Day: January 25, 2021

M3.4 Reflect and Ask Questions
Reflect & Ask Questions

Evolve

In Module 3 you grappled with the concepts of critical thinking and argumentative reasoning for today and tomorrow. You examined the standard-bearer for scholarly thoughtthe peer-reviewed journal articleand considered what it can tell us and how it differs from other kinds of sources. In Module 4, you will continue questioning and examining information to understand that not all information is created equal, and in fact, some of it isnt the truth at all.

As you reflect on what you learned in this module, ask yourself:

Do I understand the components of a peer-reviewed journal article and how to use it in an academic argument?
Can I spot a logical fallacy when I see or hear it?
How does an academic debate differ from the debates I see on social media or in personal conversations?
Do I have any questions about the feedback I’ve been receiving from my instructor on my assignments?
This is an ungraded, optional activity.

M3.3 Course Project – Milestone 3

Evaluate

Thesis Statement Draft and Source Evaluation
In Modules 1 and 2 you chose a final project topic and narrowed your focus through the process of brainstorming and finding preliminary sources. Make sure you are reading your instructors feedback each week and making improvements before submitting the next Milestone. For example, if your instructor suggested replacing any of the sources you listed in Milestone 2, or refining your narrowed topic of focus, make sure to take that into account before working on Milestone 3.

Now, in Module 3, you will draft a thesis statement and evaluate your sources for relevance and credibility.

Step 1: Thesis Statement Draft
Make sure you have completed pages 3.9 through 3.11 in Chapter 3 on Drafting your Thesis Statement. There, you will learn more about how to create a concise, specific, effective, and relevant thesis statement and then draft it in the webtext, so it is essential that you complete the webtext work before submitting this assignment. Then, copy/paste the thesis statement you drafted in the webtext into the Milestone 3 Template for submission.

Note: Your thesis statement is a working draft; it is ok (and expected!) that as part of the research process your thesis statement will adapt and change over the next few weeks based on your source analysis and your instructors feedback.

Step 2: In-Depth Evaluation of 1 Source
Next, make sure you have completed pages 3.12 and 3.13 in Chapter 3 on Evaluating Sources. Pick 1 of your 5 sources and conduct an in-depth evaluation that considers five categories: relevance, authority, currency, objectivity, and verifiability. See the example of how to put this together in the Milestone 3 Template.

Step 3: Narrowing Your List of Sources
An important part of the source evaluation process is to narrow and reconsider your chosen sources. Over the next few weeks, as you refine your thesis statement and continue reading about your topic, you may want to replace some of your sources in order to have the most effective, relevant, and credible sources when it comes time to write your final paper in Module 7.

This week, conduct an informal evaluation of all 5 of your sources for the criteria above (you do not need to submit this) and choose 1 source to omit or replace at this stage. Explain in a few sentences why you are choosing to get rid of this source.

Step 4: Reflection
Next, make sure you have completed page 3.14 in Chapter 3 on reflecting on your writing process. Write a short (~100-150 word) reflection paragraph about this activity at the bottom of your assignment. What did you find difficult about drafting a concise thesis statement? Which of the elements of source evaluation did you find most useful in evaluating your sources? Do you think you will revisit your list of sources and continue to find new sources over the next few weeks? Why or why not? What questions or concerns do you have about the research process at this stage?

Resources:

Milestone 3 TemplatePreview the document
Library Homepage (Links to an external site.)
Instructions for Linking to Items in the Library (Links to an external site.)
Submission Instructions
Your final submission should include:

Your one-sentence thesis statement (copy/pasted from the webtext template on page 3.11)
Your in-depth evaluation of 1 source through five categories
The 1 source you will omit and an explanation of why you chose to omit it
A short (~100-150 word) reflection on this activity
Put all four components into the Milestone 3 Template and submit the finished document to the dropbox below by Sunday night of Module 3.

Evaluation
This assignment is due Sunday by 11:59 pm ET.
This assignment will be evaluated according to the IND101 Milestone 3 Rubric. Make sure to review the rubric before submitting so you know how you will be assessed.
This assignment is worth 5% of your overall course grade.

M4.2 Discussion: From a Post-Truth World to a Pro-Truth World

Engage

Today, the prevalence of social media, the rise of algorithms, filter bubbles, bots, and international hacking efforts have brought the issue of fake news to the forefront of our national and international consciousness.  As you read in the webtext this week, the spread of misinformation is not an entirely new problem and it does not have one simple solution. However, there are changes all information consumers can make to how they engage with stories, facts, and data that can lead us from a post-truth world to a pro-truth world.

Begin by reading chapter 4 of the webtext and viewing all of Professor Alex Edmans TED Talk What to Trust in a Post-Truth World, below.

https://www.ted.com/talks/alex_edmans_what_to_trust_in_a_post_truth_world?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Edmans, Al. (2018). What to trust in a “post-truth” world (Links to an external site.). TedTalk. [Video: 17:40 minutes]. Transcripts.

Discussion Instructions
Initial post:  By Thursday of Module 4, create an initial post that responds to each of the prompts below:

Edmans argues that confirmation bias causes us to believe information that confirms our point of view, which sometimes leads to accepting and sharing information that is fake, misleading, or misrepresentative. Think of an example of this from your own life. How did confirmation bias shape your understanding of an issue?
How do you think we can move beyond confirmation bias to make sure what were accepting and sharing is true?
You will not be able to see posts written by your classmates until you create your initial post.

Replies: From Friday through Sunday of Module 4, reply to your classmates initial posts and engage with them in a conversation about the future of this topic. Do you think the problem of confirmation bias and fake news is likely to get better or worse in the future? Why? Please be sure to reply to at least two of your peers’ posts. 

Evaluation
This discussion will be graded according to the Cornerstone Discussion Board Rubric. Review the rubric and Discussion Board Expectations in advance to know how you will be assessed.
All discussion boards combined are worth 20% of your course grade.