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.