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Environmental Science 102. Introduction to Environmental Science. Steve Dutch LS 463 465-2246 dutchs@uwgb.edu www.uwgb.edu/dutchs Course Material is Not on D2L!. What Is Environmental Science? . How Can I Get An A In This Class? . The Good News: There Are Lots of Guides to Help You
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Environmental Science 102 Introduction to Environmental Science
Steve DutchLS 463465-2246dutchs@uwgb.eduwww.uwgb.edu/dutchsCourse Material is Not on D2L!
How Can I Get An A In This Class? • The Good News: There Are Lots of Guides to Help You • The Bad News: They All Say Pretty Much What Your Professors (and Parents) Say • Worse News: It Looks Very Much Like Work • Worst of All: It’s a Time Eater • 2000 Hours to Proficiency
How Can I Get An A In This Class? • Develop Good Study Habits • Recognize And Hone Your Learning Styles • Use This Textbook Effectively • Will This Be On The Test? • Decide Today to get an A • Failure is an Option – Your Option • Deal with problems Immediately • Be Prepared to Change
Approaches to Truth and Knowledge • Analytical: Break down into component parts • Creative: Look for new approaches • Logical: Use orderly approach, test consistency • Critical: What are goals? How Good is Data? • Reflective: What does it all mean?
Learning Styles • Visual, Spatial: Maps, Diagrams, Charts • Verbal, Auditory: Lectures, Discussions • Logical: Find Patterns and Structure • Active: Hands-On, Labs, Field Trips • Where does it say you can only learn one way?
What Do I Need To Think Critically? • Skepticism and Independence • Question your own skepticism • Open-Mindedness and Flexibility • But Don’t Let Things Fall Out • Accuracy and Orderliness • Check Facts, Keep them Straight • Persistence and Relevance • Don’t Let Yourself be Sidetracked • Contextual Sensitivity and Empathy • Don’t let Yourself be Manipulated
What Do I Need To Think Critically? • Facts • The More the Better • How Science Works • What Science Has Determined • Present Controversies • What’s Known, Alleged, Unproven • Who Supports What • Cultural Awareness
Don’t Believe Everything You See, or Hear On the News • What Political Positions are Represented? • Who Stands to Gain? Who’s Paying for the Message? • What Sources are Used and how Credible are They? • Evidence? Statistics? Citations? • One Sided versus Impartial? • Facts and Logic versus Emotional Appeal?
Avoiding Logical Errors And Fallacies • Red Herring • Straw Man • Ad Hominem (Personal Targeting) • Generalization and Anecdotal Evidence • False Causality and Denial of Causality • Most of the Time, Things Are What They Seem • Non-Sequiturs, Missing Links
Avoiding Logical Errors And Fallacies • Appeal to Ignorance (“Science Can’t Explain …”) • Most of the Time, Science Can Explain It • Appeal to Authority • Begging (Evading) the Question • “Begging” = Raising or Inspiring = Illiterate • Word Games, Double Meanings, Loaded Terms • Slippery Slope, Where do you Draw the Line? • False Dichotomy
An issue is decided by: • Facts and logic • Not by who holds the position or why • But those factors can alert us to: • Possible bias • Facts and logic that need checking • What’s omitted • Be Careful of Things That Mesh Too Well With Your Own Beliefs