PSS 4.2a Applying forms of Reasoning & Thinking

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Do curso por The University of Sydney

Academic Skills for University Success: Capstone

classificação

The University of Sydney

Academic Skills for University Success: Capstone

classificação

Curso 5 de 5 em Specialization Academic Skills for University Success

This Specialization is aimed at preparing students for undergraduate study in an English-speaking university. The course equips you for full participation and engagement with your studies by building awareness and understanding of the core values and expectations of academic culture, and providing you with practical strategies to apply to your studies. In the Capstone Project, you will apply the academic knowledge and skills you have learnt throughout courses 1-4 to research, write and present a project proposal that addresses a complex, real-world problem related to your field of interest and/or future study. After completing this course, you will be able to: 1. Apply a range of idea generation techniques 2. Apply research strategies to search, collect, select, process, and cite information 3. Use the research process to develop and critically analyse ideas 4. Apply critical thinking skills to evaluate and analyse ideas and evidence 5. Use problem-solving skills to identify gaps in knowledge and define issues 6. Develop creative and innovative solutions to real-world problems 7. Use appropriate academic genres for written texts and multi-media presentations 8. Use written and oral skills to communicate ideas effectively for academic contexts

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RESOURCES - Optional

This module is for the resources from the other courses you have studied. There is no new, or extra, material here. You do not have to watch any of this material.

PSS 3.3a Using Specialised Knowledge6:22

PSS 3.4a Problem-solving with Special Cases4:18

PSS 4.1b Learning from Other People4:39

PSS 4.2a Applying forms of Reasoning & Thinking6:49

PSS 4.2b Questioning Assumptions & Considering Alternatives4:03

PSS 4.3a Using Creative Strategies5:16

CT 3.4a Applying Systems Thinking7:30

CT 3.4b Applying Systems Thinking Expert Video4:40

Conheça os instrutores

Katherine Olston
Deputy Director (Digital Learning)
University of Sydney Centre for English Teaching
Luke Alexander
Academic Literacy Instructor and MOOC Learning Instructor
Centre for English Teaching
Lydia Dutcher
Education Manager, Graduate Programs
Centre for English Teaching
Jessica Blackburn
Academic Literacy Instructor and MOOC Learning Designer
Centre for English Teaching

[MUSIC]

Training in forms of thinking, such as logic and

critical thinking, are central to academic life.

Universities in many countries see training students to be critical thinkers

as a central part of their mission.

When solving problem sets in academic contexts, using logic and

critical thinking will be expected of you.

This forms of thought are useful to have in your mental tool box, and can be used

not just for problem solving in academic contexts, but in all walks of life.

While critical thinking is the focus of another MOOC in this specialization,

this lesson will explore how logic and

critical thinking can be used in the area of problem solving.

A key attribute of critical thinking is taking a questioning stance and

questioning assumptions.

Richard Ennis, a leading theorist of critical thinking, lists the ability to

judge unstated assumptions as one of his general critical thinking abilities.

There are assumptions that lie at the heart of every problem, subject, and

academic field.

And it is considered good practice to question these assumptions.

As an example of questioning assumptions, take the following essay question.

How do female engineers influence engineering?

What assumption underlies this question?

This question implicitly claims that female engineers have a specific influence

on engineering due to their gender, without having evidence for this claim.

This is an assumption, and to call that into question would be a demonstration of

higher level critical thinking skills.

Understanding and using inductive and

deductive reasoning are also considered crucial to critical thinking, and

can be used to solve problems across a wide range of fields.

Both forms of reasoning are constructed through premises.

These are statements that are taken to be true.

And these premises lead to a conclusion.

In deductive reasoning, which has also been called top-down reasoning,

premises about general truths lead to specific conclusions.

The conclusion in deductive reasoning will be true as long as the premises are true.

An example of deductive reasoning is the following.

Premise 1, all university students can read.

Premise 2, Angela is a university student.

Conclusion, therefore, Angela can read.

In inductive reasoning, we proceed from specific

observations to a more general truth, or in a bottom-up direction.

An example of inductive reasoning is the following.

Premise 1,

large falls in the value of shares have led to economic recessions in the past.

Premise 2, there was a large fall in the values of shares last week.

Conclusion, there will therefore be an economic recession.

Inductive reasoning, unlike deductive reasoning,

will not always be true, even if the premises are true.

In the above example,

in this particular case there may not be a recession due to different circumstances.

Both forms of reasoning, however, may be useful when thinking through a problem and

coming up with a solution.

They provide tried and true methods for logical thought, as well as means for

evaluating the arguments of others.

A final approach to thinking critically about problems is to think

beyond the initial problem in terms of levels and systems.

In Thomas and Lok's model of critical thinking, for

example, thinking systematically, rather than focusing on events,

is a key part of critical thinking.

Probably the best way to illustrate this is with an example problem.

Imagine you work at an inner city health center.

Children in the area are presenting to you with higher than normal levels of obesity.

What is causing this spike in childhood obesity in the area, and

what can you do to address it?

You might be tempted to just look at the children's diet and

then make recommendations to the parents for how to improve it.

However, people's consumption of food rarely occurs in a vacuum.

And to truly understand the problem you will need to think more broadly and

more systematically.

Perhaps you need to investigate the availability

of nutritious food in the area.

This then may lead you to discover that the children live in a food desert,

a part of the country that lacks access to healthy food.

You may also investigate the children's socioeconomic background, and

find that their families do not have the money or time to buy and

prepare healthy food, especially given difficulties of access.

You may also find that children's obesity is associated with low

levels of education amongst their parents.

All of these things are broader systematic reasons for the children's obesity.

One creative solution was developed by Josh Troutwine,

a food educator who noticed that,

despite provision of education programs on healthy eating, low-income families were

unable to access the healthy food they wanted in their area.

Troutwine and his business partner turned a school bus into a mobile green grocer

that could travel to food deserts in the city and provide access to fresh produce.

This solution is far more effective than simply

recommending that parents improve their children's diets.

So in this lesson we have looked at some key aspects of applying reasoning and

critical thinking, including questioning assumptions, using deductive and

inductive reasoning, and thinking in terms of levels and systems.

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