Critical Thinking Logic By Gregory Bassham
Critical Thinking Logic Gregory Basshamgregory Bassham On Why Grade
Critical Thinking (LOGIC): Gregory Bassham Gregory Bassham on why grades shouldn’t be based on effort: A recent study by Professor Ellen Greenberger and fellow researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that a third of students surveyed said that they expected a B just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading. Jason Greenwood, a senior kinesiology major at the University of Maryland, would go even further. “If you put in all the effort you have and get a C, what is the point?†Greenwood said.“If someone goes to every class and reads every chapter in the book and does everything the teacher asks of them and more, then they should be getting an A like their effort deserves. . . .What else is there really than the effort that you put in?†(Quoted in Max Roosevelt,“Student Expec- tations Seen As Causing Grade Disputes,†New York Times, Feb.
18, 2009, A15). What else is there other than effort? What about performance? As a college professor, I have no problem basing grades partly on student effort. I regularly reward students who faithfully attend class, participate actively, and do all the assigned readings.
Sometimes I even give extra credit for extra work. I do this because I believe that qualities like hard work, discipline, and determination are critical to success in both college and in life, and so de- serve to be rewarded. Also, effort is the one thing students can completely control. Everything else that factors into academic success—IQ, memory, college preparedness, health, outside work and family commitments, etc.—is at least partly a matter of luck. Nevertheless, most college professors—including myself—base grades much more on achievement than we do on effort.There are two good reasons for this.
First, there is no fair or objective way to measure effort in one’s aca- demic work.When I hand a student a test, I have no idea if they have stud- ied one hour for it or ten. If I gave out grades based on my perception of how much effort my students have expended, the grades would be wildly unfair and I would have to barricade myself in my office to ward off all the plead- ers and complainers. In fact, students who say they should get B’s just for attending class aren’t claiming that grades should be based exclusively on effort.They’re saying that students who put in a minimum amount of effort should receive at least a decent grade. But this is a bad idea too. It’s a bad idea because it defeats the two main reasons colleges give out grades at all.
One is to allow students to assess their own learning—to determine if they are, in fact, learning what their professors are paid to teach them.The other is to let outside evaluators—notably employers and graduate admissions officers—know which graduates are likely to be the top performers. This second function is absolutely crucial to our nation’s health and prosperity. Engineering firms need to know which potential hires will do good work, and which might design bridges that fall down. Medical schools need to know which student applicants are likely to become good doctors, and which might amputate the wrong limb. Performance matters.
In engineering. In medicine. In life.And until that changes, professors cannot base their grades on student effort. 1 News Assignment on the COVID-19 Pandemic PHI 2301 Dr. Claire Stegman Directions: Write an essay in which you compare and contrast three news stories on the COVID-19 pandemic for the same day news cycle.
Due Date: Monday, April 27, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. The assignment is worth 10% of the course grade. Format: 3-4 pages, 11-12 point font, double-spaced with standard margins (1-1.25 in.) Step 1. Select your three news stories from the following: 1. A national print news source, using one of these four: The New York Times ( USA Today ( The Wall Street Journal ( or The Washington Post ( 2.
A local news source such as: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram or a news source from your hometown 3. A news source of your choice (You may choose an additional source from either the national or local lists above or something else.) Step 2. For each of your three sources: 1. Provide a bibliographical citation: Writer(s) or reporter(s)’ name(s), “Title of article or report,†Newspaper, Television news program, on-line publication, etc., URL, April XX, 2020. 2.
Ask three questions for each source (from Gregory Bassham, et al., Critical Thinking: A Student’s Introduction, 6th ed. [McGraw-Hill, 2019], p. 428): a. Regarding “what happened,†what are the facts? “Who was involved? When and where did it happen?
What are the known causes and consequences of the event? What precisely was said by those involved? What precisely did authorities, experts, witnesses, and others say about the event?†b. How is the news information presented? “Who is telling the story?
In what form? . . . In what tone and style? . . . What has been emphasized? What in the story reveals the perspective (assumptions, intuitions, biases, etc.) of the writer or reporter?†c. If the presentation involves some conclusion from the facts, are the two basic criteria of a good argument satisfied: “true premises and good reasoning?†Step 3.
Answer the following questions as the basis for your comparison (from Bassham, ibid., pp. ): 1. What facts are shared by your sources? . Which source does the best job of providing context for understanding the public relevance of the facts? Indicate how it accomplishes this task in contrast to the other two sources. 3.
How does each source’s arrangement of the facts affect the audience’s response to the news story? 4. Compare and contrast the language used in the three sources. What is the impact of any primarily emotive words in each source? Give examples.
Do one or more of the sources seem to appeal to specific prejudices of the anticipated audience? If so, give examples. Grading rubric: I. Uses the three news sources as noted in Step 1 (25 points) II. Describes the content of each of the three sources in Step 2 (25 points) III.
Critically analyzes and compares the content of the three sources in Step points) IV. Writes effectively (grammar, spelling, style) (25 points)