Semester Recap

Here's a list of major topics from our course to help you consolidate ideas and identify topics for discussion in your final paper.

Critical Thinking Model

Purpose of Education

Time/Life/Energy Management (Time/Food Log, Time=Life, Priority Evaluation)

Library Workshops/Assignments (Critical Article review)

Technology (Libraries, Friedman, Berry, Communication vs. Conversation, text messaging, etc)

Learning Skills/Assessment (reading, notes, tests, strategies assignment)

Freakonomics (presentations, Morality v Economics, Incentives [3 types], Info Assymetry, Conv Wisdom, Correlation v Causation, Positive v Normative Analysis)

Gen Ed (philosophy, College v University, advising, scheduling, majors, career paper)

Engagement (QEP, efficacy, election, voting, electoral college, democracy, final paper)

Diversity (Maps, regionalism, Southerners, dialect, stereotypes, WKU demographics, Reed: My Tears…)

Environment and Experience

Health and Wellness (Sleep, diet, exercise, fast food, campus meal plans, sex/conventional wisdom, Schlosser: Fast Food Nation)

Harvard on Healthy Eating

Here is some great information on maintaining a healthy diet from the Harvard Public School of Health. It is concise and to the point, but covers a lot of ground.

Personality/Political Typology Test

MONDAY/WED CLASSES

Click this link, take the test (about 10 mins), then print your four-letter type and bring it to class with you on Monday.

Also, take the Pew Center's Political Typology test. Print your results and bring them to class.

TUES/THURS CLASSES

No class on Tuesday. You folks will have to miss out on this fun. I know you are bummed about that.

Week 7: Debate Watch! Lib Assignment Due

Debate Watch: Tues, Oct 7 from 6 pm-1o.30 pm IN DIDDLE ARENA. The actual debate begins at 8 pm. BE THERE!

M/W Classes: Library Assignment due by midnight on Fri, Oct 10.

T/R Classes: Library Assignment due by midnight on Thurs, Oct 9.

We will be finishing our unit on classroom strategies this week, and I will be giving you a short writing assignment on Wed/Thurs that will be due next week.

Assignments For Week 5 (9/22-9/26)

Monday: Freakonomics, Intro and Ch 1. Group 1 presentation.

Tues/Wed: Go to the On Reserve section of Cravens Library (2nd floor). Ask for the on reserve list for me (Basham, Cort). You need to read Thomas Friedman, The World Is Flat. It will be a photocopy of the first 17 pages of his book. Either read it there and take notes or make a copy to take with you. It cannot be checked out.

Also, please read Wendell Berry's essay, "Why I Am Not Going to Buy A Computer." What is the thesis/purpose of this short essay? Is Berry anti-technology?

Thurs: In UNIT 4 (the red "Thinking Your Way to Success" book), READ the essay by Trafton. Look over the piece on note-taking.

Assignments For Week 4 (9/15-9/19)

Monday: read 67-81. We will discuss these in class and practice the CT model.

Tuesday/Wednesday: CLASS MEETS IN THE KENTUCKY BUILDING!

Thursday: Group 1 presents on Freakonomics Intro and Ch 1. Everyone else should read the Intro/Ch 1 and be ready to discuss it's purpose, important questions raised in the chapter, information sources for their claims, and the key concepts from the chapter.

Next week is Constitution Week, which offers a ton of interesting opportunities for campus involvement. Next Sat, Sept 20 (not tomorrow) is also the first home football game vs Murray State.

Also, here is a link to a voter registration card (it's under the red text "VOTER REGISTRATION" on that webpage). If you want to vote in Warren County, you need to fill this out. I will collect them and get them to court house by the deadline (early October).

Week 2 Assignments (Sept 1-Sept 4)

No class on Monday (Labor Day).

For Tues/Wed: read Finster and Schank (pp 16-27 in the "Thinking" textbook). Practice at least the "SE" part of SEXI for each article. If you can do the whole SEXI, please do so.

I will also distribute the Time Management Assignment on Tues/Wed and it will be due the following week. Here is the assignment:

TIME MANAGEMENT SELF –EVALUATION (Due Tues, Sept 9/Wed Sept 10)

PICK TWO SCHOOL DAYS!

1. Account for every hour of every day for two days. In other words, keep track of where all of your time is spent.

2. Keep a food log for two days. Simply write down everything that you eat and drink at meals, snacks, classes, etc.

3. Type these into a Word file and then write a couple paragraphs evaluating strengths and areas that need improvement. Think about how these logs communicate priorities.

REMEMBER THE FRESHMAN ASSEMBLY ON TUES NIGHT IN DIDDLE ARENA AT 6 PM!

Reading Assignment for Week 1

For class on Wed/Thurs, make sure you have read the essays by Buzzard and Phelps (pp 3-15) in your Thinking Your Way to Success book. Read them, think about them, write a couple of questions, and be ready to discuss them in class.

See you in class!

Welcome, Fall 2008 Students!

Welcome, all!

This first week, we will be discussing the syllabus and introducing some of the basic concepts of the class. All textbooks are available at the campus bookstore.

Please, mark your calendars right away with these important dates:

Tuesday, September 2. 6 pm, Diddle Arena. Freshman Assembly. Unless you have a Tuesday night class, you are expected to attend. Free food and live band afterward.

Tuesday, October 7. Time TBA. DEBATE WATCH! Gather with WKU students to watch the final presidential debate projected on the side of the Academic Complex on South Lawn. Over 2,000 students attended the 2004 Debate Watch.

See you in class.

Week 5: Assignments, Final, Links

Following up on our class discussion of demographics, here is a link to the Freakonomics blog which recently talked about the increase in crime among Chinese males and how it relates to their abortion statistics.

Due Tuesday (8/5): Scholarly Article Review

1. Choose one of your scholarly journal articles from the library assignment.
2. Read it thoroughly, highlighting/note-taking to ensure understand the purpose and key concepts.
3. Write a 2-3 paper answering the following questions:
1. Who is the author? What is his/her point of view?
2. Why is this article important? What’s the purpose? Who would read/use this article?
3. What are the most important concepts/ideas/events in the article? Briefly summarize and/or explain them.
4. What questions does this article raise

Due Thursday (8/7): Enagagement/Assessment Paper (600-800 words or 2-3 pages)

Consider your beliefs/convictions regarding politics, religion, education, relationships, etc.

1. From where do these beliefs originate? Be specific about your environmental and experiential factors.

2. Identify assumptions, biases, point of view, stereotypes, etc. How might your educational experience at WKU change, reinforce, or clarify your beliefs?

Week 4: July 28-Aug 1

For Wednesday, July 30. READ UNIT 2 (All). Create questions for discussion.

For Friday, August 1. Go to your major's departmental office. Gather a brochure and any information regarding the major that they will give you. Then, type a 1-page summary of the purpose of major and the major objectives of the major. Discuss how this process might affect how you think about not only this discipline, but about the world.

Summer Class: Week 3 (July 21-25)

Tues: look over UNIT 4. We will discuss and do in-class note-taking/test-taking exercises.
Wednesday: look over UNIT 4. We will finish test-taking and talk about memory.
Thursday: read UNIT 5, 129-147 (Fulkerson, Burtchaell, Raspberry). LIBRARY ASSIGNMENT DUE AT MIDNIGHT.
Friday: read Freakonomics chapter 3. Group #2 is presenting.

Also, before next Monday, you will need to do two things outside of class and the books.

1. Click this link, take the short survey, and bring your four-letter code to class.

2. Go to the On Reserve section of the library (Cravens 2nd floor) and read Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat, pp 1-17. You will have to read it there or make a copy. It will be filed under my name and you will have to ask for it at the desk. Group #3, you will present on this on Monday, July 28.

Summer Class: Week 2

Class,

For Wed, July 16: read UNIT 3: McCaslin, Stoll, and Goodman

For Thurs, July 17: read UNIT 3: Minnick, Krutch; also read "Why I Am Not Going to Buy A Computer" by Wendell Berry

For Fri, July 18: read Freakonomics chapter 2; Group #1 Summary/Question presentation; QUIZ 1

Finals Schedule

All,

Thursday is our last day together. We've laughed, we've cried, we've talk about crack gangs. It's been fun.

If you have not done so, please consult the final exam schedule. Also, remember that I will have food for you on Thursday (Presentation Day!), so come hungry.

Finishing Freakonomics!

Freakonomics #5: Chapters 5 and 6 (pages 133-188).

Compose a 2-page, typed, double-spaced paper that addresses the following questions:

Based on the chapter, describe "good parenting" versus "bad parenting." What makes a child "good" or "bad?"

Is there a discernible pattern in how certain names move through the population over time? If so, describe it.

Fast Food Nation Excerpts

You can read part of Fast Food Nation here. Please do so before class on Tues, April 15.

FF Nation

Health and Wellness Reading

For Thursday: April 10
Read 288-310 in Foundations (Ellison). It's a good, basic overview of college student health.

Take an honest assessment of how much sleep you get. Do you think you should get more? Less? Are you getting about what you think you should?

Freakonomics #4

One question, two parts for your writing on Freakonomics chapter four ("Where have all the criminals gone?"). Have a typed, double-spaced, two-page paper ready for Thursday's class on the following question.

What are the most compelling explanations for the drop in crime during the 1990s? What makes these explanations so convincing?

Freakonomics #3

This is the writing assignment for Chapter 3: Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live With Their Moms?

This is due on Thurs, March 20 at class time.

Answer the following questions in a 2-page, typed, double-spaced paper.

1. What is "conventional wisdom?" What are some ways it comes into being?

2. Explain how a "tournament" or "winner take all" labor market works. Why would a street-level drug dealer be willing to accept low pay and poor working conditions? Give your own examples of a tournament type of labor market.

Freakonomics Writing #2

For Thursday (2/25), compose a 2-page, typed, double-spaced paper answering the following questions.

1. Briefly trace the rise and fall of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). What factors undermined its power and contributed to its fall?

2. Discuss "information asymmetry" and give examples of everyday information asymmetries we encounter in everyday life.

MY CLASS: CANCELED

WKU has NOT canceled classes, but if you commute for my class only today, DO NOT COME TODAY (2/21). I am canceling my 12.45 class, as the 11.10 class only had 10/24 folks show up. I repeat, WKU has NOT canceled classes, so this does not apply to any class but mine.

The roads are treacherous and will be for most of the day according to the forecast. Stay home and read the section on note-taking in Foundations.

Week Four and Five

WEEK FOUR
For Thursday (2/14): Freakonomics, 1-47: Introduction and Chapter 1.

Type a 2-page, double spaced paper answering the following two questions:

1. According to Freakonomics, what is the difference between morality and economics? Explain, and give some specific examples that illustrate the authors’ explanation.

2. What are "incentives?" Give specific examples from real life experiences.

Also, we will have QUIZ #1 at the end of class. Anything we have read and/or discussed is fair game. The quiz will consist of two short essay questions.

WEEK FIVE
For Tues, Feb 19: Applying critical thinking. Read the following short essays:

"History of Critical Thinking" (from the Foundation for Critical Thinking)

"All Thinking Is Content" by Richard Paul

"The Role of Thinking" (from the Critical Thinking Consortium Website)

For Thurs, Feb 21: Critically thinking about Reading, Note-taking, and Class Discussion

Week Three and Week Four Assignments

WEEK THREE
For Thursday (2/7): MEET IN THE KENTUCKY BUILDING AT CLASS TIME!

WEEK FOUR
For Tuesday (2/12): Time Management (no assigned reading)

For Thursday (2/14): Freakonomics, 1-47: Introduction and Chapter 1.

Type a 2-page, double spaced paper answering the following two questions:

1. According to Freakonomics, what is the difference between morality and economics? Explain, and give some specific examples that illustrate the authors’ explanation.

2. What are "incentives?" Give specific examples from real life experiences.

Also, we will have QUIZ #1 at the end of class. Anything we have read and/or discussed is fair game. The quiz will consist of two short essay questions.

Welcome Spring 2008 Students!

Today, you will receive your syllabus and we will talk about the nature of this course. Check back often for updates on class assignments, links to readings, and general information.