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| PHIL 4 - Syllabus |
College of the Siskiyous - Course Syllabus
Course Title: LOGIC
Course Start Date: 5/27/08
Course End Date: 7/03/08
Course #: 5215
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Kirby & Goodpaster. (2002). Thinking, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall
It is important that you acquire the book before the class starts.
Additional Materials to be found in the Resources Folder online:
"Study Group Fallacy Journal Instruction Sheet."
"Critical-Thinking Assumptions Scenarios."
"List of Logical Fallacies."
"Syllogism Completion Exercise."
"Syllogism Validity Testing Exercise."
INSTRUCTOR:
Facilitator's Name: Daniel Kealey, Ph.D.
Email Address: kealey@siskiyous.edu
Work/Home Telephone Number: (530) 926-4154
Instructor Availability: 10am-9pm Pacific Standard Time, everyday
WORDS OF WELCOME
Logic and Critical Thinking, I believe, are fun and exciting skills to study because they have so much potential to, not only increase our effectiveness in dealing with the various challenges that life presents us, but also to develop our intelligence (yes, IQ scores can be raised!). So I have every reason to expect we will all enjoy this course and learn skills that we will remember and use the rest of our lives (there is no limited shelf life to the content matter of this course!). I find the online format an ideal way to learn from each other. Teaching this course is all the more rewarding because I know I will be learning from you. I look forward to receiving your comments and suggestions for improving this course. I strongly suggest that you print out this syllabus to have as a ready reference.
GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this course we will study the processes of effective thinking and various obstacles to its realization. Cultural, linguistic, psychological and belief factors that condition the effectiveness of thinking will be identified and remedies for the improvement of our thinking skills will be examined. There will be an overview of formal logic from deduction to induction. It intends to improve the student's ability to think analytically and to recognize fallacious forms of argumentation. Application of critical thinking to professional, personal, relational and other areas of real life will be an important focus of the course.
CLASS BIOGRAPHIES
Your first assignment will be to post a biography to the Discussion Board (Student Lounge forum) so we can get to know each other. You will find my Bio there as well. Tell where you are from, what work you do, what you are studying at COS and a little about your interests. Etudes also allows you to post a picture of yourself that will automatically accompany your forum posts, through utilizing the Avatar wizard.
PARTICIPATION
You will be expected to contribute to the class discussion in a substantive way four out of seven days each week. I will consider both quantity and quality when evaluating student participation. Learning team participation is evaluated separately and will not be counted as class participation. Only relevant postings to the DQ newsgroups count for participation purposes. The course is heavily weighted towards participation. This means you must post frequently. 3 posts per Discussion Question to be eligible for full points. You lose points for insufficient quantity and quality of posts and for failure to participate 4 out of 7 days per week. Only your DQ posts that fall in the week for which they assigned will be counted--not those that are posted after the end of the course week (late DQ responses are not accepted). Post your replies to their appropriate threads.
FEEDBACK ON ASSIGNMENTS
I will send feedback on all graded assignments to your personal mailboxes within seven days of the end of the week in which they were due.
DUE DATES
Unless otherwise noted, weekly assignments are to be completed and turned in by midnight on the last day of our course week, which runs Tuesday through Monday (i.e., Monday).
LATE ASSIGNMENTS
Assignments turned in late will be penalized one grade per day and will not be accepted after three days beyond the due date. Technical problems do not excuse you from your assignment and participation responsibilities (unless it is COS's fault, such as the Etudes server being down on due night). That means you should have backup plans in case your regular computer/ISP has problems. Libraries, Internet cafés, friends, work--know where to run to when your computer acts up.
LENGTH OF RESPONSES
Assignment instructions will stipulate about how long they are expected to be. The Discussion Questions require one main response of about 200 words and at least two replies to others' posts. There is no minimum limit of words for the replies to newsgroup postings, where the expectation is more that they be substantive than they be lengthy. Avoid posting time-wasting messages such as "I agree" (unless you add new reasons why you agree). Superficial responses will not count for participation points.
GROUP WORK
Your learning team will be graded as a group. Insufficient participation in your learning team will result in deduction of points (individually, from the grade given to your team). Report any difficulties to Dr. Kealey regarding under-performing or non-performing team members. Under/non performing members will get 0 points for the team project. You will be assigned to a group during the first week.
SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS
You can post your assignments in the Assignments Folder, where you have the option to post the assignment inline or as an attachment. When sending your assignments as attachments, use MS Word (version 2003 or 2007) or save in Rich Text Format (.rtf) [any other format cannot be opened] and save your document as Yourlastnameassignmentinitial.doc (for example, smithpa1.doc). Also make sure to type your name (and group names on Learning Team assignments) on the document itself. If you send it as a Word attachment, save your document as Smithpa2.doc, smithfq5.doc, smithft4.doc, smithfx.doc (final exam),A1.doc (for group assignment), Afj, etc.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Academic honesty is highly valued at Online just as it is at the College of the Siskiyous campus. A student must always submit work that represents his or her original words or ideas. If any words or ideas are used that do not represent the student's original words or ideas, the student must cite all relevant sources. The student should also make clear the extent to which such sources were used. Words or ideas that require citations include, but are not limited to, all hardcopy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable source. At the Online campus, all submissions to any public meeting or private mailbox fall within the scope of words and ideas that require citations if used by someone other than the original author. Failure to abide by the standards of academic honesty will result in an F in the assignment, and possibly the course.
Academic dishonesty in an Online learning environment could involve:
- Having a tutor or friend complete a portion of your assignments
- Having a reviewer make extensive revisions to an assignment;
- Copying work submitted by another student to a public class meeting
- Using information from Online information services without proper citation.
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Assignment |
Due |
Points |
Individual (65%): |
|
|
DQs & Participation |
All weeks |
18 |
Logic & Perception Paper |
W1 (week 1) |
5 |
Critical Thinking & Language Paper |
W2 |
7 |
Syllogism Test |
W3 |
5 |
Fallacy Quiz |
W4 |
5 |
Fallacy test |
W5 |
10 |
Final Exam |
W6 |
15 |
Learning Team (35%): |
|
|
Assumptions Scenarios |
W3 |
10 |
Group Fallacy Quiz |
W3 |
5 |
Media Fallacy Journal |
W6 |
20 |
Total Points |
|
100 |
THE ONLINE WEEKLY COURSE SCHEDULE
WEEK 1 May 27- June 2
1. Required Reading. Read Chapters 1-3 in the text Thinking.
2. Critical Thinking and Perception Paper.
Prepare a 700-1000 word, Critical Thinking and Perception paper on the following topic:
Prepare a 700-1,000 word, typewritten paper explaining the relationship of critical thinking and perception, as you understand it, by way of first-hand experience. Within the paper, be sure to outline your own perceptual process and describe the types of perceptual blocks (ch.2) that influence your views.
Refer to the paragraph below to help you analyze your own perceptual processes.
Perception is reality! Oh really? Identify an instance in your life where your perception of the reality situation was far from the actual reality. What did you think was going on? What was really going on? Why was there such a difference? What happened? What did you learn? How has your thinking changed?
Begin the essay with an introductory paragraph. An introductory paragraph must contain 1) a thesis statement, 2) a brief explanation of the problem (background, referring to the theoretical and practical significance of the problem), and 3) a succinct preview of what will follow in the essay body. The essay body is the main part of the paper, in which you describe an instance when your perception of reality was mistaken, followed by a theoretical explanation of the relationship between critical thinking and perception, based on the readings as you understand it. Finish the paper with a conclusion of one or two paragraphs in which you explain what is to be learned from the material presented in the essay body.
Due Monday, June 2. Name the file according to the following protocol: "lastnamepa1" where instead of "lastname" you type in your own last name (smithpa1, for example). Papers should be saved in MS Word or as a Rich Text Format if you are using another word processor. If you are unable to save it in either of the above formats, write it or paste it into the Assignment 1 folder textbox. The Assignment folder has a button in the left side navigation bar of Etudes. Post your assignment to Assignment # 1 before midnight.
3. Weekly Discussion Questions.
Look in the Main Discussion Board for this week's DQs. Post your answers in the Main class newsgroup. Post one 200 word main reply plus at least 2 other replies.
4. You will be assigned to a group this week. When the groups are formed log onto your newsgroup and discuss future assignments.
WEEK 2 June 3 – June 9
1. Required Reading:
a. Read Chapters 5-8 and pages 156-162 of Ch.9 in the text Thinking.
b. Read the List of Logical Fallacies.
2. Critical Thinking and Personal Barriers Paper.
Write a paper on these topics :
Part A. Take any one aspect of your life--someone you know, something you do, someplace you’ve been, or anything else--and describe it using at least 5 different metaphors in 175-350-words. Highlight (or bold or underline) the metaphors. Study the differences between metaphors and similes. Use mostly metaphors and not similes in your essay. Worth 5 points.
Part B. In the remaining 350-700-word essay, address the following questions: What role does language and language diversity play in the critical thinking process?
How does feeling empower or limit the expression of our thoughts?
What is the role of creative thinking in problem-solving?
Part B is worth 5 points. Post both parts in one single attachment to the Assignment # 2 folder. Due Monday, 6/9.
3. Weekly Discussion Questions.
Submit your responses to the DQs in the Main newsgroup.
Study Group Assignments.
a. The Critical Thinking Assumptions Analysis is due next week. Provide responses and answers to Scenarios 2-5, using the example of Scenario One. Remember to focus on the three questions given in the introduction. This is a group, not an individual assignment.
b. Study groups should start to collect examples of fallacies for the Fallacy Journal, due in Week Five. Refer to the instructions for the journal examples in Modules.
WEEK 3 June 10-June 16
1. Required Reading.
Read Chapter 9 pages 169-178 in the text Thinking.
2. Weekly Discussion Questions.
At the beginning of this week, Dr. Kealey will post various discussion questions for you to answer.
5. Complete the Syllogism Test.
Study Group Assignments:
1. Complete and submit the assumptions analysis scenarios.
2. Read and complete the “Fallacy Quiz" posted in your LT Folder at the beginning of week 3. Due Monday, June 16.
Continue assembling your Fallacy Journals. Review the requirements and suggestions for this assignment.
WEEK 4 June 17 – June 23
1. Required Reading.
a. Read Chapters 9, pages 179-189 in the text Thinking.
b. Review the List of Logical Fallacies.
2. Take the Fallacy Quiz. Post it to the Assignment folder
3. Weekly Discussion Questions.
At the beginning of this week, Dr. Kealey will post various discussion questions for you to answer. Submit your responses to these questions as directed.
Study Group Assignment.
Continue work on the Study Group Fallacy Journal, due in Week Five.
WEEK 5 June 24 – June 30
1. Required Reading.
Read Chapter 9, pages 192-217 and chapter 11 in the text, Thinking.
2. Take the Fallacies Test. Post it to the Assignment folder.
3. Weekly Discussion Questions.
At the beginning of this week, Dr. Kealey will post various discussion questions for you to answer. Submit your responses to these questions on the day indicated by the instructor.
Study Group Assignment.
Complete the Study Group Fallacy Journal and submit it.
WEEK 6 July 1-3
1. Required reading: chapters 12-15 in Thinking.
2. Participate in the Discussion Questions for the week.
3. Take the Final Exam. Due Thursday, July 3.
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