Over the three years of the Thought and Creativity (PiC) course, students will be introduced to six major works from our literary and philosophical tradition, through a reading program aimed at the integral development of the individual. During the first year, the program will focus on ethics; during the second year, on anthropology; and during the third year, sociopolitical issues will be addressed.
These readings will offer students the opportunity of encountering fundamental problems of the human condition and with proposed solutions offered by our culture. Knowledge of the ideas that have shaped our world will allow students to approach the reality around them with greater resources for thinking and acting rigorously, since literary and philosophical examples will help them anticipate situations and problems they will encounter in their personal, professional, and civic lives. Thus, by drawing on cultural heritage, students will be able to freely shape their own thinking.
Upper-intermediate level of the language of instruction of the course.
The objective of the course will be to raise awareness, through texts, of fundamental human problems and to develop the ability to take an argued position, both orally and in writing.
The PiC course consists of two parts: Great Books and Social Action Internship. The Great Books sessions will be dedicated to reading and discussing selected readings and will be held on Thursdays. The Social Action Internship can be done throughout the course. These practices and the reflective work they entail are understood as putting into action the integral training of the person, and, in this sense, they try to raise awareness among La Salle Campus Barcelona students about the social needs of their immediate environment.
Great Books
1. Contextual and conceptual introduction to Seneca's Happy Life.
2. Reading and commentary sessions.
3. Practical analysis of a problem related to reading.
4. Basic structure of an argumentative text. Definition of the dilema and introduction to the thesis. Arguments in favor.
5. Contextual and conceptual introduction to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
6. Reading and commentary sessions.
7. Practical analysis of a problem related to reading.
8. Basic structure of an argumentative text. Counterarguments. Conclusion.
Social Action Internship
1. Internship
2. Reflection Video
Thought and Creativity will connect the texts worked on with current issues related to the student experience.
To this end, the Great Books sessions will be based on the methodology of reading and commenting on texts. This commented reading will be complemented by the Argumentation and Debate Workshop, based on the case study method and problem classes, which will encourage dialogue, cooperative work, and group reflection. Besides, following the practice of just-in-time teaching, the student will have to take notes (handwriting) in a notebook and read some texts at home in order to, once in class, think together about the practical problems raised by the works.
Regarding the Social Action Internship, students will have to carry out social commitment internships (40 hours), which can be of various types that will be specified at the beginning of the course.
The Thought and Creativity course follows a continuous assessment. It consists of two parts: Great Books and Social Action Internship (SDG’s Challenges).
Great Books carries a 70% share of the final grade, and the Social Action Internship carry a 30% share. However, to pass the entire course, you must have passed both parts. If you fail one of the two parts, your final grade will be a maximum of 4; if you fail one of the two parts, your final grade will be NP.
Great Books Evaluation
The Great Books assessment will primarily evaluate the student's ability to identify relevant issues or problems in the texts and to provide reasoned positions.
The score will be distributed in:
• Attendance and participation: 25% of the semester grade. Moderately significant activity.
o A roll call will be taken for each session. To achieve the highest grade for this section, regular attendance (fewer than three unexcused absences) and meaningful participation are required.
o The third unjustified absence will directly result in a 5 for this portion. The fourth unjustified absence will result in a 0 for this portion.
o The student will have to take notes (by hand) and keep track of the sessions in a notebook, which the teacher may request whenever he or she deems appropriate.
• Midterm Exam 1: 30% of the semester grade. Moderately significant activity.
o This will consist of a guided commentary with questions about a passage from the book in question. The argumentative quality and coherence of the writing will be assessed, as well as the acquisition of the content covered in class, the ability to identify the problem posed by the text, and the ability to present a reasoned position on the subject. This will take place in the regular classroom, mid-semester, and will last 50 minutes.
· Midterm Exam 2: 45% of the semester grade. Highly significant activity.
o It will consist of reading control questions and the writing of an argumentative text. Through this, students will have to take a position, using consistent arguments, on a problem related to both reading and the current world. The exam will be held in the regular classroom on the last day of class each semester.
If the student has any specific educational support needs (due to ADHD, dyslexia, etc.) and requires more time to complete an exercise, they must notify their tutor and provide proof of this in advance, and inform the PiC3 teacher at least fourteen days before the assessment activity. In this case, the teacher will offer 25% extra time.
The final grade for Great Books will be the average of the first and second semester grades (50% + 50%). To calculate the average, the final grade for each semester must be equal to or higher than 4, and to pass this part of Great Books, the final grade (average of the two semesters) must be equal to or higher than 5. Otherwise, the subject will be failed and the student will have to take the extraordinary evaluation. If the student's grade is lower than 4 in one of the two semesters, the final grade for Great Books cannot exceed 4.
The extraordinary assessment for Great Books will be held at the end of June. There will be two options: resit the entire course or just a semester (either the first or second). It will consist of a test held on the date set for the extraordinary examination, in which the same aspects as the two midterm exams each semester will be assessed.
Every student who has taken the exam under the correct conditions has the right to a review. For both regular and extraordinary exams, a review must always be requested within one week of the grade being published.
Social aCTION Internship Evaluation
· Grade from the supervisor of the entity where the social commitment internship was carried out (50%)
The supervisor will evaluate the degree to which the student has fulfilled the assigned tasks, their degree of commitment and their involvement in the project beyond the mere fulfillment of their basic obligations.
· Note from the video reflection delivered to the internship tutor (40%)
The video must have a clear and well-defined structure following the following points, which will be assessed as detailed below:
o Presentation: Name of the student, Entity and description of the tasks carried out.
o Reflection on the experience and explanation of the learning acquired. (50%)
o Explanation of how the internship has impacted them on a personal level and what they have contributed to the entity or community with which they have collaborated. (30%)
o Narrative: Logical structure and good oratory. (20%)
· PAS tutor's assessment grade (10%)
The PAS tutor will evaluate the student's participation and process in volunteering, assessing their involvement, personal evolution and reflection on the experience.
Midterm 1
MIDTERM EXAM 1 (10 POINTS) | ||||
INSUFFICIENT | SUFFICIENT | GOOD | EXCELLENT | Item |
Does not explain the required idea at all. | Refers to the idea, but in a mistaken, confused, or undeveloped way. | Explains the idea correctly, but incompletely or deviates at some point. | Contains a complete and well-adjusted explanation of the idea. | Overall explanation |
The word count is inadequate (+/- 30). | Deviates considerably from the required word count (+/- 20). | Approximates the required word count (+/- 10). | Uses the required word count. | Word count |
Language is poor, with many errors, unstructured: unintelligible. | Language is poor, with many errors and unstructured, but the meaning is understandable. | Language is considerably accurate, with appropriate concepts. | Language is grammatically and orthographically accurate, expressed with originality, with a rich and appropriate vocabulary. | Linguistic quality |
Clearly has not understood anything about the book. | Seems to know what the book is about. | Demonstrates knowledge of the book’s content. | Demonstrates having read and delved deeply into the book’s content. | Knowledge of the book |
Contradicts key interpretive elements discussed in class. | Makes no mention of what was discussed in class nor incorporates other references or sources. | Demonstrates awareness of what was discussed in class. | Coherently incorporates knowledge from class discussions or other sources. | Integration of other resources |
Midterm 2
MIDTERM EXAM 2: ARGUMENTATIVE TEXT (7 points) | ||||
INSUFFICIENT | SUFFICIENT | GOOD | EXCELLENT | Item |
Demonstrates not having understood the question and does not answer it. | Develops considerations about the question, but does not answer with a clear position. | Answers the question, but the response mostly drifts into secondary considerations. | Addresses the question directly and answers it adequately. | Response to the question |
The word count is inadequate (+/- 30). | Deviates considerably from the word count (+/- 20). | Approximates the required word count (+/- 10). | Uses the required word count. | Word count |
Does not provide any type of argument to justify their position. | Provides only one argument; the opposing position remains unjustified. | Provides at least one argument for and one against. | Provides several significant arguments for and against. | Number and quality of arguments |
Language is poor, with many errors, unstructured: unintelligible. | Language is poor, with many errors and unstructured, but the meaning is understandable. | Language is considerably accurate, with appropriate concepts. | Language is grammatically and orthographically accurate, expressed with originality, with a rich and appropriate vocabulary. | Linguistic quality |
Clearly has not understood anything about the book. | Seems to know what the book is about. | Demonstrates knowledge of the book’s content. | Demonstrates having read and delved deeply into the book’s content. | Knowledge of the book |
Contradicts key interpretive elements discussed in class. | Makes no mention of what was discussed in class nor incorporates other references or sources. | Demonstrates awareness of what was discussed in class. | Coherently incorporates knowledge from class discussions or other sources. | Integration of other resources |
· Seneca, Dialogues and Essays. Translated by John Davie and Edited by Tobias Reinhardt (2008).
· Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (The Originals)Paperback (2018).
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