Cael Cohen, PhD

Email: cmcohen@yorku.ca

Telephone or Text: 647-880-1237

In-Person Office Hours:

Monday, 9 am – 11 am

Room 447, South Ross Building

Office hours begin on Monday, January 8, 2024.

This online, condensed, accelerated, skills-based course teaches learners how to read, write and think independently, critically, and for meaning, about social problems and social issues, through:

• A collection of critical skills, practices, techniques, attitudes, and principles that can be used every day to systematically evaluate your own and others’ reasoning about social problems.
• An approach to ethical disagreements and controversial social issues using rational standards and mindfulness awareness.
• Critical assessment and formulation of social issues and problems, arguments, and concepts based on relevant, acceptable, and sufficient grounds, rather than passive acceptance.

General Education course. There are course credit exclusions on MODR1730, 1760, and 1770 as a set.  Students cannot take two Modes of Reasoning courses for credit.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• A stable, higher-speed internet connection with which to access the EClass course site.
• Laptop, personal computer, tablet, or cell phone that can access EClass on the internet.
• Useful link for student computing information, resources, and help:

Student Guide to EClass

• There are 2 required, mandatory, textbooks for this course. Both required books are available for purchase at the York University Bookstore.
• Title: #Think: Critical thinking about social problems. Authors: Kennedy, Vera; Norwood Romney; and Jendian, Matthew. Publisher: Kendall Hunt, Dubuque, IA. Copyright: 2017. ISBN: 9781465287557
• Title: Thinking 101: How to reason better, to live better - the pre-req for life. Author: Ahn, Woo-Kyoung. Publisher: Flatiron Books, New York. Copyright: 2022. ISBN: 9781250805959.

Summary of Assignments and Evaluation

Take Home Test

Worth 20% of final mark

Monday, February 12, 9:00 am to Thursday, February 15, 9:00 am

Article Analysis Assignment - Part 1

Worth 25% of final mark

Due: February 26, 9:00 am

Article Analysis Assignment - Part 2

Worth 25% of final mark

Due: Course end date April 8, 11:59 pm

Homework

20%

Lesson Participation Assignments (LPAs)

10%

COURSE FORMAT:

• This is an ONLINE, condensed, accelerated course consisting of 3 Modules containing 22 Lessons:
  • Module 1: Argument and Argumentation – Lessons 1 – 13.
  • Module 2: Concepts – Lessons 14 and 15.
  • Module 3: Passages and Articles – Lessons 16 – 22.
• The course content is delivered online through the EClass course site. Resources are posted to EClass. All assignments are submitted online to the EClass course site.
• To access the EClass course site, you need to log in with your passport York @ eclass.yorku.ca.
• Each online lesson is composed of required readings, worksheets, some podcast listening, mini-lectures, coaching and mentoring, videos, and lesson resources. All lesson resources will be posted to the EClass course website.

Class Participation:

• You should be completing and submitting all coursework by the deadlines stated in the course outline and on EClass.
• This course aims to provide active and deep learning experiences.
• Everyone enrolled in this course is expected to treat each other with respect both in the classroom and in the online environment.
• This course is skills-based and consequently requires the completion of mandatory homework and Lesson Participation Assignments to learn and practice the skills. You do NEED to keep up. To become strong at any skill, practice is needed. Accordingly, there is an emphasis on continuous engagement with the lessons. If you anticipate not doing the reading and not attending classes due to conflicts with work, your other classes, or personal commitments, you are strongly urged to rethink whether you should enroll in this course.

Why should learners bother taking this course?

• Increase ability to assess situations and act in a way that reflects reasoned assessment and choices.
• Understand the world more clearly.
• Clarify confusing ideas.
• Analyze reasons and claims.
• Evaluate the quality of claims and arguments.
• Gain a better understanding of who you are by enhancing your autonomy, what you believe, and who you can become.
• Give you more control of your life by grounding your understanding, decisions, and actions on reason rather than merely on a gut feeling, habit, or social convention.
• Read for meaning better and systematically assess what is read.
• Think more independently.
• Formulate stronger, more convincing arguments that depend on relevant, sufficient, and acceptable reasons.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, if you apply yourself, do all the readings, view all lesson recordings, and fully participate, you can expect to see improvement in your reading, writing, critical reasoning, and critical thinking skills about social problems in the following areas:

Reading Comprehension:

• You will become a more critical and active reader, which includes learning how to read between the lines and how to ask critical questions.

Writing:

• You will learn how to write an argumentative essay. Your essay planning, organization, and editing should also improve.

Critical Reasoning Skills:

• You will learn to identify and evaluate arguments to distinguish strong from weak arguments. This will include learning how to evaluate evidence and sources used in arguments and those you use in your own research.

Critical Thinking Skills:

• Ideally, you will learn to become a 'reasonable skeptic' and become able to identify and discuss the weaknesses and strengths in claims and arguments you encounter in the media, academic texts, and everyday conversation.

Ethical Disagreement Skills:

Recognize and develop necessary skills for ethical disagreement.

Academic Integrity:

Students are reminded of the University’s definitions of academic offences and the policy of the University regarding academic misconduct. Please review York’s policies on academic integrity at https://spark.library.yorku.ca/academic-integrity-what-is-academic-integrity/

Plagiarism is a serious offense. It includes using the ideas of another author without citing the source, copying from another piece of writing, and not providing adequate documentation for your source whenever possible (i.e., author, title, publisher, and year of publication). When in doubt, please reference or inquire. Self-plagiarism occurs when you hand in work previously submitted elsewhere for academic credit. Please see the instructor if you are uncertain about any of this.

Unauthorized Collaboration is a form of “cheating” and means working with others without the specific permission of the instructor on assignments that will be submitted for a grade. Students may not collaborate without faculty authorization. All work submitted for a grade must be the student’s own original, independent work, unless the instructor permits collaboration, use of sources, or outside assistance. Students must comply with the course rules, and may only work together, or receive help, to the extent allowed by the instructor. If unsure about the limits, students must seek the instructor’s permission before working with one another. Even if the instructor permits collaboration, it is never ethical to copy someone’s work or let them copy yours, unless specified by the instructor. If your instructor asks whether you worked with anyone on an assignment, always tell the truth.

Note Sharing Websites: The Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies Dean's Office maintains that any student who uploads course material on Note Sharing Websites (NSW) (including, but not limited to Course Hero, Studocu, Oneclass, Chegg, Studysoup, Stuvia, Studydrive, Studentshare and 123Helpme) without permission of the instructor violates York's Academic Honesty Policy, even if that material is not used by another student to cheat or plagiarize. Uploading course material onto an NSW potentially violates two sections of the Senate Policy:

2.1.6 Dissemination of information without permission. Information or experimental data that was collected with a member of faculty or another student, and other works that involved the participation of a faculty member or another student, should not be submitted for publication or otherwise disseminated without their permission.

2.1.10 Encouraging, enabling or causing others to do or attempt any of the above with intent to mislead an instructor, academic unit, program, office, or committee as to a student's academic status, qualifications, actions, or preparation, or knowingly aiding or abetting anyone in a breach of academic honesty shall itself be considered misconduct. Taking any action which can reasonably be interpreted as intending to encourage or enable others to commit an offence of academic honesty.

ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence: In this course, all work must be completed by you and you alone. As such, you are not allowed to use generative artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, to help you complete any of your work in this course (e.g., tests, papers, assignments, presentations, etc.). If you do not know whether an online resource or tool can be used in this course, please contact the instructor for guidance. Any use of generative AI in this course will be considered a breach of the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty.

COPYRIGHT: Course materials, including the syllabus, lectures, and summaries reflective of course content, are made available for the personal use of students and may not be commercially distributed or reproduced without the instructor’s express written consent. The educational materials developed for this course, including, but not limited to, lecture notes and slides, handout materials, examinations and assignments, and any materials posted to EClass, are the intellectual property of the course director. These materials have been developed for student use only and they are not intended for wider dissemination and/or communication outside of a given course. Posting or providing unauthorized audio, video, or textual material of lecture content to third-party websites violates an instructor’s intellectual property rights, and the Canadian Copyright Act. Failure to follow these instructions may be in contravention of the university’s Code of Student Conduct and/or Code of Academic Conduct and will result in appropriate penalties. Participation in this course constitutes an agreement by all parties to abide by the relevant University Policies, and to respect the intellectual property of others during and after their association with York University.

COURSE POLICIES

Hot Moments: We will take care in this course to create an environment where everyone feels brave to share their thoughts. This course cannot provide a “Safe Space,” rather it can provide a “Brave Space.” Safety does not mean protection from discomfort or vulnerability; rather, it signals a supportive and welcoming environment where students are invited to take risks with their contributions. We cannot take risks without trust, and everyone shares the responsibility of establishing and maintaining trust. In accordance with university policy, this classroom is not a space where sexist, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, ableist, transphobic, classist or otherwise discriminatory language will go unchallenged or unaddressed.

Accommodations for Religious Observances: It is the policy of York University to arrange reasonable accommodation of the needs of students who observe religious holy days other than those already accommodated by ordinary scheduling and statutory holidays. Students have a responsibility to alert instructors in a timely fashion to upcoming religious observances and anticipated absences. You may review the policy, guidelines, and procedures for Religious Observances at this website: https://rights.info.yorku.ca/accommodating-creed-religion-a-guide-for-students-faculty-and-staff/

Email Policy: The instructor tries to respond to emails promptly, usually within 24 hours. However, emails sent on a Friday afternoon may not be answered until the following Monday morning. Questions sent by email should be concise and should require an answer of a few sentences only. If you wish to discuss a question or problem in greater detail, please make an appointment for a Zoom or telephone meeting or attend in-person office hours.

Late Assignments and Extensions: In the absence of Academic Accommodations, extensions can only be granted in extraordinary circumstances and with prior approval by the instructor. Please inform the instructor immediately when circumstances keep you from submitting an assignment as scheduled. You are responsible for providing official documentation during the term that prevent you from completing your course work. Your Registrar may be able to provide a letter documenting your situation in case of non-medical emergencies. Late penalties are as follows: Late penalties apply to homework and assignments, no LPAs. Late or missed LPAs cannot be made up.

• 5% for first day late, including weekends and holidays.
• 1% for each day late after the first day, including weekends and holidays, up to a total of 10%. Once more than 10% of the total mark has been deducted, the assignment will not be accepted.
• Late or missed LPAs cannot be made up under any circumstances.
• Extensions will not be granted for LPAs or homework, with the exception of Academic Accommodations.

If you request an extension for good reasons, then you must request the extension in more than 24 hours before the assignment due date. In other words, extensions will not be granted when asked within 24 hours of the due date.