Florida Atlantic University
Center for Teaching and Learning
Faculty Learning Community 2009-2010
Analytic Reflection in the Arts, Humanities, and Social and Natural Sciences
LEADER:
Simon V. Glynn
Department of Philosophy
FOCUS/GOALS:
FLC participants will discuss and develop ways to teach the reflective and analytic skills critical to
the intellectual development of our students. While correctly insisting that everyone is entitled to
their own beliefs, many, failing to recognize the roles that empirical evidence and/or rational
argument may play in supporting or negating belief, take this to be equivalent to the claim that all
beliefs are equally valid. Moreover many students are unable to comprehend, much less make use
of fundamental relations between concepts (e.g. many cannot distinguish the claim that most Nazis
were Germans from the claim that most Germans were Nazis) and in consequence are unable to
organize and utilize information effectively. Furthermore being unable to distinguish free will from
political, social or economic freedoms, many wrongly see any attempt to explaining human,
psychological, cultural, social, political, economic or historical behavior, constitution and
development in such terms as incompatible with free will, and therefore reject all such explanations
in the mistaken belief that they are necessarily causal. Indeed, many are completely unable even to
give a coherent account of what may constitute a psychological, cultural, social, political or
economic factor, much less an account of how they might interact. Concomitantly they are unable
to distinguish between inconsistent interpretations and interpretations and interpretive paradigms
that might either be supplementary, in that they provide further elucidation from another
perspective, or complementary in that they offer equally coherent yet distinct alternatives. FLC
participants will think about and contribute to discussion of reflective and analytic skills and
develop strategies for teaching them within the context of the undergraduate curriculum.
EXPECTATIONS: (Specific to this FLC)
 Participate in twice-a-month meetings
 Discuss the attributes of a quality undergraduate education that seeks to develop students’
reflective and analytic skills.
 Explore proven strategies to enhance those skills.
 Implement proven strategies in at least one of their courses.
 Share their experiences with FLC members and other members of the FAU community.
POTENTIAL MEETING TIMES: Fall and Spring Semester.
Thursdays 1-3, 12-2, 11-1, Tuesdays 3-4.
STIPEND: You will receive a $1,000 stipend for your active participation in the FLC and upon fulfilling all
FLC expectations.