Hilary E. Davis

hdavis@yorku.ca

Office Location:  S446 Ross Building

Phone Number:  (416) 736-2100 Ext. 77543

Office hours: Monday & Tuesday (1:00-2:00pm)

BLENDED COURSE

(approximately 50% online & 50% in classroom)

ACCELERATED COURSE

(24 Class Modules in 12 weeks)

• The overall purpose of this and all Modes of Reasoning (MODR) courses is to teach students to reason correctly and to express themselves clearly and precisely in verbal and written form. These critical thinking skills will help students not only with the remainder of their academic studies, but also in their professional and personal lives in general.

• This course (MODR 1730) will introduce important critical thinking and analytical skills by focusing on arguments made about social issues found in the social science, pop science, ethics, and mass media. In the past these have included the refugee crisis, student debt, online dating, sexting, and Ebola screening at airports. You will learn how to distinguish between inductive and deductive reasoning and how to identify, evaluate, and construct arguments.  In addition, MODR 1730 will include a brief introduction to evaluating statistical and scientific information. As teams and as individuals you will be asked to develop arguments that arise from your personal interests and opinions as well as critical arguments that assess the writing of others.  Throughout the course our focus will include the analysis of various media such as the news and popular press, feature films, advertising and political rhetoric, blogs and websites, as well as academic writing and philosophical arguments in this field.
• This is an approved LAPS General Education course for Social Science.

Lewis Vaughan.  Concise Guide to Critical Thinking.  (Oxford, 2017)

Mark Battersby.  Is That a Fact?  A Field Guide to Statistical and Scientific Information.  Second Edition.  (Broadview, 2016).

nal topical articles may be posted on Moodle

One copy of each course textbook will also be on 1-day reserve in the Scott Library

Grading Breakdown:

1. In-class Midterm = 25%

2. Definition Argument Essay = 20%

3. Collaborative Evaluative Critique = 10%

4. Researched Proposal Essay Assignment = 30%

5. In-class teamwork, online forum prep activity, & participation (weekly) = 15%

Total     100%

• All assignments & online forum activities, and assignments are due at 11:59, EST on their respective due dates.

• Please note that this schedule of deadlines and grading breakdown is non-negotiable. The value of assignments will under no circumstances be reweighed or redistributed.

This course meets once a week for 3 hours.  Lecture videos and other course materials will be made available on Moodle prior to the in-class meeting.  Students are expected to come to class prepared to do teamwork and other in-class activities.   A small online exercise will be required weekly before each class.  Each week contains 2 modules and covers 2-weeks worth of course material.

Classes will focus on developing critical skills in identifying, evaluating and constructing arguments about social issues and putting those skills into practice.  The class will combine review, team work exercises and assignments, presentations, and large discussions with the entire class.

By the end of this course, if you apply yourself  and do all the reading,  complete all assignments, attend all lectures, and actively participate in all teamwork, you can expect to see improvement in the following areas:

• Reading Comprehension: You will become a more active reader which includes learning how to read between the lines and how to ask critical questions.
• Writing: You will learn how to write two different types of arguments – a definitional essay and researched proposal essay.  Your essay planning, essay organization, and essay editing should also improve.
• Critical Reasoning Skills: You will learn to identify and evaluate arguments in order to distinguish strong from weak arguments. This will include learning how to evaluate evidence and sources used in arguments and those you use in your own research.
• Critical Thinking Skills: Ideally, you will learn to become a 'reasonable skeptic' and able to identify and discuss the weaknesses and strengths in claims and arguments you encounter in the media, academic texts, and everyday conversation.

To succeed in this class you must attend regularly and arrived prepared.  This means having viewed all the lecture videos and material posted on Moodle and having done the reading and any assigned homework.  Your textbook should be brought to each class and all notes and homework.  Organized notes are also essential as well as a willingness to participate in group work and larger class discussions.  Attentiveness in class is also a must.