CRW 111 students gain practice in applying effective strategies for understanding college material by relating generalization to supporting ideas and identifying the patterns into which ideas are structured. Students use computers to develop analytical capabilities in the course's computer lab component. CRW 111 carries 3 credits and meets 3 hours per week.

What is thinking? It may seem strange to begin a logic textbook with this question. ‘Thinking’ is perhaps the most intimate and personal thing that people do. Yet the more you ‘think’ about thinking, the more mysterious it can appear. It is the sort of thing that one intuitively or naturally understands, and yet cannot describe to others without great difficulty. Many people believe that logic is very abstract, dispassionate, complicated, and even cold. But in fact the study of logic is nothing more intimidating or obscure than this: the study of good thinking.

Are you confident you can reason clearly? Are you able to convince others of your point of view? Are you able to give plausible reasons for believing what you believe? Do you sometimes read arguments in the newspapers, hear them on the television, or in the pub and wish you knew how to confidently evaluate them? In this six-part course, you will learn all about arguments, how to identify them, how to evaluate them, and how not to mistake bad arguments for good. Such skills are invaluable if you are concerned about the truth of your beliefs, and the cogency of your arguments.

It is our hope that the successful student who completes a class using all or some of this text will have improved skills with application inside the discipline of philosophy, but also with application to work in other disciplines within academia. Our ultimate goal, however, is to help people develop techniques which support curiosity, open-mindedness, and an ability to collaborate successfully with others, across differences of experiences and background. Our dream is to help people “put their heads together.”

A checklist in teacher language used by teachers to observe and record students’ critical-thinking skills as they work on activities and projects.

A checklist used by teachers to observe and record students’ critical-thinking skills while they work on activities and projects.

This is a critical thinking evaluation report that may be used as an assignment resource, free of charge, by any educator for the purposes of higher learning. It has been utilized as a resource in:2022-2023 UNC Undergraduate Research Program. Fostering Critical Thinking in Human Motion Analysis. Brown, J., Chandler, R., Fiaud, V., and Armitano, C. This resource was recently featured in a presentation at the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education in January of 2024 and disseminated for public use. For more information, please email:jjbrown@ecsu.edu

A checklist used by teachers to assess students’ ability to identify and use credible sources as they work on activities and projects.

A rubric in student language used by elementary students to self-assess their ability to evaluate sources.

This kit provides teachers and other educators with the materials to help young children begin to understand the purpose of TV commercials (and advertising in general) in terms of selling intent, and to recognize the types of tricks that advertisers may use to make products look better than they really are. Specific lessons focus on foods groups and misleading nutritional messages commonly found in children's TV commercials, especially the "complete breakfast shot" and highly sugared pseudo-fruit snacks and beverages. Lessons are designed to address developmentally appropriate health standards, and many different commercials are provided so that children can discuss and practice what they have learned.

I use this assignment as my first writing prompt for my advanced composition and critical thinking course. I want to get them thinking about how they view the world and what has influenced that view.

Thinking critically is a complicated but important endeavour that involves learning how to think clearly, acquiring problem-solving skills, and applying these skills in real life contexts. This text offers students an introduction to critical thinking methods, principles, and applied examples. It engages the reader to question their attitude and approach to critical thinking and provides a detailed introduction to the role of belief in critical thinking. It outlines the use of argument forms for validity, definitions and classification, syllogistic reasoning, categorical logic, and the method of informal fallacy identification. With up-to-date examples, current issues, links to videos, exercises and answer keys, a glossary, quick charts, and key takeaways, this resource is engaging and designed for students’ success.

A rubric in student language used by elementary students to self-assess their critical thinking skills.

A rubric in student language used by middle school students to self-assess their critical thinking skills.

This course is intended for people who aspire to know all about how to think smart, get logical, improve decision making skills and use social networking efficiently. The learner needs to have basic knowledge of computers and the Internet.

This course is intended for people who aspire to know all about how to think smart, get logical, improve decision making skills and use social networking efficiently. The learner needs to have basic knowledge of computers and the Internet.

Full course available at: http://hdl.handle.net/11599/2383

This is a discussion designed in Canvas to help critical thinking students apply their knowledge of argumentation and syllogisms.

International students are often unaccustomed to the American focus on critical thinking in the classroom.  One of the most useful ways to introduce these students to the idea is via reflective practice.  If we can help students reflect on a lesson or an experience, it opens an avenue to them to engage with their own thoughts on the topic presented and then be open to the ideas of classmates the teacher guides the process of creating knowledge together in the classroom. While the students are engaged in flexing the "muscle" of reflective practice, they are also being exposed to the action of thiking critically so they can reproduce the experience on their own going forward. 

A brief overview of how students will learn critical thinking skills in their introductory English college course. 

Social media has become an increasingly popular and convenient platform in recent years. However, it has also given rise to opinions often perceived as factual and reliable, despite being misleading or false. According to two studies conducted by the Pew Research Center, in 2018, 14% of social media users claimed to have changed their views due to the content they saw on social media. This percentage increased to 23% in 2020, representing a significant surge of 60%.