discussionHUM 1020, Critical Thinking 1 Course .docx

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HUM 1020, Critical Thinking 1
Course Description
Introduces the art of devising ways to improve the quality of
learning and life by systemically improving the thinking that
underlies them.
Overview
W hat is Critical Thinking? It is the art of clarifying your use of
the reasoning process because sound thinking is
practical and poor thinking inevitably causes problems, wastes
time and energy, and causes frustration.
W hy study your own thinking process? To maximize the quality
of your thinking you must make learning about your
own thinking a priority. If you focus your attention on the role
that thinking plays in your life, you will recognize that
everything you do, want, or feel is influenced by your thinking.
Understanding how and why you think the way you do
can open up new doors, help you see new options, minimize
significant mistakes, maximize potential understandings,
and enhance your reasoning regarding your choices in life.
Becoming a skilled critical thinker requires hard work; it will
not happen overnight, but it is a possibility. If you want that

to happen, you must be willing to practice certain methods of
thinking and problem solving that will at times seem
awkward. The benefits will become more visible as you become
more effective at problem solving, supporting your
conclusions and ideas, and when you realize you have improved
your ability to see reality from diverse perspectives.
The overall goal of this course is to teach you how to be a
synthetic thinker. A synthetic thinker sees the merit in
different viewpoints and is able to synthesize them into a
workable solution or point of view. This contrasts with
(1) a dualistic thinker who thinks only in black-and-white where
there is only one right and one wrong answer, and with
(2) a relativistic thinker who may see many sides of an issue but
thinks all answers and opinions are equally valid.
To become a synthetic thinker, you will need to:
nsion the material assigned in
your textbook.
book.
your understanding of and your ability to apply
critical thinking strategies and skills.
Course Textbook
Chaffee, J. (2003). Thinking critically: A concise guide. Boston,
MA: Wadsworth.

Films
Note about films: The unit study guides and the unit checklists
state which movie is assigned to that specific unit.
These movies have all been chosen based on how they help
illustrate and enhance the main focus of each unit. It is
your responsibility to find the films. They will not be provided
by Waldorf.
M., Engfehr, K., Young, R. (Producer) & Moore, M.
(W riter/Director). (2002). Bowling for Columbine [Motion
picture]. Canada: Alliance Atlantis Communications.
Alston, M. (Director). (2002). Questioning faith:
Confessions of a seminarian [Motion picture]. United States:
Cinemax Reel Life.
Linklater, R. (Director). (2003). School of rock [Motion
picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.
Peak, K., W eiss, K. (Producer) & Paine, C.
(W riter/Director). (2006). Who killed the electric car? [Motion
picture]. United States: Plinyminor.
HUM 1020, Critical Thinking
Course Syllabus

Phillips, A., Pitt, B., Rudin, S. (Producer) & Miller, B.
(Director). (2011). Moneyball [Motion picture]. United States:
Columbia Pictures.
R., Goldsmith-Thomas, E., Roth, J., Schiff, P., &
Schindler, D. (Producers) & Newell, M. (Director).
(2003). Mona Lisa smile [Motion picture]. United States:
Revolution Studios.
Carrey, J., Fields Hill, L., W attles, J. L. (Producer) &
Shadyac, T. (Director). (2003). Bruce almighty [Motion
picture]. United States: Universal Pictures.
Hamilton, B., Hamilton, N., Zelon, D. (Producer) &
McNamara, S. (W riter/Director). (2011). Soul surfer [Motion
picture]. United States: Brookwell-McNamara
Entertainment.
J. D., Lennard, L., W eyermann, D. (Producer) &
Guggenheim, D. (Director). (2006). An inconvenient truth
[Motion picture]. United States: Lawrence Bender
Productions.
Pugliese, R. J., & Singleton, R. S. (Producers) &
Pearce, R. (Director). (1992). Leap of faith [Motion picture].
United States: Paramount Pictures.

L., & Orleans, L. (Producers) & Howard, R.
(Director). (1995). Apollo 13 [Motion picture]. United States:
Universal Pictures.
. M., Cochran, Y. T., Hodenfield, K. C., Johnson,
B., Kosove, A. A., Netter, G.,...W egner, S. P.
(Producer) & Hancock, J. L. (W riter/Director). (2009). The
blind side [Motion picture]. United States: Alcon
Entertainment.
Druyan, A., Obst, L., Porras, R.,
Sagan, C., Zemeckis, R. (Producer) &
Zemeckis, R. (Director). (1997). Contact [Motion picture].
United States: W arner Bros. Pictures.
(Producers) & Brest, M. (Director). (1998). Meet
Joe Black [Motion picture]. United States: City Light Films.
Pitman, R. (W riter/Director). (2011).
Connery, S., King, J., Mark, L., Tollefson, R., & W olf, D.
(Producers) & Van Sant, G. (Director). (2000).
Finding Forrester [Motion picture]. United States: Columbia
Pictures Corporation.
Nolin, M., & Teitler, W . (Producers) & Herek, S.
(Director). (1995). Mr. Holland’s opus [Motion picture]. United
States: Hollywood Pictures.

Headington, T., Kacandes, G.,Tillinger Koskoff, E.
(Producer) & Scorsese, M. (Director). (2011). Hugo [Motion
picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.
Brown, S. (Producers) & Fleder, G. (Director).
(2003). Runaway jury [Motion picture]. United States: Regency
Enterprises.
Nathanson, M. G. (Producers) & Schumacher, J.
(Director). (1996). A time to kill [Motion picture]. United
States: Regency Enterprises.
eshette, L., Rothschild, R. L., &
Rudin, S. (Producers) & W eir, P. (Director).
(1998). The Truman show [Motion picture]. United States:
Paramount Pictures.
Pizzo, A., W oods, C., & Zinman, R. J. (Producers) &
Anspaugh, D. (Director). (1993). Rudy [Motion picture]. United
States: TriStar Pictures.
K., Peyrot, M., Velis, L. (Producer) & Howard, R.
(Director). (2001). A beautiful mind [Motion picture]. United
States: Universal Pictures.
(Producers) & W eir, P. (Director). (1989). Dead poets
society [Motion picture]. United States: Touchstone Pictures.
iff, P. (Producers) & Lynn, J. (Director).
(1992). My cousin Vinny [Motion picture].

United States: Palo Vista Productions.
(Producers) & Shyamalan, M. N.
(W riter/Director). (2004). The village [Motion picture]. United
States: Touchstone Pictures.
inters, H. M. (Producers) & Spurlock, M.
(W riter/Director). (2004). Super size me [Motion picture].
United States: Kathbur Pictures.
To kill a mockingbird [Motion picture]. United States:
Universal International Pictures.
Scott, R. (Director). (1991). Thelma & Louise
[Motion picture]. United States: Pathé Entertainment.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Use critical thinking to solve problems.
2. Use evidence and sound reasoning to support your arguments,
beliefs, and judgments.
3. Use critical self-evaluation to enhance your personal growth.

Academic Integrity
Honesty and integrity are taken very seriously at Waldorf
University. All students should be familiar with the Waldorf
University Academic Integrity Policy (found in the current
Student Handbook) and the consequences that will result from
breaches of this policy.
Credits
Upon completion of this course, the students will earn three (3)
hours of college credit.
Course Structure
1. Unit Learning Outcomes: Each unit contains Learning
Outcomes that specify the measurable skills and
knowledge students should gain upon completion of the unit.
1. Unit Lesson: Each unit contains a Unit Lesson, which
discusses unit material.
2. Reading Assignments: Each unit contains Reading
Assignments from one or more chapters from the textbook
or other resources. Units I-VII contain an assignment film to
view.
3. Discussion Boards: Discussion Boards are a part of all
Waldorf courses. Information and specifications

regarding these assignments are provided in the Course Policies
listed in the Course Menu bar.
4. Unit Assessments: This course contains eight Unit
Assessments, one to be completed at the end of each unit.
Assessments are composed of multiple-choice, matching, and
written response questions.
5. Unit Assignments: Students are required to submit for
grading Unit Assignments in Units I-VII. Specific
information and instructions regarding these assignments are
provided below. Grading rubrics are included with
the Unit I-VII Assignments. Specific information about
accessing these rubrics is provided below.
6. Ask the Professor: This communication forum provides you
with an opportunity to ask your professor general or
course content related questions.
7. Student Break Room: This communication forum allows for
casual conversation with your classmates.
Unit Assignments
Unit I Essay
Film Essay
Each of the films selected for Unit I portrays a teacher/student
relationship that proves to be life changing. Identify your
movie selection with a brief synopsis of the main characters, the
underlying issue, and how it is or is not solved. Touch on
the key points of the process of change in your movie. What
needed to happen? What risks were taken? What were the

positive and negative (if any) outcomes? This should be no
more than half of your essay.
In the second part of your essay, discuss your own experience
with education. How much of your education has consisted
of teachers pouring ideas into your mind and then requiring you
to pour them back onto a test? How many teachers have
tried to inspire your mind in new ways? Which type of
education do you prefer, and why?
Your essay should be no less than two full pages in length,
roughly 500 words. If you use outside sources, please cite and
reference them according to APA standards.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for
this assignment is provided below.
Unit II Essay
Film Essay
The movies in Unit II all deal with major decision making. Start
by identifying your movie selection and providing a brief
synopsis of the core issue. What was the main character’s goal?
What major decision needed to be made, and by whom?
What was the process? What were the problems or roadblocks?
Then, discuss your analysis of the final outcome. This
should be no more than half of your essay.
In the second part of your essay, analyze your own decisions

that have been important in your life. What is your process
for making these kinds of decisions? What are the strengths and
weaknesses of that process for you? This part of your
think piece should be focused on the process, not on details
about your decisions.
Unit III Essay
Film Essay
The movies in Unit III depict many great examples of problem
solving. Discuss the major problem in the movie you
selected, and how that problem was (or could have been) broken
down into smaller, more solvable problems.
For the second half of your essay, choose a smaller problem you
are facing now, and describe how you would use
Chaffee’s five steps of problem solving to find a solution. The
problem you write about can be personal or professional,
and you can change names and other details, if you feel the
need. What you discuss will be kept confidential.

Unit IV Essay
Film Essay
Each of the movie selections this unit deal with a big question
that is very hard to answer, but a question we should all
wrestle with. How do we determine perception vs. reality?
In the movie A Beautiful Mind, a doctor is explaining the horror
of schizophrenia to John Nash’s wife and he says:
You see the nightmare in schizophrenia is not knowing what’s
true. Imagine if you had suddenly learned that the
people and the places and the moments most important to you
were not gone, not dead, but worse . . . had never
been. What kind of hell would that be?
What about you? When you look around you at the world, how
do you know how to react to the people, events, or things
that cross your path? As you make decisions about things both
big and small, how do you know that you are awake and
not dreaming? How do you determine what is perception and
what is reality?

Unit V Essay
Film Essay
This think piece is more analytical and less personal. The plots
of the films this unit contrast the differing perceptions of
faith believers and non-believers. Illustrate the roles that factual
information, inferences, and judgments play in the main
character(s) major decisions. Be sure to differentiate between
the three terms and give examples for support.
In the second half of your think piece, discuss which path–-
science or faith—is a more influential part of your own
believing and knowing things about the world.
Unit VI Essay
Film Essay
These films raise questions about American society, ranging
from racism and sexism to the fairness of the legal system.
Explore the relationship between vengeance and justice in your
movie. Argue for or against the acceptability of personal
vengeance—the taking of revenge—in American society, using
the events portrayed in your film as the main source of
evidence and/or examples. How does revenge fit into your

understanding of justice? What makes revenge worth the
consequences for society and the legal system?
Although you will need to rely on definitions and descriptions
of the structure of argument discussed in Chapter 6 of our
textbook, remember that the movie must be used as the main
source of evidence in your argument.
In the second half of your think piece, reflect on what you think
your own decisions would have been if placed in the same
situation(s) you described from the movie. Would your
decisions have been the same as those made by the character(s)?
Why, or why not?
Unit VII Essay
Film Essay
In these films, very specific claims are made on information,
inferences, and judgments. Do you agree? What is your
analysis of the main argument's strengths and weaknesses?
inferences, or judgments carry the most weight with
you? Why those? As you write, you may include other
information that you bring to this topic. What are the
inferences and judgments you rely on as you take a position on
the topic?

information provided and/or the inferences and judgments
made. What's "wrong" with or about any of them? What
information do you have that counters the information
cited in the movie? What do your inferences and judgments lead
you to believe is the truth about the issue?
Submitting Course Papers/Projects
Once you have completed your papers/projects, submit your
completed papers/projects by uploading through the
Assignment tab in each unit. Do not e-mail your paper directly
to your professor. By using the Assignment tab, your record
will automatically be updated to indicate you have submitted
your papers/projects and the assignment will be provided to
your professor for grading. Instructions for submitting your
assignment can be found under the Assignment tab in each
unit.

APA Guidelines
Waldorf University requires that students use APA style for
papers and projects. Therefore, the APA rules for formatting,
quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be
followed. Students can find Waldorf’s Citation Guide in the
myWaldorf Student Portal by clicking on the “Citation Guide”
link under the “Resources” heading. This document includes
examples and sample papers.
Grading Rubrics
This course utilizes analytic grading rubrics as tools for your
professor in assigning grades for all learning activities. Each
rubric serves as a guide that communicates the expectations of
the learning activity and describes the criteria for each
level of achievement. In addition, a rubric is a reference tool
that lists evaluation criteria and can help you organize your
efforts to meet the requirements of that learning activity. It is
imperative for you to familiarize yourself with these rubrics
because these are the primary tools your professor uses for
assessing learning activities.
Rubric categories include: (1) Discussion Board, (2) Assessment
(Written Response), and (3) Assignment. However, it is
possible that not all of the listed rubric types will be used in a
single course (e.g., some courses may not have
Assessments).
The Discussion Board rubric can be found within Unit I’s
Discussion Board submission instructions.

The Assessment (Written Response) rubric can be found
embedded in a link within the directions for each Unit
Assessment. However, these rubrics will only be used when
written-response questions appear within the Assessment.
Each Assignment type (e.g., article critique, case study,
research paper) will have its own rubric. The Assignment
rubrics
are built into Blackboard, allowing students to review them
prior to beginning the Assignment and again once the
Assignment has been scored. This rubric can be accessed via the
Assignment link located within the unit where it is to be
submitted. Students may also access the rubric through the
course menu by selecting the “Grades” link.
Again, it is vitally important for you to become familiar with
these rubrics because their application to your
Discussion Boards, Assessments, and Assignments is the
method by which your instructor assigns all grades.
Communication Forums
These are non-graded discussion forums that allow you to
communicate with your professor and other students.
Participation in these discussion forums is encouraged, but not
required. You can access these forums with the buttons in
the Course Menu. Instructions for subscribing/unsubscribing to
these forums are provided below.
Click here for instructions on how to subscribe/unsubscribe and
post to the Communication Forums.
Ask the Professor
This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to

ask your professor general or course content questions.
Questions may focus on Blackboard locations of online course
components, textbook or course content elaboration,
additional guidance on assessment requirements, or general
advice from other students.
Questions that are specific in nature, such as inquiries regarding
assessment/assignment grades or personal
accommodation requests, are NOT to be posted on this forum. If
you have questions, comments, or concerns of a non-
public nature, please feel free to email your professor.
Responses to your post will be addressed or emailed by the
professor within 48 hours.
http://online.waldorf.edu/CSU_Content/Waldorf_Content/ZULU
/Common_Files/Create_New_Thread_Subscribe.pdf
Before posting, please ensure that you have read all relevant
course documentation, including the syllabus,
assessment/assignment instructions, faculty feedback, and other
important information.
Student Break Room
This communication forum allows for casual conversation with
your classmates. Communication on this forum should
always maintain a standard of appropriateness and respect for
your fellow classmates. This forum should NOT be used to
share assessment answers.

Grading
Discussion Boards (8 @ 2%) = 16%
Units I-VII Assessments (7 @ 4%) = 28%
Final Assessment = 7%
Essays (7 @ 7%) = 49%
Total = 100%
Course Schedule/Checklist (PLEASE PRINT)
The following pages contain a printable Course Schedule to
assist you through this course. By following this schedule,
you will be assured that you will complete the course within the
time allotted.
HUM 1020, Critical Thinking Course Schedule
By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will
complete the course within the time allotted. Please keep
this schedule for reference as you progress through your course.
Unit I Creativity and Critical Inquiry

Read:
Discuss:
Discussion Board question by
Saturday, 11:59 p.m. (Central Time)
Discussion Board response by
Tuesday, 11:59 p.m. (Central Time)
Submit:
uesday, 11:59 p.m. (Central Time)
Notes/Goals:
Unit II Critical Thinking
Read:

Discuss:
d Response: Submit your response to the
Submit:
Notes/Goals:
Unit III Problem Solving
Read:
Discuss:
iscussion Board Response: Submit your response to the

Submit:
Assessment by Tuesday, 11:59 p.m. (Central Time)
Notes/Goals:
Unit IV Perceiving, Believing, and Knowing
Re
Read:
Discuss:

Submit:
Notes/Goals:
Unit V Reporting Information, Inferring, and Judging
Read:
Discuss:

Submit:
ay, 11:59 p.m. (Central Time)
Notes/Goals:
Unit VI Constructing Arguments
Read:
Discuss:
ponse to the
Submit:
al Time)
Notes/Goals:

Unit VII Critical Reasoning
Read:
g Critically
Discuss:
Submit:

Notes/Goals:
Unit VIII Putting It All Together
R
Discuss:
Time)
Notes/Goals:

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Understand how factual information must be verifiable
through investigation.
2. Discuss how inferences go beyond factual information to
describe what is currently not known.
3. Identify the ways that predicting and inferring are related.
4. Differentiate between inferences and judgments.
5. Recognize that an evaluation is based on criteria.
6. Apply criteria as part of an evaluation.
Reading Assignment
Chapter 5:
Reporting, Inferring, Judging
Film Assignment
Films (Choose 1):

-contact/
ack/
-
almighty/
com/title/tt0326035/
-leap_of_faith/

Note about films: These have all been chosen based on how they
help illustrate and enhance the main focus of
each unit.
UNIT V STUDY GUIDE
Reporting Information, Inferring, and
Judging
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1078021-contact/
http://www.meetjoeblack.com/
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/meet_joe_black/
http://www.universalstudiosentertainment.com/bruce-almighty/
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bruce_almighty/
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1042059-leap_of_faith/
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Unit Lesson

Your thinking process organizes the world you see into
relationships that make sense to you; thinking helps
you understand the world and what is happening. These
relationships that help you understand the world are
also called patterns, which include patterns of the following
types:
In this unit, you will explore the way you use these thinking
patterns, and others, to organize your beliefs and
knowledge (Unit IV). You will learn that the quality and
accuracy of your beliefs are dependent on the
information, inferences, and judgments with which you support
them. You will recognize how some beliefs are
perceived to be better than others because they appear more
accurate, complete, and grounded in plausible
inferences, or they are based on valid judgments.
Film Themes:
ring and judging.
judgments.

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