We believe your presence at the university implies a commitment to
learning, and that communication and thinking develop because of
interactions between people. Therefore, we strongly encourage your
participation at every class meeting.
Lectures and field trips will take place during the periods listed on the
university schedule of classes, so there should be no scheduling
conflicts. Any information discussed during lectures or field trips is
considered "fair game" for exams.
Please consider employing these suggestions during class discussions:
Listen carefully to others before speaking
Challenge and refute ideas, not people
Focus on the best ideas, not on being the best, or "winning"
Before adding your own contribution, practice listening by trying to
formulate in your own words the point that the previous speaker made
Speak whenever you wish (without interrupting!) even though your ideas
may seem incomplete
Avoid disrupting the flow of thought by waiting until the present
topic reaches its natural end before introducing a new issue
If you wish to introduce a new topic, warn the group that what you are
about to say will address a new topic and that you are willing to wait to
introduce it until people are finished commenting on the current topic
Give encouragement and approval to others
To benefit most from this course, treat it as a professional experience.
We will adhere to
high standards of professional behavior, and we encourage you to
follow suit.
We will attempt to employ a reflective paradigm of critical practice
during class meetings. This paradigm is compared to the standard paradigm
of normal practice and insightfully described by Matthew Lipman in his
1991 book, Thinking in Education. Lipman summarizes the reflective
paradigm thusly (p. 14):
Education is the outcome of participation in a teacher-guided
community of inquiry, among whose goals are the achievement of
understanding and good judgment.
Students are stirred to think about the world when our
knowledge of it is revealed to them to be ambiguous, equivocal, and
mysterious.
The disciplines in which inquiry occurs are assumed to be neigher
nonoverlapping nor exhaustive; hence their relationships to their subject
matters are quite problematic.
The teacher's stance is fallibilistic (one that is ready to concede
error) rather than authoritative.
Students are expected to be thoughtful and reflective, and
increasingly reasonable and judicious.
The focus of the educational process is not on the acquisition of
information but on the grasp of relationships within the subject matters
under investigation.
Students who need special accommodation or services should contact
the Strategic Alternatives Learning
Techniques (SALT) Center for Learning Disabilities and/or the Disability Resources Center (DRC). The
SALT Center is located at 1010 North Highland Avenue (voice 520-621-1242)
and the DRC is located at 1224 East Lowell Street (voice 520-621-3268).
Please provide verification to us no later than the second week of class
so we can help provide the best possible learning environment.