Competency

Prepare to be a critical reader, listener, and viewer.

This learning plan will address the following learning objectives to help you master the competency.

a. Identify the habits that hinder critical thinking.

b. Understand the six important distinctions in critical thinking.

c. Outline the strategy for critical reading.

d. Summarize the strategy for critical listening.

e. Paraphrase the strategy for critical viewing.

Overview

You may believe that you are already a critical reader, listener, or viewer. However, this is fallible thinking. We all have prejudices that influence, hinder, and guide our critical approach to any given subject matter.

We are often unaware of these, and these can hinder our critical thinking.

The good news is that there are proven techniques and strategies to critically evaluate anything that we mentally consume; these techniques and practices serve as a 'safeguard' to our conscious, or subconscious, prejudices.

Learning Activities

1. WRITE down ten stereotypes. IDENTIFY how you think the stereotypes originated. Next, RESEARCH each stereotype online and learn the true origin of each. How do you think that stereotypes affect your critical thinking?

One may claim that they are simply stereotypes and that understanding stereotypes does not mean that one is racist.

However, being self-aware of one's specific prejudices is necessary in critical thinking. IDENTIFY a particular prejudice that you hold. How would this prejudice hinder critical thinking? How about critical reading, listening, and viewing?

2. READ Chapters 3 (Broaden Your Perspective) and 4 (Be a Critical Reader, Listener, and Viewer) in the Art of Thinking.

3. DEFINE what critical reading, listening, and viewing means to you and WRITE down five examples of each.

4. READ Applications: 3.4 on page 61 in The Art of Thinking. What specific 'Habits that Hinder Critical Thinking' did Pat Sajak commit?

5. WRITE down a strategy for critical reading using the class textbook reading for this Learning Plan. RESEARCH online and select a news article of interest to you. EMPLOY the strategy that you wrote down. How did using your strategy alter the manner in which you read and interpreted the article?

6. WRITE down a strategy for critical listening using the class textbook reading for this Learning Plan. RESEARCH online to locate a political speech given by a candidate whom you do not agree with. LISTEN to the speech without watching the video. Were you able to objectively listen to the candidate's position using the strategy that you wrote down, or did your emotions cloud your analysis (as you do not agree with this candidate)?

7. WRITE down a strategy for critical viewing using the class textbook reading for this Learning Plan. RESEARCH online to locate pharmaceutical commercials. SELECT three different commercials and watch them employing your strategy. Using your strategy, were you better able to identify the commercials agenda, slant, bias, or intent?

8. PARTICIPATE in Discussion 3.1: Practice Critical Thinking.

9. PARTICIPATE in Discussion 3.2: Come Now! Hinder!

Assignments

1. COMPLETE the LP3 Assignment: Distinctions.

This assignment will assess the following Course Objective:

3. Prepare to be a critical reader, listener, and viewer.

Directions: Write a brief essay using the following format:

Answer the question below in no less than one page and no more than two pages. The assignment should be submitted using Microsoft Word with default margins, using 12 point Times New Roman black font, be double-spaced, and be in essay format. Consult the class text while researching and writing the answer.

At: Leave blank

Don't add space between paragraphs of same style: Do not ‘check'

REFER to the LP3 textbook to answer the following questions:

1. LIST and DEFINE the six 'Making Important Distinctions' from the Art of Thinking reading for this Learning Plan.

2. SELECT two of them (your choice) and provide an example, of each, to demonstrate your understanding of the material.