Elements of Critical Thinking

WEEK 4 Discussion 1

Elements of Critical Thinking [WLOs: 2, 3, 4] [CLOs: 2, 3, 4]

 

Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, in preparation for discussing the importance of critical thinking skills, Read the articles · Common Misconceptions of Critical Thinking · Combating Fake News in the Digital Age · 6 Critical Thinking Skills You Need to Master Now (Links to an external site.) · Teaching and Learning in a Post-Truth world: It’s Time for Schools to Upgrade and Reinvest in Media Literacy Lessons · Critical Thinking and the Challenges of Internet (Links to an external site.) Watch the videos · Fake News: Part 1 (Links to an external site.) · Critical Thinking (Links to an external site.) Review the resources · Critical Thinking Skills (Links to an external site.) · Valuable Intellectual Traits (Links to an external site.) · Critical Thinking Web (Links to an external site.)
Reflect: Reflect on the characteristics of a critical thinker. Critical thinking gets you involved in a dialogue with the ideas you read from others in this class. To be a critical thinker, you need to be able to summarize, analyze, hypothesize, and evaluate new information that you encounter.
Write: For this discussion, you will address the following prompts. Keep in mind that the article or video you’ve chosen should not be about critical thinking, but should be about someone making a statement, claim, or argument related to your Final Paper topic. One source should demonstrate good critical thinking skills and the other source should demonstrate the lack or absence of critical thinking skills. Personal examples should not be used. · Explain at least five elements of critical thinking that you found in the reading material. · Search the Internet, media, or the Ashford University Library, and find an example in which good critical thinking skills are being demonstrated by the author or speaker. Summarize the content and explain why you think it demonstrates good critical thinking skills. · Search the Internet, media, or the Ashford University Library, and find an example in which the author or speaker lacks good critical thinking skills. Summarize the content and explain why you think it demonstrates the absence of good, critical thinking skills. Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length, which should include a thorough response to each prompt. You are required to provide in-text citations of applicable required reading materials and/or any other outside sources you use to support your claims. Provide full reference entries of all sources cited at the end of your response. Please use correct APA format when writing in-text citations (see In-Text Citation Helper (Links to an external site.)) and references (see Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.)).

 

 

 

WEEK 4 JOURNAL

Week 4 – Journal

Rough Draft Review Process Evaluation

[WLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Purpose: The primary goal of this weekly assignment is to enable you to understand the revision process and revise your paper with the help of a writing specialist.

Prepare:

Step 1: Prepare a shortened version of your Final Paper (at least four pages) by including the following:

· Introduction paragraph and thesis statement you developed for your Week 3 Assignment.

· Background information of the global societal issue you have chosen.

· Brief argument supporting at least two solutions to the global societal issue.

· Conclusion paragraph.

· Must document any information used from at least five scholarly sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) Note that you will need at least eight scholarly sources for your Final Paper in Week 5.

Step 2: After you have completed a rough draft of your paper, submit that draft to the Ashford Writing Center by using the instructions found in the Paper Review (Links to an external site.) page. Your paper will be returned within 24 hours, so give yourself enough time to complete and submit it prior to the due date.

Reflect: Carefully review the revision letter and the margin comments that you see on your returned paper. Consider each of the suggestions provided to help you to revise your paper.

Write:

What You Need to Submit to Waypoint:

· Upload the PDF document that contains the feedback from the Writing Center specialist.

· Submit the journal assignment answering the following questions in at least 400 words:

· Identify the top three issues your writing specialist focused on in your rough draft (e.g., paragraph structure, proper use of quotations, thesis statement, etc.).

· In what ways were those issues surprising?

· Describe what you learned from some of the feedback your writing specialist provided as explanations.

· Was this feedback helpful?

· Evaluate the usefulness of the paper review tool.

· In what ways did this activity improve your academic writing skills?

· Will you use the Ashford Writing Center to review your work in the future? Why or why not?

· Identify Writing Center Video Tutorials (Links to an external site.) that you find most useful and explain why. Also, identify tutorial(s) you found least useful and explain why.

The journal part of the assignment does not need to be formatted in APA style; however, correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation is required.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your journal.

 

WEEK 5 DISCUSSION 1

 

Reflecting on General Education and Career [WLOs: 2, 3, 4] [CLOs: 2, 3, 4]

 

Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read the articles Teaching Writing Skills That Enhance Student Success in Future Employment ; An Inner Barrier to Career Development: Preconditions of the Impostor Phenomenon and Consequences for Career Development (Links to an external site.); and 9 Questions That’ll Help You Find Your Dream Career (Links to an external site.); watch the video Business, Management & Administration (Links to an external site.); and review the General Education Curriculum found in General Academic Information and Policies (Links to an external site.) in the Ashford University Catalog. This catalog addresses the core competencies that the general education courses must cover: Ethical Reasoning, Written Communication, Oral and Interpersonal Communication, Information Literacy, Critical Thinking, and Quantitative Reasoning.

Reflect: Think about the core competencies as previously mentioned, and ponder your time taking general education courses. Reflect on the specific courses not associated with your college major and determine the level of new information you have acquired that relates to the core competencies. You must also think about a potential job you might apply to once you graduate and determine what skills you developed through general education courses that make you qualified for a specific job.

Write: For this discussion, you will address the following prompts:

· Review a job description through a job website (e.g., Career Builder (Links to an external site.), Monster (Links to an external site.), etc.) in your desired career field. Please provide the job title and the link to the job description.

· Identify at least five skills you have obtained through your general education courses that will make you successful at this job.

· Demonstrate with at least two examples how your newly acquired knowledge and skills have shaped both your personal and professional development.

· Describe your plans for putting your education to use within your community.

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length, which should include a thorough response to each prompt. You are required to provide in-text citations of applicable required reading materials and/or any other outside sources you use to support your claims. Provide full reference entries of all sources cited at the end of your response. Please use correct APA format when writing in-text citations (see In-Text Citation Helper (Links to an external site.)) and references (see Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.)).