Critical Thinking (CRIT) CPSO
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Course numbers with the # symbol included (e.g. #400) have not been taught in the last 3 years.
CRIT 501 - Introduction to Critical Inquiry
Credits: 4
Introduction to Critical Inquiry provides the foundation for an informed and meaningful college experience through the cultivation of intellectual curiosity. Through the study of media and popular culture and the completion of short writing assignments, students learn how to develop and scale a personally-motivated research question, refine their topic, determine effective search strategies for finding credible and appropriate information, and learning to recognize bias and logical fallacies. Important aspects of the research process are learning how to analyze different types of argument and to evaluate information sources from a variety of venues. Critical Inquiry fosters the self-awareness and intellectual perspective that are the hallmarks of well-educated persons and lifelong, engaged students in the twenty-first century.
Attributes: Critical Inquiry (Gen Ed); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course
Prerequisite(s): ENG 420 with a minimum grade of D- or ENG 500G with a minimum grade of D- or ENGL 401 with a minimum grade of D-.
Equivalent(s): CRIT 501G
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
View Course Learning Outcomes
- Discuss the importance of intellectual curiosity and its relationship to their own thinking and learning process within the college academic community.
- Become more aware of their own thinking process and explore consistent methods for approaching critical inquiry.
- Recognize different types of argument and learn how to decipher and respond to logical fallacies.
- Learn how to develop and scale a personally-motivated research question, refine a topic, and determine effective search strategies for finding credible information sources appropriate to college learning.
- Distinguish among the modes of summary, opinion, and analysis.
- Responsibly and ethically document research with concern for academic integrity and the conventions of citation.
- Examine the ways the internet and other digital technology challenges current laws of copyright, free speech, and privacy.
- Understand complex relationships among ideas and take an informed position through engagement with civic discourse.
CRIT 602 - Advanced Critical Analysis and Strategic Thinking
Credits: 4
What is the link between an academic degree and one's career or professional development? In this course, students explore trends in their field of study and connect them to their academic and professional context. Students synthesize and present their research findings though a variety of formal and informal written communication formats. This course reinforces critical analysis and strategic thinking skills for students developing their course of study, seeking professional advancement, or preparing for future graduate study. Students with a regionally-accredited associate degree do not have to take either ENG 420 or CRIT 501 as prerequisites for CRIT 602.
Attributes: Critical Inquiry (Gen Ed); Writing Intensive Course
Prerequisite(s): (ENG 420 with a minimum grade of D- or ENG 500G with a minimum grade of D-) and (CRIT 501 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIT 501G with a minimum grade of D-) or (Has Accred Associate Deg with a score of WAIV).
Equivalent(s): CRIT 502G, CRIT 602G
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
View Course Learning Outcomes
- Use investigative research techniques to determine gaps in knowledge and skills which establish learning needs in a chosen field or profession.
- Employ research inquiry standards to develop a critical inquiry question in order to locate information resources that meet source validity criteria.
- Demonstrate awareness of context, audience, and purpose within the writing process and in the presentation of research findings.
- Assess the significance of research results using formal and informal writing formats.
- Create a learning plan that provides strategies for achieving academic and professional goals based on course discussion topics and research findings.
- Engage in and facilitate discussion with other students using positive communication strategies within the course's community of practice.
CRIT 603 - Critical Inquiry in Prior Learning Assessment
Credits: 4
This course is designed for adults who have identified prior experiential learning equivalent to outstanding degree requirements through a systematic process of goal-setting and self-assessment in the context of degree-planning. Students use the conceptual framework of critical inquiry to demonstrate this learning in an eportfolio. For each course-equivalent credit request, the portfolio will identify the context for the student's learning in the subject matter, trace the progression of the learning over time, and explain how the learning is equivalent to a degree requirement. The student will demonstrate mastery of each learning outcome for the credit request and integrate the learning outcomes in a relevant personal case study in decision-making. Two credit requests that meet the criteria to be submitted to Academic Affairs for evaluation are required to pass CRIT 603. NOTE: Students within 16 credits of their projected degree completion date are not eligible to take CRIT 603.
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
Prerequisite(s): CRIT 602 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIT 502G with a minimum grade of D- or CRIT 602G with a minimum grade of D-.
Equivalent(s): CRIT 503G, CRIT 603G
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
View Course Learning Outcomes
- Evaluate their experiential learning in the context of higher education.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the role of information literacy in fostering lifelong learning.
- Support assertions of college-level content and skill mastery with arguments that are clear, precise, logical, and carefully qualified.
- Analyze and evaluate the value and validity of supporting evidence for the credit requested.
- Organize, synthesize, and integrate the information needed to make the case for degree credit for experiential learning.