First-Year Critical Thinking [FC]

An FC course (1 course; minimum of 3 credit hours) introduces the standards of good reasoning and strengthens basic reasoning skills.

Major course objectives shall include oral and written practice to develop the following abilities:
(1) identify the main question, problem, or claim in discourse, and think through it in a critical, creative manner according to the standards of good reasoning, that is, the rules of argument;
(2) model the critical thinking processes, or patterns, in the humanities, natural sciences, or social sciences; and
(3) self-consciously apply the standards of critical thinking 

An FC course may combine with a maximum of one Mode of Inquiry course, but may not combine with another First-year Experience course (i.e., FW, FS, FM); and may not combine with a course designated PE, WI, or SI. 

 
Knowledge area: Discipline based.
 

Skills:

1. Identify the issue or question:

  • Understand what considerations are relevant to the issue or question,
  • Know who bears the burden of proof. 

2. Identify the logical structure of arguments:

  • Identify the conclusion,
  • Identify the explicit premises and the implicit premises or assumptions the argument requires for its conclusion to follow,
  • Identify the evidence offered to support the premises. 
3. Evaluate arguments and counter arguments, competing hypotheses, or rival explanations:
  • Determine whether the conclusion follows from the premises,
  • Consider whether all the premises are true, and relevant,
  • Evaluate the supporting evidence, data, models, concepts, experimental design, or the reliability of the source providing evidence,
  • Develop skill in formulating counter-examples, alternative explanations, or conceptual models that may account for the evidence, data, etc.,
  • Recognize informal fallacies.


4. Use the above standards to construct and evaluate one's own arguments.

Exercises:

1. Classroom exercises with oral practice involving as many students as possible,
2. Short written assignments, and
3. An assignment designed to develop the ability to distinguish and evaluate sources, particularly web sources (see Information Literacy for First-Year Critical Thinking Courses for details).