PHI-105
21st Century Skills: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Course Syllabus
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21st Century Skills: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Course Description
This course gives students an introduction to skills of critical thinking and decision making. It provides students opportunities to evaluate the influence and value of these skills in their personal, academic, and professional lives. Emphasis is placed on perception, emotion, fallacious reasoning, and communication.
Pre-Requisites
None
Co-Requisites
None
PHI-105
Course Materials
Topic 1: What Is the Value of Critical Thinking?
Description
Objectives:
1. Define critical thinking.
2. Explain the value of critical thinking in work, academic, and personal life.
3. Identify a premise for a persuasive essay.
Study Materials
Review the Persuasive Essay Final Draft Rubric to familiarize yourself with the grading criteria. Your final essay will be due in Topic 7.
Persuasive Essay Media Piece
Description:
Read “What Is a Persuasive Essay?” and “Identifying Topic and Audience” in the Persuasive Essay media piece.
Hint: Click on the indicated title and then on Start Learning in the overview box to access the content for each section.
Optional - Brain-based Learning
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Brain-based Learning," by Thompson, located on the Salem Press Encyclopedia (2019).
Optional - NewScientist
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
Explore articles on the human brain located on the NewScientist website.
Optional - Defining Critical Thinking
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Defining Critical Thinking," by Glaser, located on The Critical Thinking Community website.
Optional - 3 Simple Habits to Improve Critical Thinking
Description:
Read "3 Simple Habits to Improve Critical Thinking," by Bouygues, from Harvard Business ReviewDigital Articles
(2019).
Optional - Critical Factors for Success
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Critical Factors for Success," by Dixon, from Firehouse Magazine(2020).
Optional - Creative Thinking is the Cornerstone of Critical Thinking
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
Tasks
Critical Thinking Reflection
Description:
Find three credible sources that discuss critical thinking. One source should be from the assigned and/or optional readings, (Topic 1 study materials), and the other two should be found through your own research from within the library. Read the three sources and consider how they define critical thinking.
In 300-500 words, define critical thinking and expand on what skills are needed to work through the critical thinking process and/or how critical thinking is enhanced. Keep the following guidelines in mind:
1. The sources you found in your research may influence your definition, but your own ideas should be evident. In other words, your process should be: a) Read some definitions and descriptions of critical thinking; b) Comprehend or digest the information; and c) create a synthesized definition of critical thinking.
2. Paraphrasing is preferred. Include an in-text citation whenever paraphrasing or using a direct quote. Keep direct quotes between 0-3 per essay.
3. A reference page that documents the three sources you found (and any other resources you used) is required. Remember, all sources must be cited both in-text and on your reference page.
(Note: Do not simply reword the definitions you read. Consider how you will explain what critical thinking is.)
Topic 2: Perception - So You Think You Can Read My Mind?
Description
Objectives:
1. Explain how all five senses impact perception.
2. Explain how individuals process and respond to information.
3. Apply prewrite strategies to the development of a persuasive essay.
Study Materials
Read Chapter 2 of the textbook.
Microsoft Word Resources
Description:
Microsoft Word is a word-processing program designed by Microsoft and released originally in 1983.
Word is a component of Microsoft Office, which also includes other software programs such as PowerPoint and Excel. Microsoft Word is a valuable tool for students at GCU. If you need assistance with learning to use Word, visit the Microsoft website and complete any of the Word tutorials.
GCU Library Microsoft Office
Description:
Click on the link below for information about Microsoft office.
Persuasive Essay Media Piece
Description:
Read “Brainstorming Process” in the Persuasive Essay media piece.
Hint: Click on the indicated title and then on Start Learning in the overview box to access the content for each section.
PowerPoint Example 1
Description:
Use this resource to complete Topic 2 DQ 2.
PowerPoint Example 2
Description:
Use this resource to complete Topic 2 DQ 2.
Optional - Elements of Perception
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Elements of Perception" located on the Universal Teach Publications website.
Optional - Experiments on Perception
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended: "Experiments on Perception."
Optional - Critical Thinking Mini-Lesson 13
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Critical Thinking Mini-Lesson 13" from The Skeptic's Dictionary.
Optional - The Cave: An Adaptation of Plato's Allegory in Clay
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
Watch "The Cave: An Adaptation of Plato's Allegory in Clay."
Optional - How the Brain Limits Our Ability to Multitask
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
Read "How the Brain Limits Our Ability to Multitask," by Costandi.
Optional - Why You Can't Do 3 Things at Once
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
Read "Why You Can't Do 3 Things at Once," by Rettner, located on the NBCNews website.
Critical Thinking: Nine Strategies for Everyday Life, Part I.
Description:
Read "Critical Thinking: Nine Strategies for Everyday Life, Part I," by Paul, from Journal of Developmental Education
(2000).
Critical Thinking: Nine Strategies for Everyday Life, Part II.
Description:
Read "Critical Thinking: Nine Strategies for Everyday Life, Part II," by Elder, from Journal of Developmental Education
(2000).
Cognitive Distortions Study Guide
Description:
Utilize the "Cognitive Distortions Study Guide " as a resource for the "Cognitive Distortions Quiz " in Topic 3.
PHI-105 Resource 2
Description:
Read Resource 2.
Tasks
Persuasive Essay: Brainstorming Worksheet
Description:
Complete the Persuasive Essay: Brainstorming Worksheet.
Perception Presentation
Description:
Imagine you are an expert on critical thinking. You have been asked to give a presentation on the concepts of perception and critical thinking. Create a PowerPoint that contains the following:
1. Eight slides (one title slide, six content slides, and one reference slide)
2. How all five senses impact perception
3. The role of perception in critical thinking
4. Speaker notes that elaborate on the bulleted content on your slides
5. Three resources (All credible and at least one is from the GCU library).
Refer to the resource, "Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations," located in the Student Success Center, for additional guidance on completing this assignment in the appropriate style.
Title slide and reference slide are included in the slide count. Include speaker notes below each content-related slide that represent what would be said if giving the presentation in person. Expand upon the information included in the slide and do not simply restate it. Please ensure the speaker notes include a minimum of 50-100 words per slide.
While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.
Review the PowerPoint tutorial on the Microsoft website accessible through the GCU library for help with how to use Microsoft PowerPoint. See this week’s readings for the link.
Topic 2 DQ 1
Description:
Do you believe the statement "perception is reality"? Why or why not?
Topic 2 DQ 2
Description:
There are two parts to this discussion response:
Topic 3: Emotion - I Felt Before I Thought - Rousseau
Description
Objectives:
1. Describe the role of emotion in critical thinking.
2. Explain how individuals can manage emotion.
3. Create a thesis statement for a persuasive essay.
Study Materials
The Writing Process
Description:
Review “The Writing Process” media piece throughout the course to assist you with completing your persuasive essay.
Optional - Thinking or Feeling
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
Read "Thinking or Feeling," by Martin, located on the Myers & Briggs Foundation website.
Optional - Jungian Type Inventory
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Jungian Type Inventory" located on the Changing Minds website.
Optional - Strengthening Life Skills Through Emotional Intelligence Education
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Strengthening Life Skills Through Emotional Intelligence Education," by Saini, from Educational Quest(2016).
Optional - Emotional Intelligence: What Does the Research Really Indicate?
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Emotional Intelligence: What Does the Research Really Indicate?" located in the GCU library.
Optional - Hitting the Right Pitch in Communication Is a Core Skill, ASU Professor Suggests
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Hitting the Right Pitch in Communication Is a Core Skill, ASU Professor Suggests," by Wright, located at the AZ Central website.
Optional - Is "Thinking" or "Feeling" More Persuasive?
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Is 'Thinking' or 'Feeling' More Persuasive?," by Murphy, located on Stanford's School of Business website.
Tasks
Topic 4: Fallacies - What Were You Thinking?
Description
Objectives:
1. Determine types of fallacious reasoning.
2. Apply concept organization strategies to the development of a persuasive essay.
Study Materials
Tasks
Topic 5: Thinking and Language
Description
Objectives:
1. Explain how individuals acquire and develop language.
2. Determine the role of language in the development of critical thinking.
3. Develop a preliminary persuasive essay.
Study Materials
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
Watch "Steven Pinker- The Stuff of Thought" located on Films on Demand.
Optional - Does Your Language Shape How You Think?
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Does Your Language Shape How You Think?," by Deutscher, located on The New York Times Magazine website.
Optional - Ethnologue: Languages of the World
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
Explore the "Ethnologue: Languages of the World" website.
Optional - Jane Goodall on What Separates Us From the Apes
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
View "Jane Goodall on What Separates Us From the Apes" located on the TED website.
Optional - Why Language May Shape Our Thoughts
Description:
For additonal information, the following is recommended:
"Why Language May Shape Our Thoughts," by Begley, located on the Newsweek website.
Optional - Language May Shape Human Thought
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Language May Shape Human Thought," by Biever, located on the NewScientist website.
Optional - Animal Thought and Communication
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Animal Thought and Communication" located on the NPR website.
Optional - James Geary, Metaphorically Speaking
Description:
Tasks
Topic 6: Thought, Language, and Communication - You Want Me to Do What?!
Description
Objectives:
1. Relate concepts of thought, language, and communication.
2. Evaluate the influence of persuasion on decision making and action.
Study Materials
Hint: Click on the indicated title and then on Start Learning in the overview box to access the content for each section.
Optional - Language and Thought Through Time
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Language and Thought Through Time " from the Films Media Group on Films on Demand (2011).
Optional - Jay Walker on the World's English Mania
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Jay Walker on the World's English Mania" located on the TED website.
Optional - Language
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
Choose a video to watch from the theme Language located on the TED website.
Optional - Thoughts, Symbols, and Language for Success
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Thoughts, Symbols, and Language for Success" located on the Word Power! website.
PHI105 Persuasive Essay Guidelines
Description:
Optional-The Relation Between Language, Culture, and Thought
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"The Relation Between Language, Culture, and Thought," by Imai, Kanero, & Masuda, from Current Opinion in Psychology(2016).
PHI-105 Resource 6
Description:
Read Resource 6.
Tasks
Persuasive Essay: Peer Review Worksheet
Description:
Review the media piece "Peer Review Using Rubrics." https://cola.gcumedia.com/phi105/rubric/rubricCompare.html
Follow the directions outlined in the media piece to complete this learning activity which is designed to provide practice using a rubric when peer reviewing a paper.
Review the first draft of the person who posted his/her first draft directly below yours in the Peer Review forum. If your draft is still the last posted by Saturday, review the first draft posted.
Complete the Peer Review Worksheet for the essay draft you reviewed. Please submit the completed worksheet to two places.
1. As an attachment in a reply to your peer’s essay in the peer review forum.
2. As a normal assignment submission.
Review the criteria at the bottom of the Peer Review Worksheet to ensure successful completion of this assignment.
Topic 6 DQ 1
Description:
What is the difference between persuasion and manipulation? Describe a time when you have encountered or used one or both of these.
Topic 6 DQ 2
Description:
Below are some metaphors that have been used in the past to explain the relationship between thinking and language; which one do you think adequately describes that relationship and why? Describe what could happen if someone does not use critical thinking when encountering that metaphor. For example, consider how metaphors can be misinterpreted?
a. The brain is a furrowed field waiting for the seeds of language to be planted and to grow.
b. Language is the software of the brain.
c. Language is the gas that makes the car go.
d. Language is the landscape of the mind.
Peer Review Forum
Description:
After submitting the First Draft of your essay in Topic 5, post it as an attachment to the Peer Review Forum thread in the classroom. You should label your paper and the subject line of your reply with your first name and last name (e.g., Karen Palmer's Paper).
Types of Communication Quiz
Topic 7: Bringing It Together - Broader Thinking, Greater Learning, Better Opportunities, and Healthier Relationships
Description
Objectives:
1. Integrate ethics into thoughts, words, and deeds.
2. Apply critical thinking skills to "Find Your Purpose."
3. Apply the writing process to persuade an audience.
Study Materials
View "Sheryl Sandberg: Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders" located on the TED website.
Optional - Critical Thinking in Criminal Justice Ethics: Using the Affective Domain to Discover Gray Matters
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Critical Thinking in Criminal Justice Ethics: Using the Affective Domain to Discover Gray Matters," by DioGuardi, fromJournal of Criminal Justice Education (2016).
Optional - Critical Thinking in Business Ethics, Part 2: Argument Analysis
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Critical Thinking in Business Ethics, Part 2: Argument Analysis" located on The Business Ethics Blog website.
Optional - "Choose the Future Wisely": Supporting Better Ethics Through Critical Thinking
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"'Choose the Future Wisely': Supporting Better Ethics Through Critical Thinking," by Meisel and Fearon, from the
Journal of Management Education (2006).
Optional - Looking at Leadership Beyond Our Own Horizon
Description:
For additional information, the following is recommended:
"Looking at Leadership Beyond Our Own Horizon," by Gortner, from Anglican Theological Review (2009).
PHI105 Persuasive Essay Guidelines
Description:
PHI-105 Resource 7
Description:
Read Resource 7.
Tasks
After completing the Information Literacy Post-Assessment Quiz, open and download the attached document. Please fill in the information, save the document and then submit to the assignment drop box. In completing this document and participating in the quiz, you will receive credit for the assignment.
Persuasive Essay: Final Draft
Description:
Do the following:
1. Use feedback from your first draft to revise and finalize your persuasive essay.
2. Review your Topic 5 First Draft Rubric.
3. Review the Persuasive Essay Guidelines.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.
Topic 7 DQ 1
Description:
Grand Canyon University's slogan is "Find Your Purpose." How have you used, or could you use critical thinking in finding your purpose?
Topic 7 DQ 2
Description:
Based on Chapters 6 and 7 of the ebook along with your prior knowledge, what does it mean to use ethics in your thinking?
Information Literacy Post-Test
Description:
Complete the Information Literacy Post-Test.
Topic 7 Participation
Description:
NA
Grade Scale
Final Grade Column
Letter Grade GPA Value Minimum (%) Maximum (%)
A 4.0 93.0 100.0
A- 3.7 90.0 92.99
B+ 3.3 87.0 89.99
B 3.0 83.0 86.99
B- 2.7 80.0 82.99
C+ 2.3 77.0 79.99
C 2.0 70.0 76.99
D 1.0 60.0 69.99
F 0.0 0.02 59.99
I 0.0 0.0 0.01
Grade Categories
Assignments (%) Points Percentile
Thinking and Language Reflection Worksheet 60.0 --
Critical Thinking Reflection 60.0 --
Information Literacy Post-Assessment Quiz Verification Document
10.0
--
Persuasive Essay: Peer Review Worksheet 55.0 --
Persuasive Essay First Draft 60.0 --
Persuasive Essay: Topic and Audience Worksheet 40.0 --
Perception Presentation 60.0 --
Persuasive Essay: Outline Worksheet 60.0 --
Persuasive Essay: Final Draft 100.0 --
Fallacy Study Guide 20.0 --
Persuasive Essay: Thesis Statement and Gathering Resources Worksheet
60.0
--
Persuasive Essay: Brainstorming Worksheet 50.0 --
Discussion Question (%) Points Percentile
Topic 5 DQ 2 5.0 --
Topic 3 DQ 1 5.0 --
Topic 3 DQ 2 5.0 --
Topic 7 DQ 2 5.0 --
Topic 1 DQ 1 5.0 --
Topic 4 DQ 2 5.0 --
Peer Review Forum 5.0 --
Topic 4 DQ 1 5.0 --
Topic 6 DQ 2 5.0 --
Topic 6 DQ 1 5.0 --
Topic 7 DQ 1 5.0 --
Topic 2 DQ 2 5.0 --
Topic 1 DQ 2 5.0 --
Topic 5 DQ 1 5.0 --
Topic 2 DQ 1 5.0 --
Participation (%) Points Percentile
Topic 5 Participation 20.0 --
Participation (%) Points Percentile
Topic 1 Participation 20.0 --
Participation (%) Points Percentile
Topic 4 Participation 20.0 --
Participation (%) Points Percentile
Topic 6 Participation 20.0 --
Participation (%) Points Percentile
Topic 3 Participation 20.0 --
Participation (%) Points Percentile
Topic 7 Participation 20.0 --
Participation (%) Points Percentile
Topic 2 Participation 20.0 --
Quizzes (%) Points Percentile
Types of Communication Quiz 50.0 --
Cognitive Distortions Quiz 50.0 --
Fallacies in Everyday Life Quiz 50.0 --
Class Effective Start: Sep 28, 2020 [Show Less]