EACH PERSON post on the IstanBilgi weblog:

• one question about one of the following comments which you do NOT understand;
• one short statement about one of the following comments which you DID understand
• no question or statement should be the same, each of you write a different question or statement.

• “scholarship is leisure”
• “This course is intended for YOU to find out how much YOU know and even more important, how much you want to know.”
• “it is time for you to take responsibility for your actions; especially as they apply to your education. YOU are the only one responsible for your success or your failure.” Is this different or the same as what you “learned” at other schools?
• “'School' as we know it is an Industrial Age concept. “ and “school is a culture of obedience”??
• The short commentary which says: “Some people know so little, ...”
• A teacher's purpose is to be a “Guide on the side, not a sage on the stage.” What do you think this means?
• "A University should be a SAFE place..." What sort of safety should a university provide?
  

• Goals
• Introduction
• What is it?
• Abstract Reasoning
• Arguments & Claims
• Principles
• Modeling & Questions
• Common Concepts
• References

After you do the reading, IN YOUR GROUPS ONLY, meaning only your groups make a posting of questions and comments, not individuals, please post the following: 

• one answer to each of your group's questions;
• one comment about each of your group's questions;
• each member of your group should be able to discuss any of the questions or comments;
• your group will be asked to start a short discussion of not more than 5 minutes about your topic; what did you learn? why might it be important? what was interesting?
• your group will then be asked to lead the class in a discussion about your topics.
  

• Critical thinking is essential for what?
• Can critical thinking be taught? Why or why not?
• What does the saying about "leading a horse to water" mean?
• Why can critical thinking be dangerous?
• Do most people think critically? Why or why not?
• Who was Socrates and what did he say about critical thinking?
• What does this mean? "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."
• What does it mean when we say that critical thinking is a process, it is higher-order, it is focused, it is about arguments and it is about giving criticism to others? 
• What are "bad vs good" words in critical thinking?
• What is abstract reasoning, what does it mean to CONSTRUCT meaning for ourselves, and what are some thinking skills?
• What is an argument? Why is it important for critical thinking?
• What is the difference between an argument and a claim or a belief?
• What is the difference between an inductive and a deductive argument and an example of each.
• What is bias or prejudice and how does it affect critical thinking?
• What is a principle and why is it important for critical thinking?
• What is "The Plan"? What does it mean to you?
• Why is there an article titled "Dangerous Ideas"?