INFO 230 - Argumentation and Information Literacy for Sustainability Topics

Units: 3 ; Breadth Area: GE-A3; Second Composition; Sustainability Overlay
Students analyze case studies in sustainability and environmental justice, exploring multiple perspectives and sources of evidence. Students will build coherent and cohesive arguments, using inductive and deductive reasoning, honing their argumentation skills through dialogue, outlining, and peer review of drafts. Must earn C- (CR) or better for GE credit.

Prerequisites: Completion of GE Area A2 with grade C- (CR) or better.
Possible Instructional Methods: On-ground, or Hybrid, or Online-Asynchronous, or Online-Synchronous.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-A3 - Lower Division Critical Thinking, Second Composition, Sustainability Overlay
Course Typically Offered: Fall & Spring

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Identify, analyze, and evaluate inductive and deductive arguments, including their fallacies, about the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability, including how human communities interact with and are affected by various threats to the environment.
Construct arguments to support and/or criticize potential solutions, from an individual, community, and global context, for sustainability and environmental justice problems, particularly those affecting vulnerable communities.
Develop search strategies to find and evaluate sources of evidence for use in supporting arguments, from diverse perspectives, understanding the power dynamics involved in the construction and dissemination of knowledge and information.
Develop outlining, drafting , revising, and editing phases of writing cohesive and coherent arguments on sustainability and environmental justice topics, incorporating an awareness of discipline specific terminologies and audience.

A3. Critical Thinking Learning Outcomes

Identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments.
Logically construct arguments to support and refute claims using evidence.
Reason inductively and deductively.
Distinguish matters of fact from judgments, opinions, and/or fallacies.

Second English Composition Learning Outcomes

complete a variety of reading and writing tasks that incorporate subject-matter knowledge;
adjust their writing for different audiences, showing awareness of expectations for academic writing in general and adhering to discipline-specific conventions when appropriate;
demonstrate critical thinking and logical reasoning, including strategies coming in a discipline, in the development and organization of ideas in written texts; take into account multiple perspectives and key disciplinary concepts when presenting their ideas in writing; and
revise their writing in response to feedback in order to improve development, clarity, coherence, and correctness.

Sustainability Overlay Learning Outcomes

identify the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability, either in general or in relation to a specific problem;
analyze interactions between human activities and natural systems;
describe key threats to environmental sustainability;
explain how individual and societal choices affect prospects for sustainability at the local, regional, and/or global levels.