Module 21: Problem Solving Same place, different day. Perry is sitting at his desk again, staring at a blank document in front of him, while nervously playing with a pen in his right hand. Just a few hours left to hand in his essay, and he has not written a word. He rubs his fingers against his temple and mutters, "I need a plan!" That thing Perry is confronted with is something many of us encounters in his daily life. He has a problem, and he does not really know how to solve it. But what exactly is a problem? Are there strategies to solve problems? These are just a few of the questions we want to answer in this chapter.

Module 22: Judgment and Reasoning No matter which public topic you discuss or which personal aspect you worry about – you need reasons for your opinion and argumentation. Moreover, the ability of reasoning is responsible for your cognitive features of decision making and choosing among alternatives. Everyone uses these two abilities in everyday life to the utmost. Let us, therefore, consider one more scene of Perry's life: It is again a rainy afternoon and Perry is tired of observing the black crows in his garden and decides to escape from the shabby weather and spend his mid-semester break in Mexico. Perry has never been to Mexico before and is pretty excited. He will leave the next day; thus, he begins packing his bag. The crucial things first: some underwear, some socks, a pair of pajamas and his wash bag with a toothbrush, shampoo, soap, sunscreen, and bug spray. But, Perry cannot find the bug spray until his friend, Terry, tells him that he lost it and will buy him a new bottle. Terry advises Perry to take an umbrella for the way to the corner store as it is raining outside before he turns back to his packing task. But what did he already pack into his bag? Immediately, he remembers and continues, packing his clothing into the bag, considering that each piece fits another one and finally his iPod as he exclusively listens to music with this device. Since he is going on somewhere warm, Perry specifically packs shorts and T-Shirts into his bag. After approximately half an hour, he is finally convinced that he has done everything necessary for having some fine holidays. Using Perry's vacation preparation, we will explain the basic principles of reasoning and decision making.

Module 23: Decision Making According to the different levels of consequences, each process of making a decision requires appropriate effort and various aspects to be considered. The following excerpt from the story about Perry makes this obvious: “After considering facts like the warm weather in Mexico and shirts and shorts being much more comfortable in this case (information gathering and likelihood estimation) Perry reasons that he needs them for his vacation. In consequence, he finally makes the decision to pack mainly shirts and shorts in his bag (final act of choosing).” Now it seems like there cannot be any decision making without previous reasoning, but that is not true. Of course, there are situations in which someone decides to do something spontaneously, with no time to reason about it. We will not go into detail here, but you might think about questions like "Why do we choose one or another option in that case?"

This guide for instructors gives guidance on using AI and ChatGPT in teaching.

Anatomy and Physiology Lab I slide decks created by Steven Lee M.S. Pathology, FTCC. The PowerPoints include labeled body images to assist students in identifying body parts. Nicole Shaw is only responsible for assisting Steven with licensing his work under an open license and uploading content to the Commons. 

Academic cheating is a growing problem in educational institutions around the world, and it can take many forms, including plagiarism, collusion, and cheating during exams. Academic cheating can have serious consequences for students, educators, and the academic community as a whole.The Academic Integrity Instructor Resource Platform is a growing and evolving online resource designed to support and promote academic integrity among faculty members. This resource serves as a go-to platform for faculty seeking guidance, tools, and best practices to foster a culture of academic honesty and prevent plagiarism and cheating within their online, online-live, hybrid, and face-to-face, classrooms. 

Learning Frameworks EDUC 1300 course created using Rice Open Stax College Success text

Illustrates the difference in using active voice vs passive voice to express the same idea.

The development of African American culture and the reciprocal effects of that development are analyzed in this video along with a brief examination of the Stono Rebellion. When watching the video, consider what characterized the slave labor system? How did the slaves cope? What choices did they have? To what extent was an African American culture emerging in colonial America? What characterized this culture? What happened during the Stono rebellion? How did white southerners react to it?

These lecture videos and corresponding notes can be used as a resource in online and Face-to-Face College Algebra course to learn content.  The notes are the same notes used within the videos so students will fill out the notes as the instructor does in the video.  

America looked quite different in 1801 than it had in 1760. Thirteen separate colonies had become a nation with generous boundaries and an emerging identity. Idealistic principles espousing freedom and equality were becoming part of a national creed. While American Indians were being separated from the rest of the nation, women and African Americans had some hope that they might be included on a more equal basis.

The American Creed briefly examines the origins of the Declaration of Independence, its "magic words," and the profound effects the document would have on the history of the modern world.