawrence. New
York: Viking, 1950.
The main symbol comes to represent a bad marriage; this story is good for description.
Stuart, Jesse. “Dawn of Remembered Spring.” Best American Short Stories of 1933. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1933.
Deals with the idea of coming of age.
———. “Split Cherry Tree.” Adventures in American Literature, ed. R. B. Inglis. New York: Harcourt,
1961.
Various symbols are used to represent elements of the rural lifestyle.
Thurber, James. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” My World—and Welcome to It. New York:
Harcourt, 1980.
The proverbial hen-pecked husband is portrayed.
373
Welty, Eudora. “Keela, the Outcast Indian Maiden.” The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. New York:
Harcourt, 1980.
This story uses dialogue to tell the entire incident.
———. “A Shower of Gold.” The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. New York: Harcourt, 1980.
A town gossip relates the life and marriage of Snowdie McLain.
Nonfiction
Dillard, Annie. A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. New York: Harper, 1974.
Selections from this book should be used to augment natural science topics. Note the author’s
clear, graphic use of language.
Hegege, Claude. “The Powers of Language.” UNESCO Courier, March 1986, 18+.
The author asserts that language can change and has changed the course of history.
Hughes, Langston. “Salvation.” The Big Sea. New York: Farrar, 1940.
A personal, symbolic experience is portrayed.
Menand, Louis. “Talk, Talk.” New Republic, February 16, 1987, 28–33.
A review of six books about the history and importance of language.
Weizenbaum, Joseph. “The Compulsive Programmer.” Computer Power and Human Reason. San
Francisco: Freeman, 1976.
The author describes the compulsive programmer as a danger to himself, his employer, and his
fellow employees.
Wrighter, Paul. I Can Sell You Anything. New York: Ballantine, 1972.
Selections from this book can be used to show how advertisers use language to sell products and
fool customers.
CHAPTER 7, “FORMING AND APPLYING CONCEPTS”
The following are essays of classification, comparison, and definition, reflecting the discussion in the
text:
CLASSIFICATION
Baker, Russell. “The Plot Against People.” Subject and Strategy, 4th ed., ed. Paul Eschholz and Alfred
Rosa. New York: St. Martin’s, 1988.
The humorist Baker discusses the untrustworthy things in our lives.
Huff, Darrell. “How to Lie with Statistics.” How to Lie with Statistics. New York: Norton, 1954.
Huff describes nine ways that numbers can be used to twist the truth.
Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth. “Stages of Dying.” Today’s Education, January 1972.
Kübler-Ross divides the process of dying into recognizable categories.
374
COMPARISON
Britt, Suzanne, “That Lean and Hungry Look.” Purpose and Process, ed. Jeffrey D. Hoeper and James
H. Pickering. New York: Macmillan, 1989.
Britt takes a humorous look at the differences between fat and thin.
Catton, Bruce. “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts.” Subject and Strategy, 5th ed., ed. Paul Eschholz
and Alfred Rosa. New York: St. Martin’s, 1990.
In this classic comparison, Catton examines the two most famous military men of their generation.
Nemerov, Howard. “On the Resemblances Between Science and Religion.” Figures of Thought. New
York: Godine, 1977.
Nemerov demonstrates the similarities between science and religion.
Petroski, Henry. “The Gleaming Silver Bird and the Rusty Iron Horse.” Beyond Engineering. New
Petroski contrasts today’s airplanes with yesterday’s trains.
Twain, Mark. Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth. New York: Harper, 1962.
With biting sarcasm, Twain compares human beings to the “lower animals.”
DEFINITION
Parker, Dorothy. “Good Souls.” Vanity Fair, June 1919.
Parker humorously describes people who are too “good” to be tolerated.
Parker, Jo Goodwin. “What Is Poverty?” Subject and Strategy, 5th ed., ed. Paul Eschholz and Alfred
Rosa. New York: St. Martin’s, 1990.
Parker describes poverty from the inside.
Theroux, Paul. “Soccer in San Salvador.” The Old Patagonian Express. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1979.
Theroux uses a vivid account of a soccer game to define El Salvador.
Yankelovich, Daniel. “The New Breed.” Work in America: The Decade Ahead, ed. Clark Kerr and
Jerome M. Rosow. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1979.
Yankelovich defines a new group in the United States concerned with alternatives to traditional
success.
Fiction
The concepts to be investigated are suggested for each short story.
Anderson, Sherwood. “The Egg.” The Triumph of the Egg. New York: Heubsch, 1921.
Happiness, acceptance.
Cheever, John. “The Angel of the Bridge.” The Stories of John Cheever. New York: Ballantine, 1985.
Dealing with fear.
375
Conrad, Joseph. “The Lagoon.” The Complete Works of Joseph Conrad. New York: Doubleday, Page,
1924.
Love, courage, and cowardice.
Gordimer, Nadine. “Livingstone’s Companions.” Livingstone’s Companions. New York: Viking, 1971.
Apartheid.
Graham, Greene. “The Basement Room.” Graham Greene Collected Stories. New York: Viking, 1973.
Maturity, coming of age.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Rappacini’s Daughter.” Hawthorne’s Short Stories. New York: Vintage, 1946.
Good versus evil.
Lessing, Doris. “How I Finally Lost My Heart.” Stories of Doris Lessing. New York: Knopf, 1978.
Love.
Malamud, Bernard. “The Jewbird.” The Magic Barrel. New York: Farrar, 1958.
Religion.
McPherson, James Alan. “Private Domain.” Hue and Cry. Boston: Little, Brown, 1969.
Values.
O’Brien, Edna. “A Scandalous Woman.” A Scandalous Woman and Other Short Stories. New York:
Harcourt, 1974.
Friendship.
Pynchon, Thomas. “The Secret Integration.” Slow Learner: Early Stories by Thomas Pynchon. Boston:
Little, Brown, 1984.
Racism.
Updike, John. “Pigeon Feathers.” Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories. New York: Knopf, 1962.
Death.
Wright, Richard, “The Man Who Was Almost a Man.” The Best Short Stories of Negro Writers, ed.
Langston Hughes. Boston: Little, Brown, 1967.
Maturity, coming of age.
Nonfiction
Allport, Gordon. “The Nature of Prejudice.” The Nature of Prejudice. Boston: Addison-Wesley, 1954.
The author offers his definition of prejudice. Sections of this text can also be used when
discussing concepts in general and how we acquire them.
Austin, James. “The Roots of Serendipity.” Saturday Review/World, November 2, 1974, 60–64.
The link between creativity and luck is explored.
Golding, William. “Thinking as a Hobby.” The Reader and The Writer, ed. Robert Yarber, 133–139.
Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1982.
This classification shows what the author believes are the categories of thinking.
376
Gregory, Dick. “Shame.” Nigger: An Autobiography. New York: Dutton, 1964.
A child faces shame for the first time and examines how it affects a later incident.
King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Three Ways of Dealing with Oppression.” Stride Toward Freedom. New
York: Harper, 1958.
This essay provides an exercise in classification and several concepts.
Snyder, Michael. “Self-Fulfilling Stereotypes.” Psychology Today, July 1982, 60–68.
A companion article for the Allport piece (previously listed).
Viorst, Judith. “Friends, Good Friends, and Such Good Friends.” Models for Writers, ed. Alfred Rosa
and Paul Eschholz, 290–293. New York: St. Martin’s, 1986.
A clear classification essay that deals with the possible levels of friendship.
“When Is a Planet?” (“Science and Citizen” column). Scientific American, April 1985, 70–71.
Scientists examine reforming their concept of planet.
White, E. B. “The Three New Yorks.” Here Is New York. New York: Harper, 1949.
A classification essay that examines New York City from three different viewpoints.
CHAPTER 8, “RELATING AND ORGANIZING”
These essays fall under the rhetorical modes of process analysis and causal analysis, which are covered
in the text.
PROCESS ANALYSIS
Hoagland, Edward. “In the Toils of the Law.” Walking the Dead Diamond River. New York: Random
House, 1973.
Hoagland explains how juries work from the standpoint of a jury member.
O’Keeney, Brian. “How to Make It in College Now That You’re Here.” College Writing Skills with
Readings, ed. John Langan. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985.
This process analysis presents a good mapping exercise as well as excellent practical advice.
Perrin, Noel. “Buying a Pickup Truck.” First Person Plural: Essays of a Sometime Farmer. New York:
Godine, 1978.
Perrin humorously describes the pickup truck from a farmer’s perspective.
Petrunkevitch, Alexander. “The Spider and the Wasp.” Subject and Strategy, ed. Paul Eschholz and
Alfred Rosa, 5th ed. New York: St. Martin’s, 1990.
This classic essay graphically describes the process by which a digger wasp captures his prey.
CAUSAL ANALYSIS
Erickson, Kai. “Of Accidental Judgments and Casual Slaughters.” Nation, August 3–10, 1985, 65.
Erikson argues that the atomic bomb was dropped because it was available.
Greenfield, Jeff. “The Beatles: They Changed Rock, Which Changed the Culture, Which Changed Us.”
New York Times, February 1975, 12 (section VI).
Greenfield analyzes the far-reaching effects of the Beatles and their music.
377
MacNeil, Robert. “The Media and the Public Trust.” Shape of This Century: Readings from the
Disciplines, ed. Diana Wyllie Rigden and Susan S. Waugh. New York: Harcourt, 1990.
MacNeil analyzes the causes of distrust of the news media.
Walker, Alice. “The Civil Rights Movement: What Good Was It?” In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens.
New York: Harcourt, 1967.
Walker examines the far-reaching effects of the civil rights movement on individual lives.
Fiction
Bradbury, Ray. “There Will Come Soft Rains.” The Short Stories of Ray Bradbury. New York: Knopf,
1981.
The story of a single house after a nuclear explosion.
Dahl, Roald. “Lamb to the Slaughterhouse.” Someone Like You. New York: Knopf, 1953.
A humorous look at a murder.
de la Mare, Walter. “A Recluse.” Ghost Book, ed. C. Asquith. New York: Scribner’s, 1927.
The plot and the characters of this ghost story are good for mapping.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. “The Adventure of the Speckled Band.” The Complete Sherlock Holmes. New
York: Doubleday, 1930.
A mystery.
Ellison, Ralph. “Flying Home.” The Best Short Stories of Negro Writers, ed. Langston Hughes. Boston:
Little, Brown, 1967.
Map the plot, character, and themes in this story that uses flashback.
Harris, Joel Chandler. “The Sad Fate of Mr. Fox.” Bedside Book of Famous American Stories, ed. J. A.
Burrell and B. A. Cerf. New York: Random House, 1936.
Tale of Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Fox, with a moral.
Henry, O. “The Ransom of Red Chief.” The Complete Works of O. Henry. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday, 1953.
This story is an example of chronological order.
Hill, Susan. “The Albatross.” The Albatross and Other Short Stories. New York: Dutton, 1975.
Two characters who can easily be mapped are presented.
Irving, Washington. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The Sketch Book. New York: New American
Library, 1961.
The story of Ichabod Crane.
Jewett, Sarah Orne. “Miss Tempy’s Watchers.” The Best Short Stories of Sarah Orne Jewett. Boston:
Two character sketches that can be mapped and personalities that can be compared.
378
Kafka, Franz. “A Report to the Academy.” Franz Kafka: The Complete Stories. New York: Schocken,
1972.
An animal tale: A former monkey explains how he became human at a meeting of eminent
scientists.
Oates, Joyce Carol. “Unmailed, Unwritten Letters.” The Wheel of Love and Other Stories. New York:
Vanguard, 1973.
Insight to the character is given through her letters.
O’Connor, Flannery. “Revelation.” In Everything That Rises Must Converge. New York: Farrar, 1965.
A woman tells about an experience with religion. Students can map plot, character, and themes.
———. “The Enduring Chill.” In Flannery O’Connor: The Complete Stories. New York: Farrar, 1973.
This story presents a picture of what it might be like to be a writer.
Saroyan, William. “The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse.” O. Henry Memorial Award Stories of
1938. New York: Book League of America, 1938.
The manner in which the story is told is strongly related to the oral tradition of storytelling.
Discuss patterns; map.
Updike, John. “A&P.” Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories. New York: Knopf, 1962.
This story is written from the first-person point of view.
Walker, Alice. “A Strong Horse Tea.” Women in Love and Trouble. New York: Harcourt, 1973.
Map the main character, plot, themes, and symbols.
Welty, Eudora. “Powerhouse.” The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. New York: Harcourt, 1980.
Map the main character.
Nonfiction
Asimov, Issac. “The Difference Between a Brain and a Computer.” Please Explain. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1973.
This essay uses comparison; it can also be mapped.
Bowden, Chuck. “4 Years Is a Long Sentence to Serve.” USA Today, March 1986, 9.
The author compares high schools and prisons.
Bower, B. “The Fragile, Creative Side of Nightmares.” Science News, January 17, 1987, 37.
A report of a study that examines the link between nightmares and mental illness.
Didion, Joan. “In Bed.” White Album. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1979.
A cause-and-effect essay dealing with the author’s view of herself and her chronic headaches.
———. “Why I Write.” Themes and Variations, ed. W. Ross Winterowd and Charlotte Preston. New
The author explains her reasons for writing. A companion piece for the Orwell essay (noted
below).
379
O’Keeney, Brian. “How to Make It in College Now That You’re Here.” College Writing Skills with
Readings, ed. John Langan. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985.
The essay presents a good mapping exercise as well as practical advice.
Orwell, George. “Why I Write.” The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell, ed.
Sonia Orwell and Ian Angus. New York: Harcourt, 1968.
The author explains his reasons for writing. This essay can be used as a companion piece for the
Didion essay (previously cited).
Raloff, Janet. “Embedded Sentinels of Toxicity.” Science News, February 21, 1987, 123–125.
Research in identifying ways to measure and limit the risk of toxicity from lead paint in children.
Sagan, Carl. “The Cosmic Calendar.” Subject and Strategy, ed. Paul Eschholz and Alfred Rosa. New
This essay uses the analogy of the lifespan of the universe versus the lifespan of humans.
Selzer, Richard. “The Knife.” Mortal Lessons. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1976.
A process essay on surgery.
Syfers, Judy. “Why I Want a Wife.” Ms., December 1979, 144.
The author defines the functions and characteristics of a model wife.
Thomas, Lewis. “The Technology of Medicine.” The Lives of a Cell. New York: Viking, Penguin,
1971.
Three levels of technology are explained.
Veniga, Robert L., and James L. Spradley. The Work-Stress Connection: How to Cope with Job
Burnout. Boston: Little, Brown, 1982.
Selections from this book are suggested for use as examples of process.
Westin, J. “Education in the Public Schools.” Reflections, ed. William Barnwell and Julie Peace.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985.
Maps the parents’ perception of problems in public high schools.
Wright, Richard. “My First Lesson in How to Live as a Negro.” Patterns Plus, ed. Mary Lou Conlin.
Boston: Houghton, 1987.
A process essay that involves discrimination.
CHAPTER 9, “THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT MORAL ISSUES”
Dhillon, Gurpreet. Social Responsibility in the Information Age. Hershey: Idea, 2003.
Everson, Stephen. Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998.
A straightforward introduction to moral theories of ancient times.
Naverson, Jane. Moral Issues. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1983.
A collection of readings on moral issues still valid to date.
380
Fiction
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. New York: Vintage Press, 2007.
Golden, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Perigee Books, 1959.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Hawthorne’s Short Stories, ed. Newton Arvin.
New York: Vintage, 1946.
The reader is asked to answer the question, “Why the veil?”
Malamud, Bernard. “The Magic Barrel.” The Magic Barrel. New York: Farrar, 1958.
Why is there mourning at the end?
Steinbeck, John. “Johnny Bear.” The Long Valley. New York: Viking, 1966.
The story of the town’s leading citizens, a scandal, and the town “idiot.”
Smith, Thea. She Let Herself Go. New York: Five Star Press, 2002.
Explores a woman confronting menopause in a culture the celebrates youth.
Welty, Eudora. “The Petrified Man.” The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. New York: Harcourt,
1980.
A look at two town gossips.
Wolff, Tobias. “In the Garden of the North American Martyrs.” In the Garden of the North American
Martyrs: A Collection of Short Stories. New York: Ecco Press, 1981.
The reader is asked to look at American academia and decide if there is anything wrong with it.
Nonfiction
Areson, Karen. “Cheating on an Ethics Test? It’s ‘Topic A’ at Columbia.” New York Times, December
1, 2006, late ed., B4.
Recounts the story of several Columbia University students cheating on an ethics test.
Kearsley, Kelly. “Ethics Mean Personal Choices.” News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), April 2, 2007,
South Sound ed., B6.
Discusses the importance of teaching ethics to business students.
O’Reilly, Timothy. “ Draft Bloggers Code of Conduct.” O’Reilly Radar, April 4, 2007.
http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/04/draft_bloggers_1.html.
From the website of company that launched the first commercial website in 1993 comes a call for
a code of ethics for bloggers. Here is the first draft of that code with links to revisions being made
on the Web by participants.
Williams, Lance. “College Diverted Funds to Campaign. . . .” San Francisco Chronicle, April 6, 2007,
final ed., A1+.
College administrators divert rent check owed to college to campaign fund for candidate in favor
of bond issue to raise money for the institution.
381
CHAPTER 10, “CONSTRUCTING ARGUMENTS”
See essays under Chapter 11, below.
CHAPTER 11, “REASONING CRITICALLY”
These essays are all arguments.
Apple, Max. “The Oranging of America.” The Oranging of America. New York: Viking, 1974.
Apple argues that “progress” is ruining the landscape of America.
Brophy, Brigid. “The Rights of Animals.” Don’t Never Forget: Collected Views and Reviews. New
York: Holt, 1966.
Brophy argues that human beings should consider the rights of animals.
French, Marilyn. “The Ideal of Equality.” Beyond Power. New York: Summit, 1985.
French asserts that too many women adopt male values and that the path to true equality may lie
in women asserting their own traditions.
hooks, bell. “Racism and Feminism.” Ain’t I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism. Boston: South
End Press, 1981.
hooks argues that American feminists are perpetuating racism.
Mathews, Jack. “The Movie Rating System Needs to Clean Up Its Act.” Los Angeles Times, February
19, 1987.
In this open letter to Jack Valenti, Mathews urges stiffer rules for movie ratings.
Rich, Adrienne. “Claiming an Education.” On Lies, Secrets, and Silence: Selected Prose, 1966–1978.
New York: Norton, 1979.
Rich argues that women must not wait passively to be educated; they must actively claim their
own education.
Tucker, William. “Endangered Species.” Progress and Privilege. Georges Borchardt, 1982.
In contrast to Brophy (cited earlier), Tucker argues that Americans are too concerned with animal
rights.
Woolf, Virginia. “Professions for Women.” The Death of the Moth and Other Essays. New York:
Harcourt, 1942.
Woolf reflects on two problems of women writers: the “angel in the house” and the difficulty a
woman has telling her own story.
OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY
The following essays may engage students who are interested in the reading “Critical Thinking and
Obedience to Authority.” These essays can also be found in Writing and Reading Across the
Curriculum, eds. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen, 3rd ed. Glenview, Ill.: Scott, Foresman,
1988.
Baumrind, Diana. “Some Thoughts on Ethics of Research: After Reading Milgram’s ‘Behavioral Study
of Obedience.’” American Psychologist 19 (1964): 421–423.
Baumrind attacks Milgram’s conclusions.
382
Goleman, Daniel. “Following the Leader.” Science ’85, October 1985.
Goleman uses the E. F. Hutton Company as an example of corporate groupthink.
Herrnstein, Richard. “Review of Stanley Milgram’s Obedience to Authority.” Commentary, June 1974.
This essay is a defense of the value of Milgram’s experiments.
Janis, Irving L. “Groupthink.” Yale Alumni Magazine, January 1973.
Janis says that those in government are vulnerable to the desire to agree with authority.
McCarthy, Sarah J. “Why Johnny Can’t Disobey.” The Humanist 39, no. 5 (September–October 1979).
McCarthy argues that schools first teach obedience and only then teach subjects such as reading
and mathematics.
Meyer, Philip. “If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a Stranger, Would You? (Probably)” Esquire, 1970.
Meyer attacks the experimental situation established by Milgram.
Rosenbaum, Max. “Summary of Remarks by John Dean, October 29, 1977, Waldorf Astoria Hotel.”
Compliant Behavior: Beyond Obedience to Authority. Human Science Press, 1983.
Rosenbaum uses John Dean’s actions as an example of complaint behavior.
Fiction
A majority of the short stories listed deal with conflict.
Aiken, Conrad. “Impulse.” The Short Stories of Conrad Aiken. New York: Duell, 1950.
Man versus himself.
Baldwin, James. “Sonny’s Blues.” Going to Meet the Man. New York: Dial, 1965.
Brother versus brother, conflicting lifestyles.
Bambera, Toni Cade. “My Man Bovanne.” Gorilla, My Love. New York: Random, 1971.
Generation versus generation; mother versus daughter.
Benet, Stephen Vincent. “The Devil and Daniel Webster.” The Selected Works of Stephen Vincent
Benet. New York: Holt, 1966.
A debate.
Chesnutt, Charles Waddell. “The Sheriff’s Children.” The Best Short Stories of Negro Writers, ed.
Langston Hughes. Boston: Little, Brown, 1967.
Racial conflict.
Chesterton, G. K. “The Invisible Man.” The Father Brown Omnibus. New York: Dodd, 1945.
A mystery for students to solve.
Dunbar, Paul Laurence. “The Scapegoat.” The Best Short Stories of Negro Writers, ed. Langston
Hughes. Boston: Little, Brown, 1967.
Political conflict.
Gordimer, Nadine. “Open House.” Livingstone’s Companions. New York: Viking, 1971.
Racial conflict.
383
Greenberg, Joanne. “The Supremacy of the Hunza.” Rights of Passage. New York: Holt, 1971.
Man versus society and modernization.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Indian Camp.” The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Scribner’s,
1953.
Man versus death; technology versus custom.
Irving, Washington. “The Devil and Tom Walker.” The Bold Dragon and Other Tales, ed. Anne Carroll
Moore. New York: Knopf, 1930.
A pact with the devil.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” The Lottery. New York: Farrar, 1976.
Conflict of right and wrong traditions, town against the individual.
Lawrence, D. H. “Tickets Please.” The Complete Short Stories of D. H. Lawrence. New York: Viking,
1950.
Man versus man.
Malamud, Bernard. “Idiots First.” The Magic Barrel. New York: Farrar, 1958.
Love versus the world.
O’Brien, Edna. “A Rose in the Heart of New York.” New Yorker, May 1, 1978, 40–62.
Mother versus daughter; culture.
O’Connor, Flannery. “The Artificial Nigger.” A Good Man Is Hard to Find. New York: Harcourt, 1955.
A story of a grandfather who tries to serve as a mentor for his grandson and warn him of the evils
of city life.
O’Flaherty, Liam. “The Sniper.” Spring Sowing. New York: Knopf, 1926.
Brother versus brother; Protestant versus Catholic.
Oliver, Diane. “Neighbors.” Prize Stories of 1967: The O. Henry Awards. New York: Doubleday, 1967.
Family and racial conflict.
Poe, Edgar Allen. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Poe: Poetry and Tales. New York: Library of
America, 1984.
A mystery in which students must generate a solution.
Wideman, John Edgar. “Tommy.” (Also published as “Bobby.”) Our Roots Grow Deeper Than We
Know, ed. Lee Gutkind. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1985.
Man versus society.
Nonfiction
Editorials are the best examples of the use of argument as well as exercises for critical analysis. The
following are suggested as sources for relevant reading material:
Congressional Digest: Monthly issues are devoted to one controversial congressional topic; pro and con
arguments are presented by various U.S. representatives, senators, and special-interest groups.
Editorials on File: Facts on File, Inc., New York, NY. A twice-monthly newspaper editorial survey
with a cumulative index.
384
Newsweek: Particularly the “My Turn” essays.
Social Issues Resources Series (SirS): P.O. Box 2349, Boca Raton. Social and physical sciences topical
listing of articles from a large number of sources.
Time Magazine: This and other newsweeklies provide opportunities for critical thinking about images
and photojournalism.
USA Today: Particularly the editorial section, which offers opposing viewpoints on a topic.
College rhetorics also provide examples of the use of argument. Several of these are suggested, and
many offer contrasting opinions.
Conlin, Mary Lou. Patterns Plus. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986.
McDonald, Daniel. The Language of Argument. New York: Harper, 1983.
Rottenberg, Annette T. Elements of Argument. New York: St. Martin’s, 1985.
Smith, William F., and Raymond D. Liedlich. From Thought to Theme. New York: Harcourt, 1986.
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES
Asimov, Isaac. “Beyond the Night Sky.” Reader’s Digest, July 1986, 177–180.
The author argues that the stars hold both a beauty and a power that can be further investigated
only by science.
King, Frederick A. “Animals in Research: the Case for Experimentation,” and Patricia Curtis, “The
Argument Against Animal Experimentation. Readings for Writers. New York: Harcourt, 1986.
Companion articles on this controversial subject.
Kolata, Gina. “Why It’s So Hard to Lose Weight.” Smithsonian, January 1986, 90–97.
The author argues that there may be a biochemical basis to obesity.
Quinn, Jane Bryant, and David Reed. “The Job-Protection Dilemma.” Reader’s Digest, April 1986,
165–175.
Pro and con essays on buying American goods versus imported goods.
Schiller, Ronald. “How Religious Are We?” Reader’s Digest, May 1986, 102–104.
Using statistics from a Gallup poll, the author argues that as a whole, the United States is
returning to religion.
Swift, Jonathan. “A Modest Proposal.” Jonathan Swift: A Selection of His Works, ed. Philip Pinkus.
New York: Odyssey, 1965.
An example of argumentation.
Tuchman, Barbara. “An Inquiry into the Persistence of Unwisdom in Government.” Esquire, May
1980, 25–27.
The author examines why government leaders are so “wooden headed.”

Thinking Critically - Cal State LA

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