Caldwell Academy of Liberal Arts

COURSE RATIONAL AND DESCRIPTION

SOCRATIC SEMINARS: READING, THINKING & DISCUSSING:

In the sport of basketball, if fundamental skills are ignored; that is, passing, dribbling, and shooting, it would be impossible for success on the court, no matter how ingenious the game plan. So, if thinking can be likened to a sport, what would be the fundamental skills necessary to produce success in the class room?  

We believe it is observation (attention to detail), inferential skills, and questioning strategies. The way we respond and think about material is a mental habit that either works to develop our understanding, or contributes to confusion and retreat. We believe that students who are asked probing questions; who are required to make inferences from the text and to support their claims with textual evidence on a daily basis, these students will develop critical thinking skills. In short, this practice will lead students to see the connection between thoughtful engagement and clarity of idea. It is paramount in this process that student engagement increases while the role of the teacher, who is prodding the students in all three categories – observation, inferential thinking, and probing questions --  decreases.

 It is the purpose of this class that students will gain insight, skills, and mental habits to successfully maneuver through difficult material and gain understanding. Students will demonstrate this skill when they evaluate claims and provide evidence to draw reasonable conclusions. The students’ increasing ability to see connections and patterns both within a discipline and across disciplines would be an excellent example of outcomes of critical thinking.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS OUTCOME

1.    Students will demonstrate the ability to discriminate among degrees of credibility, accuracy, and reliability of inferences drawn from given data.

2.    Students will demonstrate the ability to recognize assumptions, or presuppositions in any given source of information.

3.    Students will evaluate the strengths and relevance of arguments on a particular question or issue.

4.    Students will weigh evidence and decide if generalizations or conclusions based on the given data are warranted.

5.    Students will determine whether certain conclusions or consequences are supported by the information provided.

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