| School/Faculty/Institute | Faculty of Law | ||||||||||
| Course Code | LAW 329 | ||||||||||
| Course Title in English | Critical Thinking and Decision Making in Law | ||||||||||
| Course Title in Turkish | Hukukta Eleştirel Düşünme Ve Karar Alma Teknikleri | ||||||||||
| Language of Instruction | EN | ||||||||||
| Type of Course | Lecture | ||||||||||
| Level of Course | Introductory | ||||||||||
| Semester | Spring,Fall | ||||||||||
| Contact Hours per Week |
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| Estimated Student Workload | 94 hours per semester | ||||||||||
| Number of Credits | 4 ECTS | ||||||||||
| Grading Mode | Standard Letter Grade | ||||||||||
| Pre-requisites | None | ||||||||||
| Co-requisites | None | ||||||||||
| Expected Prior Knowledge | None | ||||||||||
| Registration Restrictions | Only Undergraduate Students | ||||||||||
| Overall Educational Objective | Students will learn key cases in law | ||||||||||
| Course Description | The ability to ‘think like a lawyer and legist’ is identified as one of the most important outcomes of the study of law. Human thought is the product of different functions which have dynamic interactions among them. Thinking process is the most important function for determination of the quality of thought. Critical thinking includes the skills of analyzing arguments, making inferences using inductive or deductive reasoning, involving careful judgment for judicious evaluation. ‘Listening skills”, ‘thinking skills’, ‘reasoning skills’, ‘critical judgment’ are the most important components of critical thinking and decision making skills that law students should adopt. This programme is designed to explore and improve critical thinking, reasoning, judgment and decision making skills of the students. |
Course Learning Outcomes and CompetencesUpon successful completion of the course, the learner is expected to be able to:1) Critically read, listen, and write 2) Separate bad information from good information 3) Analyze arguments and construct cogent arguments 4) Understand causal connections in systems 5) Understand the critical thinking and decision-making process 6) Be able to identify, analyse, and define legal problems 7) Identify and articulate legal issues from different perspectives 8) Apply legal reasoning and research to generate appropriate responses to legal issues 9) Engage in critical analysis and make a reasoned choice amongst alternatives 10) Think creatively in approaching legal issues and generating appropriate responses 11) Be able to improve their legal mind |
| Program Learning Outcomes/Course Learning Outcomes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1) The ability to recognize and apply basic principles and theories of law, legal methodology, and interpretation methods. | |||||||||||
| 2) The ability to follow, evaluate, interpret and apply the current developments and legislative amendments. | |||||||||||
| 3) The ability to locate and use legal resources; to follow and evaluate current legislative amendments, legal science, and court decisions. | |||||||||||
| 4) The ability to internalize social, scientific and ethical values while evaluating legal information. | |||||||||||
| 5) The ability to recognize, examine and resolve legal issues with respect to general principles of law, de lege feranda and de lege lata; to take into consideration both national and international aspects of law; and to acknowledge the importance of personal conviction while making decisions. | |||||||||||
| 6) The ability to critically analyze legal disputes, legislation, court decisions and different views in the legal science; to form his/her own opinions; to detect legal lacuna and suggest alternative solutions. | |||||||||||
| 7) The ability to understand issues regarding different fields of law; to characterize and propose solutions to complex issues arising from legal practice. | |||||||||||
| 8) The ability to participate in and organize legal projects and activities as a socially responsible individual; to put his/her legal knowledge and skill to use efficiently (in the public or private sector). | |||||||||||
| 9) The ability to use a foreign language at least on a B2 Level on the European Language Portfolio, to follow legal developments and communicate with colleagues in that language; to use computer software and information and communication technologies necessary in the law field at an Advanced Level of the European Computer Driving License. | |||||||||||
| 10) Adoption of a positive approach to the concept of lifelong learning. | |||||||||||
| 11) The ability to understand the development, evolution, and problems of the society and to contribute to the solution of these problems by legal methods. | |||||||||||
| 12) The ability to understand the structure, organization, and functioning of law on the national and international level; to contribute to the development thereof. |
| N None | S Supportive | H Highly Related |
| Program Outcomes and Competences | Level | Assessed by | |
| 1) | The ability to recognize and apply basic principles and theories of law, legal methodology, and interpretation methods. | S | Participation,Presentation,Project |
| 2) | The ability to follow, evaluate, interpret and apply the current developments and legislative amendments. | S | Participation |
| 3) | The ability to locate and use legal resources; to follow and evaluate current legislative amendments, legal science, and court decisions. | S | Participation,Presentation |
| 4) | The ability to internalize social, scientific and ethical values while evaluating legal information. | H | Participation,Project |
| 5) | The ability to recognize, examine and resolve legal issues with respect to general principles of law, de lege feranda and de lege lata; to take into consideration both national and international aspects of law; and to acknowledge the importance of personal conviction while making decisions. | S | Participation,Presentation |
| 6) | The ability to critically analyze legal disputes, legislation, court decisions and different views in the legal science; to form his/her own opinions; to detect legal lacuna and suggest alternative solutions. | H | Participation,Project |
| 7) | The ability to understand issues regarding different fields of law; to characterize and propose solutions to complex issues arising from legal practice. | H | Project |
| 8) | The ability to participate in and organize legal projects and activities as a socially responsible individual; to put his/her legal knowledge and skill to use efficiently (in the public or private sector). | H | Project |
| 9) | The ability to use a foreign language at least on a B2 Level on the European Language Portfolio, to follow legal developments and communicate with colleagues in that language; to use computer software and information and communication technologies necessary in the law field at an Advanced Level of the European Computer Driving License. | N | |
| 10) | Adoption of a positive approach to the concept of lifelong learning. | H | Participation,Project |
| 11) | The ability to understand the development, evolution, and problems of the society and to contribute to the solution of these problems by legal methods. | H | Participation,Project |
| 12) | The ability to understand the structure, organization, and functioning of law on the national and international level; to contribute to the development thereof. | H | Participation |
| Prepared by and Date | İPEK ÖZEL , November 2021 |
| Course Coordinator | İPEK ÖZEL |
| Semester | Spring,Fall |
| Name of Instructor | Öğr. Gör. İPEK ÖZEL |
| Week | Subject |
| 1) | Setting The Scene, Introduction & Welcome |
| 2) | Thinking About Thinking |
| 3) | Law, Legal culture and Essentials of Critical Thinking |
| 4) | Developing thinking for writing: Paper outline and overview |
| 5) | Neurology of Think: Systems 1 & 2, Heuristics, Barriers |
| 6) | The role of Alternative Thinking Schools in efficient thinking |
| 7) | Essentials Principles And Process Of Anaitical Thinking |
| 8) | Essentials Principles And Process Of Critical Thinking |
| 9) | Essentials Principles And Process Of Latheral Thinking |
| 10) | Midterm Presentations |
| 11) | Midterm Presentations |
| 12) | Argumentation Theory: How & Why People Argue |
| 13) | Collective Thinking Towards a wider democracy & Conflict Management |
| 14) | Review, Conclusions And Discussions |
| Required/Recommended Readings | - Real jurors' understanding of the law in real cases Authors Authors and affiliations by Alan Reifman Spencer M. Gusick Phoebe C. Ellsworth, - Minds on Trial: Great Cases in Law and Psychology by Charles Patrick Ewing and Joseph T. McCann, The Psychology of Judicial Decision Making , David E. Klein and Greg Mitchell, - Thinking: The New Science of Decision-Making, Problem-Solving, and Prediction by John Brockman, - The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking by Roman Tschäppeler and Mikael Krogerus,HBR's 10 Must Reads on Making Smart Decisions by Daniel Kahneman, Dan Lovallo, and Olivier Sibony, Sosyolojik Düşünmek - Zygmunt Bauman - Gut Feelings: Short Cuts to Better Decision Making Gerd Gigerenzer, - Thinking Skills: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving by John Butterworth (Author), Geoff Thwaites, - Lateral Thinking by Edward de Bono, - Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases by Daniel Kahneman, - Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment by Thomas Gilovich and Dale Griffin, - Thinking Like a Lawyer: A New Introduction to Legal Reasoning, Frederic Schauer, - The Language of Law School: Learning to "Think Like a Lawyer"-Elizabeth Mertz, - The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking about the Law -Ward Farnsworth Articles will also be provided at the end of each week. | |||||||||||||||
| Teaching Methods | Lecture & open class discussion | |||||||||||||||
| Homework and Projects | ||||||||||||||||
| Laboratory Work | ||||||||||||||||
| Computer Use | ||||||||||||||||
| Other Activities | ||||||||||||||||
| Assessment Methods |
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| Course Administration |
ozeli@mef.edu.tr E-Mail: ipekozel@gmail.com Rules for attendance: Attendance is mandatory. 80% attendance per University policy Late submissions: By approval only or with penalty Missing an exam: Per University policy |
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| Activity | No/Weeks | Hours | Calculation | ||||
| No/Weeks per Semester | Preparing for the Activity | Spent in the Activity Itself | Completing the Activity Requirements | ||||
| Course Hours | 14 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 70 | ||
| Laboratory | 14 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Presentations / Seminar | 3 | 7 | 1 | 24 | |||
| Total Workload | 94 | ||||||
| Total Workload/25 | 3.8 | ||||||
| ECTS | 4 | ||||||