Key Listening Concepts
 

1.    Listening is not just hearing.  It also involves

• being mindful,

• the 3 steps of the perception process

• responding and

• remembering
   

2.    Obstacles damage effective listening: 

• message overload

• complexity

• environmental distractions (noise)

• preoccupation

• prejudgments

• lack of effort

• lack of diversity in listening styles
   

4.    There are three types of listening

a.     informational – listening with a purpose to gain knowledge

b.    relational or empathic – listening to understand the other’s viewpoint (“the mind of the other”)

c.     critical – analyzing and judging the accuracy and validity of messages

 

 5.  Improve your listening

• avoid: pseudo-listening, monopolizing, selective listening, defensiveness and ambushing

• use skills such as: ask questions, use memory aids, organize information, suspend judgment for a time, paraphrase (and encourage), express support.

 

Critical Thinking
Key Critical Thinking Concepts
 

1.    Observation vs Inference = Support vs Assertion (more or less)

2.    Arguments are -- Assertions plus Support

 

3.    Types of Arguments

a.     Inductive Arguments – using specific instances/examples as the basis for accepting a general conclusion (that would apply to many or all specific instances).  [Sometimes this is called reasoning from example.] This form of reasoning is the basis for discovering scientific "truths."

Example:  I've seen hundreds of crows and each one was black.  Therefore, I can conclude that most or all crows are black.

b.    Deductive Arguments – using a general principle truth to draw a specific conclusion in a case.  Much of college course assignment-giving is based on asking you to do deductive reasoning, that is, apply general principles taught in class to specific assigned tasks.

                                                             The Syllogism is the classic form of deduction.

1.    People who work out stay in good physical condition (major premise/warrant)

2.    Jane works out ( minor premise/support)

3.    Jane will stay in good physical condition (conclusion/assertion/claim)

Tests of Source Reliability - Is information the source provides --

1.  recent?

2.  sufficient?

3.  relevant to topic?

4.  representative of the topic generally?

5.  consistent with other known facts?

Appropriate source characteristics include:  The source is...

1. in a position to know what he/she is talking about

2. capable of accurate judgments (i.e. possesses appropriate professional skills)

3. not biased or paid

4. truthful in reputation

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Discussion Tasks:  In pairs discuss and prepare answers to the following questions.

1.  Come up with at least three examples of obstacles to listening that you encounter in your classes this semester?  Explain them.

2.  List one example of inductive reasoning and one example of deductive reasoning you have encountered in a college class so far this year.

3.  Assuming the topic we were interested in is how the troop "surge" in Afghanistan is going,  how would the source reliability/appropriateness tests above apply to these three sources: 

a)  General Petraeus' testimony before Congress, 

b)  An editorial in the New York Times, 

c)  Osama bin Laden's recent audio statement.