CRITICAL THINKING

IN SOCIAL
SCIENCES
BY MA DO THI HA PHUONG
SESSION OBJECTIVES
■ COURSE OVERVIEW

■ INTRODUCTION ABOUT CRITICAL THINKING

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
■ By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• understand the logical structures of the primary classes of arguments used in the
everyday contexts of social life;

• analyze arguments within these classes for their strengths and weaknesses;

• recognize common fallacies in reasoning, including reasoning involving

• determining probabilities;

• construct good arguments using principles of informal reasoning;

• reflect on your own thinking practices and listen to the arguments of others without
prejudging these arguments in advance.
 COURSE TEXTBOOK & MATERIALS
Required textbook: Tittle, P. (2011). Critical Thinking: An Appeal to Reason. Routledge.
 ADDITIONAL REFERENCE MATERIALS

Swatridge, Colin (2014). Oxford Guide to Effective

Bassham, G., Irwin, W., Nardone, H., & Wallace, M. J.
Argument and Critical Thinking. Oxford: Oxford University
(2011). Critical Thinking: A Student’s Introduction, 4th
Press.
edition. McGraw-Hill
ADDITIONAL REFERENCE MATERIALS
■ Apart from becoming familiar with the contents of the main text, students are also strongly urged to
refer to academic journals in the area of (or relevant to) Critical Thinking. The following journals are
recommended:

• The Foundation for Critical Thinking: criticalthinking.org

• The Critical Thinking Consortium (TC2): tc2.ca

• Science Direct Journal Thinking Skills and Creativity: sciencedirect.com

• The JALT Critical Thinking SIG: jaltcriticalthinking.org

• Creative Commons: creativecommons.org

• University of Sussex Critical Thinking

• Monash University Critical Thinking

• IDEO Network: ideo.com, ideo.org

ASSESSMENT GUIDE
The final grade will be determined as follows:

MIDTERM 30%

■ Class Participation 5%

■ In-Class Group Debate 25% (Presentation plus Critique)

FINAL EXAM 70%

■ Personal Paper 30%

■ Final Examination 40%

ASSESSMENT GUIDE

■ CLASS PARTICIPATION (5%):

- In most class sessions, students will discuss the readings. If you cannot attend the class for
any reason, you can make up this part of the participation grade by discussing the questions
posed by the Group Presentation. Participation in the class will comprise 5% of the course
grade.

- Checking attendance is done by group works.

ASSESSMENT GUIDE
 GROUP DEBATE PRESENTATION (25%)

- Each 3-4 student group will lead an in-class debate with a topic recommended by the

lecturer. This assignment requires each group to submit at least three (3) arguments

relevant to the issues assigned to readings and recommended topics. Each group has 45 –

60 minutes for debate and Q&A.

- A summary and full description or explanation of thesis arguments must be submitted to the

folder or function student discussion on the online platform at least 48 hours before the

group debate date to ensure the mastery of the debate subjects and the quality of group

debates

- This assignment of group debate will be marked for the midterm assessment. Remember

your classmates’ attention and participation are very important to your overall results.
ASSESSMENT GUIDE

■ PERSONAL REFLECTIVE ESSAY (30%)

- Each student is required to write a 1000-word reflective essay at home and submitted to
LMS for grading (4th , October , 2023)

- This assignment requires each student to focus on in-depth research, analysis, and
reflection on all the content and topics related to critical thinking, then complete an
academic writing paper. The lecturers will provide further details of this assignment in the
first week of the course.
ASSESSMENT GUIDE

 FINAL EXAMINATION (40%)

- Each student will participate in a final 60-minute exam (closed book) with proctoring on
campus.

• This exam will be scheduled and notified to the enrolled students by the quality
assurance department of HCMC USSH – National University.
GRADING SYSTEMS

■ A. 9 –10

■ B. 8–8.9

■ C. 7–7.9

■D 6–6.9

■ F. 0–5.9
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
• Students are responsible for making themselves aware of and understanding the policies
and procedures in the Student Handbook or any other documents that pertain to
Academic Honesty circulated by the University.

• These policies include cheating, fabrication (lying), falsification (faking), forgery (false
making), multiple submissions, plagiarism, complicity (wrongdoing), and computer
misuse.

• The Netiquette Campus Guidelines provide general rules (pros and cons) in interactions,
attitudes, and group and individual communication during the course.

• Students should consult the instructor if they are uncertain about an issue of academic
honesty before the submission of an assignment.
LEARNING STYLE & SKILLS
• Be independent and self-motivated;

• Manage your time effectively;

• Read and write well;

• Dedicate time to focus on your coursework;

• Collaborate with your classmates on group projects;

• Complete your assignments without face-to-face help;

• Check in frequently to review announcements and actively participate in class

discussions within the LMS platform.
COURSE SCHEDULE

• Session 01: Chapter 1–Critical Thinking

• Session 02: Chapter 2–The Nature of Argument

• Session 03: Chapter 3–The Structure of Argument & Chapter 4–Relevance

• Session 04: Chapter 5–Language & Chapter 6–Truth and Acceptability

• Session 05: Chapter 7–Generalizations, Analogies, and General Principles

• Session 06: Chapter 8– Inductive Argument – Causal Reasoning

CRITICAL THINKING
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?

CRITICAL
THINKING

judicious reasoning : what to believe and,

deliberate and thorough therefore, what to do

It’s a multi-dimensional skill

WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?

• Presenting or considering arguments for

a claim you don’t currently accept is a
good thing
• If you’re presenting your views to others,
articulating the counter- arguments is
only fair.
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING NOT?
■ Critical thinking is not necessarily negative

■ Critical thinking is also not passive, not a matter of simply sitting and passing judgment.

■ Critical thinking is not solely destructive.

■ Critical thinking is not necessarily adversarial

■ Critical thinking is not necessarily cold, calculating, and unfeeling. Being rational does not
preclude being passionate

■ Critical thinking is not intuitive.

■ Critical thinking is not just using our “common sense”.

WHO SHOULD BE CRITICAL?

LAWYERS POLITICANS

BUSINESSMEN SCIENTISTS
AS LONG AS YOU TAKE CRITICAL
THINKING …..
WHY IS CRITICAL THINKING
IMPORTANT ?
- Because people who engage in critical thinking tend to be able to provide evidence and
reasoning for the opinions they hold .
- Critical thinking also enables people to provide reasons for their actions: most people would
rather do things, especially important things, for a reason—and even better, for a good
reason
- Critical thinkers have more autonomy, independence, or freedom than people who just sort of
go with the flow and accept whatever’s given to them
- You will become a better citizen: not only will you see the problems in your society, but you
will also, hopefully, see the solutions.