| Professor: | William Bechtel |
| Office: | HSS 8076 |
| Telephone | 822-4461 |
| Office Hours | Monday and Wednesday, 4:00-4:45 |
| Email: | phil12@mechanism.ucsd.edu |
| Website: | |
| Syllabus | http:/mechanism.ucsd.edu/teaching/f19/ |
| Sections | TA | Office | Contact | Office hours |
| A01 Monday, 3-3:50 pm, CSB 005 | Nathaniel Greely | HSS 8033 | ngreely@ucsd.edu | Monday, Wednesday, 1:50-2:50pm |
| A02 Wednesday 4-4:50 pm, CSB 005 | Nathaniel Greely | HSS 8033 | ngreely@ucsd.edu | Monday, Wednesday, 1:50-2:50pm |
Reasoning is a fundamental activity in human life, and nowhere is it more important or better manifest than in science. Although scientific inquiry has roots deep in human culture, the mode of scientific inquiry that we know today is of fairly recent invention. It depends on people advancing hypotheses abount how phenomenon in the world are produced and evaluating those hypotheses against objective evidence that is often challenging to elicit. Scientific reasoning is neither natural nor easy, but it is extremely important not just for those engaged in science but for all of us who must evaluate the claims scientists make.
In this course we will address a number of questions about scientific reasoning:
This course will emphasize active engagement in the kinds of reasoning which scientists use in developing and testing hypotheses, especially through on-line exercises and demonstrations. The goals of the course are for students to understand the logical and statistical principles by which scientific claims are created and evaluated and to develop a critical appreciation for the methods by which knowledge is acquired in science. You should leave this course with a better ability to distinguish good from poor reasoning and decision making in science and other domains.
1. Inquiry website and printed course reader
The primary course materials are on the course website at https://inquiry.ucsd.edu. Login directions and initial login codes are included in the course reader, which is available at the UCSD bookstore (be sure you buy a new reader--used initial logins cannot be reused). If you have any problems with your login codes, contact me as soon as possible, sending me the code you are trying to use. The modules found on the website include text, animation, and interactive exercises, of which only the text is included in the reader. Some modules have questions to answer at the end. All activity on the site is recorded and logged, including answers to question sets attached to the modules. Completion of the on-line exercises is a requirement of the course.
2. i>clicker student response system
If you do not already own one, you will also need to purchase an i>clicker student response transmiter. These transmitters, informally called “clickers,” are available at the UCSD bookstore. Make sure to get an i>clicker and not a different system (e.g., H-ITT or PRS).
For each module, students are expected to complete it and any questions attached to it, before attending the class for which it is assigned. Attendance in class and sections is required.
Assessment
1. Web-based exercises (5%): timely completion of the interactive exercises and questions on the Inquiry website. Graded on whether you complete the exercises questions, not the accuracy of your responses. Click here for more information about this requirement, including what these exercises/questions look like and how to track your progress on them throughout the course.
2. Lecture participation (10%): your "clicker" score will be based on in-class questions scored using the i>clicker student response system. Several times during each class (except the first), I will pose a question (usually a multiple choice question) and ask you to "buzz in" with your answer; the system will automatically record your responses. In order to receive credit for your responses, you will need to register your i>clicker remote by sending an email to phil12@mechanism.ucsd.edu listing your name, student id, and id on the back of your clicker. Two points are awarded for simply answering the question, a third if your answer was correct. Your clicker score will be the percentage of points earned divided by the maximum possible. Important: you must have your clicker every class period to get these points−no exceptions.
3. Section participation (5%): participation and performance on quizzes in section.
4. Two in class exams (30%): in class exam consisting of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions. Sample questions will be available one week before each exam.
5. Short papers (30%): two 1-2 page papers on assigned topics. Due dates are shown in the Schedule of Classes below. Assignments will be made at least one week before papers are due.
6. Final Exam (20%): in-class exam consisting of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions. Sample questions will be available at least one week before the exam.
The following scale will be used to convert numeric scores to letter grades: 98-100 A+, 93-98 A, 90-93 A-, 88-90 B+, 83-88 B, 80-83 B-, 78-80 C+, 73-78 C, 70-73 C-, 60-70 D, below 60 F. For students taking the course pass/no pass, a C- (70) is the minimum grade for receiving a pass.
Special Accommodations
Students requesting accommodations and services due to a disability for this course need to provide a current Authorization for Accommodation (AFA) letter issued by the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD), prior to eligibility for requests. Receipt of AFAs in advance is necessary for appropriate planning for the provision of reasonable accommodations. OSD Academic Liaisons also need to receive current AFAs. For more information, contact the OSD at (858) 534.4382 (V); (858) 534-9709 (TTY); osd@ucsd.edu, or http://osd.ucsd.edu.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to do their own work, as outlined in the UCSD Policy on Integrity of Scholarship: http://www-senate.ucsd.edu/manual/Appendices/app2.htm Cheating will not be tolerated, and any student who engages in forbidden conduct will be subjected to the disciplinary process. You are responsible for familiarizing yourself with these policies; ignorance will not be an excuse. If you have any questions about these policies, feel free to contact me.
Deadlines for Assignments
Make-up exams (for midterm and final) or extended deadlines (for the papers) will only be given under the most severe circumstances. Any student who wishes to take a make-up exam or needs an extension must inform me (in person or by email) before the deadline. In order to qualify for a make-up exam or an extension, appropriate evidence of the most severe circumstances must be produced by the student. I will determine, in consultation with the student, what qualifies as appropriate evidence.
Classroom Conduct
Please arrive to class on time. Students should be respectful of their fellow classmates, allowing them to finish before speaking, listening to and respecting classmates' views/opinions. In addition, students must silence all cellular telephones, pagers, and iPods, etc., before entering the classroom. Laptops and other electronic devices may not be used in class, except for lecture note-taking.
This schedule of class assignments and reading assignments is tentative and subject to revision. Changes will be announced through the email list for this course. Items in italics are modules on the Inquiry website. You should complete these, including any attached questions, before the assigned class (although subsequent review is certainly encouraged).
Copies of the powerpoints presented in lecture will be made are available close to the time of each class. Follow the links from the title of each lecture. Sample questions for the exams and topics for the assigned papers will also be made available as links from the listings on the schedule.
October 7: Validity
and Conditional Statements: Some basic valid argument forms:
Conditional statements
Ocober 9: Valid arguments:
Some basic valid argument forms: Conditional arguments
October14: Confirmation,
falsification, and fallibility: Evidential relations; The
fallible character of human knowledge
October 16: First
Midterm Exam
October 21: Observing
and Categorizing: Observation and learning to see: Categories
and taxonomy
October 23: Observational
research: Observational research
Coding sheet for daily activity
log: data to be collected and entered into Inquiry by Sunday,
October 27, noon
October 28: Distributions
and samples: Variables and measurement
October 30: Predicting
relationships between variables: Predicting relations between
variables; When variables are correlated
First
1-2 page written assignment due: Friday, November 1 by Noon
(papers should be in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format and emailed as
attachments to your TA)
November 4: Differences
between means: When variables are not correlated; When
groups differ
November 6: Significance
testing and Errors
November 13: Second
Midterm Exam
November 18: From
Correlation to causation and causal explanation:
Correlational studies as tests of causal claims; Correlational vs.
experimental research; Causal explanation
November 20: Reasoning
about and graphing causes: Reasoning about causation; Causal
reasoning with directed graphs
November 25: Causality
and experiments: Testing causal claims experimentally
November 27: Causation
when experiments are not possible: When randomized experiments
are not possible
Second
1-2 page written assignment due: Monday,
December 2, by Noon (papers should be in .doc,
.docx, or .rtf format and emailed as attachments to your TA)
December 2: Mechanism
and mechanistic explanation: Entities and activities
organized to produce a phenomenon; Levels of organization
within mechanisms
December 4: Discovering
and modeling mechanisms: Describing and portraying
mechanisms; Experimenting on mechanisms