Fall 2010 Critical Thinking First Field Notes

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Post Field Observations Here:

Mark Alfino

Notes here

Kelly Owens

1. The participants in this situation were lead into giving reasons on their point because of the controversial political stand point. They were coming from opposite political parties and in being two very different people had opposing views on the subject matter. To continue backing up their point and avoid throwing random statements out into conversation, well reasoned examples must be brought in. There was some overlap in relating the topics but not a whole lot. In the beginning of the debate there was some agreeing on the matter however as the conversation progressed this relating became less noticeable and the situation a little more tense. I believe they were thinking in stereo, all involved were thinking about the issue at hand but were not really getting anywhere near a resolution so one of the participants backed out, but they also agreed to disagree, which is sort of a resolution in its own way.

Paige Brunett

1. I was having a conversation with a friend about illegal immigration and we both had very different opinions. My friend had a very argumentative tone and chose to only state her opinions instead of having a discussion. Her tone eliminated the prospect of thinking in stereo because it turned into a very shallow, one-sided conversation. No resolution was reached and we agreed to disagree.

2. Earlier today I was talking to my mom about dropping a class that seemed too difficult. My intention was to get opinions from someone I trusted and who wanted the best for me which allowed the conversation to be a discussion, as opposed to an argument. Thinking in stereo occurred because we were both trying to see the situation from one another's point of view. An agreement was reached, after we each stated our opinions, and I dropped the class.

3. My roommate and I were discussing the condition of our room because the agreement that had previously been made about how the room should be kept was not met. The focus of the conversation was making the living space comfortable for both parties and we were both trying to keep an open mind and a positive tone. Again, we were thinking in stereo by looking at the situation from each other's perspective. In the end, a compromise was reached.