Learning Activities
Activity 6.1
Reflection: Consequential Claims
What are three consequential claims/problems you might encounter outside the classroom? Please choose three claims/problems you would put forth the extra effort to analyze (e.g., choosing a part-time job while in school, choosing to purchase student health insurance).
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Activity 6.2
Reflection: Dissonance
Think of a time you (or someone close to you) purchased, used, and/or potentially sold a product that promised extraordinary results (e.g., weight loss made easy, get rich quick). These products are often expensive and lack sound supporting arguments.
Many times, when we invest in a product such as these, we ignore the negative and/or lacking elements of the claim. We seek out only positive, confirming information on them (e.g., positive testimonials, before and after pictures). We do not take into account the negative side effects, the lack of peer–reviewed literature, the company’s business model, and the expertise of the salespeople or claimants selling the product.
Think about your (or close friend/family member's) experience. How did you (they) handle this dissonance? Did you (they) ignore the contradictory information or confront it directly? What type of investigation did you (they) do when purchasing the product, if any?
Activity 6.3
Critical Thinking in Practice
Choose a current event. List a lens or perspective (preferably your own or one to which you are more closely tied) that could be used to analyze the event (e.g., gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, ability status, age). Think through questions that may arise.
Example 1
Current Event: The shift to online learning during the COVID 19 pandemic.
Lens: Ability status / age
Questions: More courses were delivered online during the pandemic than at any other point in history. Many instructors were new to teaching in this environment. Did this open the door for more differently abled individuals to participate in higher learning? Could older students with full–time jobs now participate in college? Did instructors (or institutions) have the time, resources, and money available to properly accommodate students? Did students, at large, benefit from any of these changes (i.e., closed captioning and transcripts of recorded lectures)?
Your Response
Current Event:
Lens:
Questions: