Instructions for Reading Assignments

PURPOSE
The reading assignments serve two important purposes. To achieve a better understanding of the topics discussed in the module To develop critical thinking tools, particularly in the critical thinking components of interpretation and analysis

DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS THROUGH READING

ASSIGNMENTS
The following steps are important to take in every reading assignment in this course and in all other courses. These skills are transferable and universal.

INTERPRETATION
During the reading, consider the following: What is the thesis statement? What is the premise of the author? What is the conclusion? At the end of the reading, answer these questions by writing them out in outline form. Do this for all your reading. For important reading assignments, revisit your outline and fill in the details.

ANALYSIS
During the reading, keep the following questions in mind regarding the nature of the information. Accuracy Reliability Impartiality Objectivity Free from personal bias Upon completion of the reading, write a few statements addressing these issues. If there are opportunities compare your analyses with the instructor or fellow students.

READING AS AN ACTIVE PROCESS

Reading is an interaction between you and the author. It must be treated as a dialog in order to fully benefit from the time and effort. One of the major emphases of a college education is to help you become an active reader. The following is a list of points to keep mind during reading. What is the authors view point? What is the authors intention? What is the authors method and approach? What is your intellectual response? What is your emotional reaction?

How is your worldview affected by the reading?

READING AS A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS

Reading is a dialog between you and the author as well as you and other readers. Differences in interpretation and analyses are common among readers. Share these differences enrich the understanding of the materials and create new perspectives. Try the following approach in your readings. Discuss your interpretation of the reading Compare your analyses Share your reading techniques Examine other view points

Introduction to Concept Review Reading Assignment 1 Scientific Process

Source: Life Scientists: Their Convictions, Their Activities and Their Values, 1996, by Gerard M. Verschuuren Posted under Blackboard Scientific method is a topic taught in every high school science course. It is frequently portrayed as being methodical processes performed by completely rational scientists. This article suggests that it is far from being the truth. Scientists use the same thought process as everyone else in day-to-day thinking. They are as emotional, irrational, creative, and temperamental as painters, bankers, lawyers, and bus drivers. However, as the author pointed out that the scientific process disciplines the normal everyday thinking through an intellectual endeavor known as the empirical cycle. The empirical cycle is based on critical thinking, but it also adds an element of verification. It is the combination of these two separate entities that makes science a powerful mean to search for knowledge.

Introduction to Weekly Assignment Reading 1 The Odd of That

Author: Lisa Belkin Posted under Blackboard Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/11/magazine/11COINCIDENCE.html This is a very interesting and readable article addressing a difficult and often boring topic of statistics. The author described a pair of elderly identical twins who were killed in two separate traffic accidents only an hour apart. Both were on their bicycles and both ran over by trucks. Was this a coincidence, or as some suggested a murder conspiracy? What is the odd for such events to occur randomly? There are many unusual and strange outcomes that seem completely improbable. Are they random occurrences or there are some underlying causalities? One of the challenges of science is to separate random events, which are unpredictable, from events with clear causes, which can be accurately predict and manage. This article demonstrates the power

of statistic in critical thinking and in the scientific process. It will change your mind on many conspiracy theories and doomsday predictions.