Course title: Critical Readings in English Full Marks: 100 Course No.: Eng. Ed. 433 ...
Course title: Critical Readings in English Full Marks: 100
Course No.: Eng. Ed. 433 Pass
Marks: 35
Nature of Course: Theoretical Period
per Week: 6
Level: B. Ed. Teaching
hours: 150
Year:
Third Time
per Period: 55 minutes
1.
Course Description
Critical
Readings in English
is
a course designed to read critically and write creatively. Thematically
organized, this course integrates content knowledge with the higher order
thinking skills such as logical reasoning, critical appreciation and
synthesizing through reading and writing. It is divided into eight different
contemporary themes, namely Diversity, Technology and Education; Globalization
and Environment; Travel, Sports and Health; Gender and Equality; Motivation and
Inspiration, and Wit and Humor. Each
unit draws on the authentic texts from varied sources such as academic,
philosophical, travel, literary books, print and electronic media.
2. General Objectives
The general objectives of the course are as follows:
·
To expose students to diversity and
technology and help them relate it to language education
·
To expand their linguistic horizons
through a wider range of texts that include globalization, environment, travel,
sports, health, gender and humor.
·
To motivate them to read varieties of
texts to develop critical thinking skills.
·
To encourage them to apply critical
thinking skills in their academic settings.
3. Specific Objectives and Contents
|
Specific
Objectives |
Contents |
|
|
·
Describe the fundamental
features of the interdisciplinary course ·
Explain Multiple
Intelligences and their roles in learning ·
Elucidate the importance
of diversity in teaching and learning ·
Explain the notion of
multilingualism and critically examine its role in the globalized society ·
Argue for inclusiveness
in education ·
Describe the
relationship between technology and education
|
Unit I: Diversity, Technology and Education (15 ) 1.1.
An encounter with the interdisciplinary course 1.2.
Frequently asked questions about multiple intelligences 1.2.1
Is intelligence a product, a process, content, a
style, or all of the above? 1.2.2
How does intelligence relate to creativity? 1.2.3
Could one construct a test or a set of tests for
each of the intelligence? 1.5.
Disabled Chinese struggled for a good education
and acceptance 1.6.
What is the future of technology in education?
|
|
|
·
Describe the impact of
nuclear power plants on the environment ·
Explore the relationship
between nature and technology ·
Discuss the pros and
cons of globalization |
Unit II: Globalization
and Environment ( 15 ) 2.1 Globalization good or bad? 2.2 Flattener #1 When the walls came
down and the Windows went up 2.3 The Chernobyl exclusion zone is
arguably a natural reserve 2.4 Nature and technology: Friends or
enemies? 2.5 Krishnamurti's journal (September
25, 1973 & October 1973) 2.6. Green rebellion, the terrestrial
greenhouse and the Gaia hypothesis |
|
|
·
Describe the value of travel and sports in our
life ·
Suggest possible ways of conserving forests ·
State different techniques of maintaining physical
and mental health ·
Write their own travelogues
|
Unit III: Travel, Sports
and Health ( 14 ) 3.1 Respect for Woods 3.2 Travelling with Bruce Chatwin 3.3 A Journey of exploration 3.4 Face to face with Jackie Chan 3.5 Exercise! 14 Whys and Hows 3.6 Freedom from unhappiness 3.7
Can green tea boost your brain power and treat disease? |
|
|
·
State the changing
notions of gender ·
Describe the present
status of women in their society ·
Present their views on
gender and equality ·
Present the story of a
woman who has challenged the traditional notions of gender roles |
Unit IV: Gender
and Equality (10 ) 4.1 The woman who battled the
bureaucrats 4.2 Women fighting sex slavery named
CNN Hero of the Year 4.3 I want a wife 4.4 A solution to housework
|
|
|
·
Explain the importance
of motivation and inspiration for success
·
Write about a person who
has inspired them in their life ·
Present their own
anecdotes that might inspire others
|
Unit V: Motivation
and Inspiration ( 15 ) 5.1 The
fringe benefits of failure, and the importance of imagination 5.2 Crossing the Ganga 5.3 She dares to live free 5.4 A Letter to Gabriel, A young
writer 5.5 A Romantic dream world 5.6 I will be at the Nobel Prize
ceremony…if I can 5.7 Inspirations from Paulo Coelho
|
|
|
·
Sketch the origin and
development of the Nepali language ·
Argue for or against the
role of locally available food in your health. ·
Elucidate different
types of diversity in the English classroom ·
Appreciate different
cultural symbols ·
Write about their views
on creative writing |
Unit
VI: Reading our Own Context (15) 6.1
Origin and the
development of the Nepali language 6.2 Desperation for translation 6.3 Diversity in
language classroom 6.4 Local is best 6.5 Writing is spontaneous and
self-reflective 6.6 Forging ahead 6.7 Young thinkers 6.8 An outsider in the court of God
|
|
|
·
Explain what critical
thinking is and ways of improving it. ·
Read the text and
identify different patterns of reasoning. ·
Identify different ways of clarifying and
interpreting the text ·
Identify inferences and
evaluate them. ·
Identify assumptions and
relevant arguments in the text. |
VII. Critical Thinking ( 56 ) 7.1 Understanding
critical thinking 7.2 Identifying
reasons and conclusions 7.3 Understanding
reason 7.4 Different
patterns of reasoning, assumptions, context and a thinking map 7.5 Clarifying and
interpreting expressions and ideas 7.6 The
acceptability of reasons 7.7 Judging the
credibility of sources skillfully 7.8 Evaluating
inferences 7.9 Deductive
validity and other grounds 7.10
Assumptions and other relevant arguments 7.11
Reasoning about causal explanations 7.12
Decision making: options, consequences, values and
risks
|
|
|
·
Produce and present
their own humorous anecdotes |
Unit VIII:
Wit and Humor (10) 8.1 Ah,
how I forgot it 8.2
Arrangements settled 8.3 A
Story of an hour 8.4.
Paul Beatty on writing humor and race 8.5 Humorous and witty anecdotes
|
|
Note: The figures in the parenthesis indicate the
approximate teaching hours.
4. Instructional Techniques
The instructional techniques for this
course will be as follows:
4.1 General
Instructional techniques
·
Lecture
and discussion
·
Demonstration
·
Explanation
and illustration
·
Group/pair
and individual work
·
Presentation
·
Read,
discuss, write and share (RDWS)
·
Dictionary
use
4.2
Specific Instructional techniques
|
Unit
|
Activities
and Instructional Techniques |
|
Unit
One |
Writing
on the challenges faced by students with special needs followed by sharing
and feedback |
|
Unit
Two |
Individual
argumentative writing on globalization followed by whole class discussion |
|
Unit
Three |
Project
work: students write a travelogue |
|
Unit
Four |
Project
work: students conduct a mini-survey on the present status of women in their
society and prepare a report |
|
Unit
Five |
Asking
students to write their own anecdotes and share them in their class |
5.
Evaluation
|
Types of questions |
Total questions |
Points |
Total Points |
|
Group A: Multiple
choice items |
Questions |
20
×1 Point |
20 |
|
Group B: Short answer
questions |
Questions |
8×7
Points |
56 |
|
Group C: Long answer
questions |
Questions |
2×12
|
24 |
|
|
|
|
100 |
6.
Recommended Books and References
Recommended
Books
Critical readings in English (2017). Kathmandu: Sunlight Publication.
(Only for the classroom purpose).
Fisher, A. (2011). Critical thinking: An introduction.
Cambridge: CUP.
References
Pirozzi, R. C.,
Starks-Martin, G., & Dziewisz, J. (2014). Critical reading,
critical thinking: Focusing on contemporary issues (3rd ed.). Harlow:
Pearson Education.
Wright, L.
(2012). Critical thinking: An introduction to analytical reading and
reasoning (2nd ed.): Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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