Philosophy 110: Course Mechanics

• As an online course we have lots of flexibility up to a point.  Although there are deadlines for class participation that follow our schedule, you get to decide during the week when you participate in the course.  Via e-mail and our Laulima discussion forums I will be available to you throughout most of each week..  You can of course also call me at 845-9163.  Leave a clear voice mail message and number to call if I am not in.  I return calls and e-mails almost always the same day.  Usually within hours.  Every morning I attempt to answer all discussion questions posted on the Laulima discussion forum before my on-campus courses start.  Normally I also respond to discussion questions throughout the day.  Late at night and on the weekends expect me to be a little slower.  I do have a family and a life.

• Following the Content Schedule, doing the reading in a timely manner and participating in class discussions are very important.  As in mathematics, learning logical analysis is a step by step process.  Each chapter should be read slowly.  Note the parts that you don't understand and use the Laulima discussion program or e-mail to ask questions.
  
 
• Do the exercises in a timely manner as indicated in the Schedule.  The reading, the exercises, and class interaction should require at least 5 hours per week (16 week format) or 8 hours per week (10 week format) .  Please understand that for every hour you don't put in one week, you will have to add that many hours to the next week's work to catch up.  I know of no other way to do well in a course such as this.  It is step by step.  Also, most likely you will not understand each concept right away.  You will probably have to think about a concept and look at the examples several times and ask questions before all the connections are made.  Connecting the dots takes time and effort.
  
 
• Each chapter from the textbook Essential Logic is essentially the lecture portion of the course.  (There are also supplement lectures for each chapter.)   In a course such as this, it is very important that you read each chapter in a step by step manner.  Don't try to read only the concept summaries, jump around, or just talk to other students alone, thinking that will be enough.  On the exams you will not have to memorize anything.  All of the exams are open-book with notes allowed.  (Because the book is free online, you will have to cut and paste from the book to notes, or arrange printing.)  You will, however, have to make a lot of connections on abstract concepts.  To do this well, you need to read the book carefully, note what you don't understand, ask questions of me and other students, do the exercises and compare your answers with mine, and take the practice quizzes.  Each chapter will also have a lecture supplement that highlights and repeats important points in the chapter.  The Main Page contains links to the supplement lectures and is the main gateway page for communication and understanding.  To access the Main Page you must register for the course.
  
 
• A practice quiz will be posted for key portions of the course.  A recommended amount of time will be given for each quiz.  These quizzes have been designed and carefully sequenced to give you feedback on the necessary skills you will need to do well on the major exams (first exam and final).
  
 
• The Laulima discussion portion of the course is very important.  Other than the textbook and e-mail, it is our primary method of communicating and finding out if we are all on the same page.  I will post questions on the chapters and sometimes sections of chapters that I want everyone to respond to.  As a student, you can also post questions and get reactions from other students and me.  As a basic requirement, in most sections you need to post two comments on each question within the time allotted by our schedule.  One must be a direct response to my original question, but any others can be basic questions or comments on other student comments.  Your comments should be thoughtful attempts to reveal what you have learned by reading the textbook.  They should not be wimpy statements, such as "Me to," "I agree," or "Good point."  You will find me commenting often on a student comment.  Watch for these comments.  If I see a misunderstanding that appears to be somewhat common in the class, I will be responding actually then to the whole class, even though it will technically be a response to a particular student.  This method of communication has great potential if everyone takes it seriously.  As for questions that you may post, they should be highly focused and show evidence that you have done the reading.  They should not be like, "Can anyone summarize Chapter 1 for me?"  An excellent question would be something like, "I don't get it; can anyone tell me why the conclusion of a valid argument can be false?"  It is also important to read the comments and questions of all the other students in the class.  This reading will not only probably address questions that you have, but it will insure that the same questions are not repeated over and over.  Suggestion: Students who use the discussion forum to ask lots of questions prior to posting their answer to the main forum question do best in this class.
  
 
• Note that there will be two major exams on the material covered in the course. As noted above, you will be able to use the book and your notes.  The exams will be timed, however.  You will be required to come to a campus to take the exam at a scheduled time.   Each campus in the UH system has a proctoring site (Click Here).  However, we will create together an acceptable proctoring arrangement on another campus even if you are not in Hawaii..  You can even be in another State or Country.  Such arrangements though must be made early in the semester.