UNIVERSIT

Y OF

THE

CUMBERLANDS:

QUALITY

ENHANCEMENT PL

AN

MISSION STATEMENT COMMITMENT

• To encourage students to think critically and creatively

• To encourage well-developed communication skills

• To enhance students’ personal, academic, and professional skills

• To enhance students’ ability to participate as citizens, workers, and families in a thoughtful manner

CLARITY

Do I understand the basic information supplied by the author?

DISCERNMENT

How can I express my interpretation in a coherent manner and choose which secondary sources to enhance my own analysis?

INTEGRATION

How can I incorporate appropriate secondary sources in an effective and reasonable way into my own critical analysis?

LITERARY STEPS

Analyze

Make inferences

Synthesize

Evaluate

When reading, pay attention not only to what happens, but also to why thing happen the way that they do, to the significance of those events, and to literary patterns or techniques. Ask questions, speculate. Respond with educated and informed comments.

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS – PRE-TEST1. In your own words, identify Charles Schulz’s main point from

this Peanuts cartoon.

2. What do you consider the strength of Schulz’s position? Why?

3. Identify any weaknesses of Schulz’s position. Why are these weaknesses?

4. What social, cultural, or political values are being satirized? Or, what human attitudes are embodied in the cartoon?

5. Consider this cartoon from one other perspective. How would the perspective change if you were the opposite gender, from a foreign country, in the military, from a conservative religious background, or any other perspective that you choose?

The Starry Night

By Anne Sexton

The town does not exist except where one black-haired tree slips up like a drowned woman into the hot sky. The town is silent. The night boils with

eleven stars  Oh starry starry night! This is how I want to die.

It moves. They are all alive. Even the moon bulges in its orange irons   to push children, like a god, from its eye. The old unseen serpent swallows up the

stars.   Oh starry starry night! This is how   I want to die:

into that rushing beast of the night,   sucked up by that great dragon, to split   from my life with no flag, no belly, no cry.

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS – POST-TEST1. In your own words, identify the artist’s main point and the

poet’s main point.

2. What do you consider the strength of the complementing visual? What is the strength of the poem?

3. What do you consider the weakness of each? Why?

4. What social, cultural, or political values are being satirized? Or, what human attitudes are embodied in these works?

5. Consider these works from your own critical perspective as well as at least two secondary literary critical sources.

CRITICAL THINKING EVALUATION

1. How has the critical thinking focus changed the way that you approach your reading and writing for this class?

2. How do you see this approach assisting you in other classes now or in the future?

3. How do you think that this critical thinking emphasis could help you in the work force?

4. Of the three steps (clarity, discernment, integration), which is easiest for you? Which is hardest? Evaluate why.