Product Description

A Level course in Critical Thinking develops the ability to challenge various arguments and innovative ideas. This eLearning programme imparts the knowledge and skills about Critical Thinking.. The course is ideal for those newspaper readers who enjoy reading between the lines and analyze the various forms of languages used in it. The courseware offers help in improving communications skills and might be used as an effective tool for improving the performance of the students in other subjects as well.

This online training programme provides the ability to judge and select appropriate facts and things from a chunk of information. The course also allows you to comprehend what somebody is saying and provide a logical argument, rather than just accepting things as they are presented.

The course is also about practicing, emphasizing on things and developing the skills of making arguments. The curriculum of this eLearning skill development programme is supplemented with a large number of activities, which you can perform at home. For ease and convince of the students, the answers to all the activities are supplied with the course notes.

For easy understanding of the concepts, the home study courses are segmented into two separate units. Each of these units is further segregated into several sections in a streamlined manner and should be studied in the same pattern.

The lessons of the units are supplied with numerous assignments, which need to be completed by the students for exact evaluation of understanding of the subject. Based on the assessment completion and evaluation, the understanding level of the student is assessed.
Being and integrated subject, the course demands linking between terms and concepts to offer better understanding of the projects.

Entry Requirements
Basic English reading and writing skills, as full tutor support is given.

Whats Included
Learning documentation, Online Resources and Tutor support for 2 years.

Course Study Format
Your course will be delivered online.

Courseware Support
The biggest advantage of studying with us is that using your unique student account, you can immediately access the course materials online and submit all the question papers to the tutor online. On submission of question papers, you will immediately, receives the email containing the results and feedback.

Study Hours
Study hour is dependent upon the dedication and grasp towards the learning concepts mentioned in the course material. Furthermore, at the end of each lesson there is a question paper that needs to be completed and returned to the tutor.

Learning Hours
Approximately 300 hours.

Assessment Method

The Examination:
The course is examined in below components:

AS EXAMS – Exam board: OCR – Code: HO52
Unit 1 Introduction to Critical Thinking (20% of total A level marks)
Duration: 1.5 hour written paper.
Answer all questions. Candidates will be presented with 2 or more passages, totaling 900 words.
Candidates answer short answer questions and more discursive answers

Unit 2 Assessing and Developing Argument (30% of total A level marks)
Duration: 1.5 hour written paper.
Answer all questions. The paper has 2 parts and candidates answer all questions.
Section A: Contains multiple choice questions.
Section B: Short answer questions after analyzing a passage.
Section C: short answer questions and construction of one or more further arguments.
Exams available January and June

A2 EXAMS – Exam board: OCR – Code: H452

Unit 3 Ethical reasoning and decision making (25% of total A level marks)
Duration: 1.5 hour written paper.
Question paper is based on resource material including graphs, charts and diagrams. Exercise in applying general and ethical principles.
Short or more discursive answers.

Unit 4 Critical reasoning (25% of total A level marks)
Duration: 1.5 hour written paper.
Materials in form of one or more passages, images, statistics etc.
Short or more discursive answers dealing with analysis and evaluation.
Also own further argument produced in response to the material.

Exams would need to be carried out at an approved examination centre. Please contact us for assistance.

Exams
Exam vouchers supplied with our courses must be used within the duration of your course. Exam Vouchers become invalid once the course has expired.

AS Critical Thinking
UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL THINKING
Part A the language of reasoning
3.1.1 What is an argument?
What is an argument?Some basic rules of arguments
Using common notation as shorthand
3.1.2 The elements of an argument
What are argument indicators?
Counter arguments
The use of counter claims
Providing evidence
Providing examples
Hypothetical reasoning
Assumptions
3.1.3 How strong is the evidence in a reason?
Evaluating evidence
How big was the sample?
Was the sample representative?
How and when was the evidence collected?
How is the evidence presented?
Alternative interpretations of statistics
How well does a reason support the conclusion?
Part B Credibility
3.1.4 What is credibility?
3.1.5 Credibility criteria
Is the evidence plausible?
Is the source an eye witness?
Is there corroboration?
To what extent are different sources consistent with each other?
Is there any suggestion of bias?
Does the source have a vested interest?
Is the source neutral?Can the source be seen as expert?
Does the source have a positive reputation?
3.1.6 A guide to the unit one exam
How the exam works
What do I need to be able to do?
How to give a good answer
Practice makes perfect!
UNIT 2 ASSESSING AND DEVELOPING ARGUMENT
Part A Further points on components
3.2.1 Some things that are not an argument
Explanation
Description
Opinion
3.2.2 Intermediate conclusions
3.2.3 Analogies
3.2.4 Principles
3.2.5 Drawing conclusions
Part B spotting problems with an argument – types of flaw
3.2.6 Inconsistency and contradiction
3.2.7 Types of flaw
Wrong actions
Unwarranted assumption of a causal relationship
Generalisation
Restricting the options
Slippery slope
Circular argument
Confusing necessary and sufficient conditions
Conflation
Straw person
Ad hominem flaws
Arguing from one thing to another
3.2.8 Irrelevant appeals
Part C Developing your own reasoned argument
PART D GUIDE TO THE UNIT 2 EXAM

A2 Critical Thinking
UNIT 3: ETHICAL REASONING AND DECISION MAKING
3.3.1 Ethical reasoning
Conflicting ideas
Social, political, religious and moral factors
More on hypothetical reasoning
Different responses, different criteria
3.3.2 Dilemmas, applying principles and decision making
The nature of a dilemma
Constructing arguments
UNIT 4 CRITICAL REASONING
3.4.1 Analysis and evaluation of complex arguments
Assumptions
Valid and invalid arguments
Syllogisms
Sustained suppositional reasoning
Sustained counter-argument
Relationship between components
Independent or joint?
Smaller arguments, counter arguments and explanations
Not part of an argument?Evaluating strength and weakness
3.4.2 Developing your own cogent and complex arguments
Studying Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking is a broad, contemporary and real world subject.
Students probably need to have passed GCSE level English Language to do well on the course. There is no mathematics element but there is a need to have a go at interpreting figures and understanding some basic mathematical concepts such as averages and percentages at a fairly basic level.

Job Prospects
Become fully trained and substantially improve the chances of employment or earn more money!

Qualification NVQ Level 3
Fully recognised UK Qualification. On completion of this course you will be awarded with a Diploma, which is an NVQ Level 3 qualification. It will be awarded by a UK accredited body.

Certificates
Upon completion of the course, you can download the completion certificate as well as any other qualifications you have been awarded.

A Level in Critical Thinking
Course Completion Certificate

*Please note, unless stated otherwise or included in package, our online courses only offer course completion certificates ( £10 fee) and in all cases official testing (at a charge made by testing centre) is required to gain officially certified recognised qualifications.

Award
On completion of this course you will earn an A Level in Critical Thinking.

OCR Advanced Level GCE in Critical Thinking

Course Information
Please note that the registration to the On Campus student community and licence to print the study materials is included in the course fee. The licence is only for you print, therefore you have to ensure proper availability of cartridge and papers to print the full course materials, if required.

You need to have either of the following packages to access the On Campus area:
• Windows: Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7 – Acrobat Reader 4.0 and above
• Macintosh: Mac OS X, Mac OS 9.2 – Acrobat Reader 4.0 and above

In the student ‘On Campus’ you can also be a take part of the student chat room and forums, as part of our online student community.

Once enrolled to the online programme, the username and password to access the On Campus area will be sent within 5 working days.

Students are required to arrange and pay for their examinations and manage the course work element, if the subject requires. Students must check the relevant examination board website for further information and final examination sitting dates for the specification.

Textbooks

This course is self-contained so you will not need to use any extra textbooks. However, you may find useful to read other books on this subject.

You can also contact the tutor if he/she feels the need to practice more in any of the areas covered in this course.