Seventh task

DIRECTIONS: 
At the end of this course, you are expected to hand in an argumentative essay where you critically analyze a topic/issue of your interest. To do this, students (in couples) will initially think about a topic and will therefore construct an outline of their final paper (to be presented on June 17th via email). After summer vacations, students will show their advances on their paper and will take part in a dissertation where the main arguments are displayed to the rest of the classroom. Finally, students will be given the green light to hand in the final version of their essays on July 29th. 

Guidelines for the final CCT essay:

• It must be an argumentative essay. 
• When analyzing your topic/question of interest, you must make reference to the main concepts reviewed throughout the CCT course. This, of course, must be done by connecting your arguments with some of the reviewed sources in class. Nevertheless, I also encourage you to use other external sources to support your ideas. 
• It should be approached as “process writing”, i.e., with evidence of basic issues such as an initial outline, a first draft, and final version. 
• It must have a minimum of 2,000 words
• It must include at least 8 credible, relevant and current sources to support your arguments and counter-arguments.
• It must be typed and follow the APA style (in-text citations, references, etc.)
• Plagiarism will be penalized.
• You are strongly recommended to use our University's database to get reliable information on the issue to be analyzed. There, you will find articles and books that may perfectly help you support the ideas. 
• Extra-class feedback will be provided on Wednesdays from 2 to 4 at our program's library. You may find me there at these two hours. 
• Read carefully “Writing argumentative essays” by clicking on http://www.logicstudent.com/intro/tutorial/preface.htm.  and carry out the suggested tasks for a better comprehension of the way you are expected to write your argumentative essay. 

Sixth task

DIRECTIONS: Write in your blog a critical commentary of the lecture "Where is the Outrage? Critical Pedagogy in Dark Times" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAxj87RRtsc ) by enhancing the way education is being shaped by larger corporate and market driven forces, the role of critical pedagogy in the traditional spheres of schooling and in contemporary politics, the educative nature of culture and politics, the role of teachers as public intellectuals, and pedagogy as a project of a substantive democracy and as a form of resistance and educated hope.

Fifth task

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Watch the following videoclips about some internationally well known stereotypes, and write in your blog a three-paragraph reflection about stereotyping and ways of coping with it by making particular reference to the Colombian ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqY3nN4Et7M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNE_JLDuH8Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT_hsR2jh90

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb-u64vtF-M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wy1Ab6-lfE

2. Select one exercise from each of the following list of topics and solve them in your blog by providing a detailed explanation of your answer. Please, include the prompt (instruction), the passage and your explained answer. 

TOPICS: 

• Underlying assumptions (p. 87)
• Implicit assumptions used as reasons (p. 90) 
• False premises (p. 92)
• Implicit arguments (p. 94) 
• Stereotypes (p. 97)
• Assuming causal links (p. 106) 
• Identifying the nature of the link (p. 108)
• False analogies (p. 113)

Fourth task

DIRECTIONS: Read ONE of the following opinion columns and the respective comments from its readers, and identify an example (from the text OR from people's comments) of the following critical thinking skills: a position or point of view, an argument, an explanation, an agreement, a disagreement, a description, a summary, an introduction, background information and a conclusion. To be done in your personal critical and creative thinking blog.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/04/05/teaching-political-science-in-the-age-of-trump/?utm_term=.9eefe387bda0

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/25/opinion/sunday/student-debt-loan-default-college.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/25/opinion/sunday/student-debt-loan-default-college.html

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/25/veganism-intensively-farmed-meat-dairy-soya-maize

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/my-patients-are-dying-but-its-their-right-to-keep-fighting/2018/08/24/487c71ba-809a-11e8-b660-4d0f9f0351f1_story.html?utm_term=.c448ff9267ee

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/04/01/why-youre-bad-at-fact-checking-those-april-fools-day-pranks/?utm_term=.e3a48a595e9a

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/opinion/sunday/zuckerberg-facebook-privacy-congress.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fopinion&action=click&contentCollection=opinion&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=sectionfront

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/opinion/sunday/chimps-legal-personhood.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fopinion&action=click&contentCollection=opinion&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/04/martin-luther-king-how-a-rebel-leader-was-lost-to-history

Due date: April 22nd 

Third task

DIRECTIONS: Watch the lecture of Stephen Brookfield on Creative and Creative Thinking and make a summary of it in your own blog:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8umk4w8kB8

Due date: April 8th

Second Task

DIRECTIONS: In your own blog, carry out the reflection tasks proposed by Stella Cottrell (2005) in her paper "What is critical thinking?" 

Due date: April 8th

First task

DIRECTIONS: After having read "What is critical thinking?" written by Stella Cottrell (2005), and based on the initial tasks conducted in class, write in this blog your initial notions of Critical and Creative Thinking.