Teaching

Philosophy does not happen in classrooms only. It happens in all sorts of spaces and contexts. As a professor I try to guide students to realize that a lot of what they deal with and encounter in their daily lives is philosophical. For instance, learning about Hume’s and others’ views of causation teaches them to be sensitive to the nuances of different solutions (association theory vs occasionalism) to a problem (what is causation). This also gives them tools to develop their own stance on an issue. In the classroom, I try to help them get to this point via engagement and metacognitive practices. 

The assignments and techniques I provide facilitate these two things. I have students complete multiple tasks in a structured way. First, they begin with written assignments (“H.W. Worksheets” and then “Reader Responses”) and small discussion, which eventually gives them working knowledge to do group presentations and longer essays as well as have larger in-class discussions with guest speakers. I assign a short ungraded writing prompt (When Hobbes said X, how do your interpret this claim, and do you agree, disagree, or suspend judgement, why?) for attendance as a way of preparing for class topics. This is where part of the self-reflection occurs with respect to their own learning of certain ideas. This is dovetailed with a broader, weekly question of the day on an online forum, and for which they provide additional relevant media. 

I make it a point to do one group activity everyday in my class: fill-in philosophy charts, restructure an argument, a class debate, a three minute thesis spiel, a role-playing game, jeopardy, and more. I found that students appreciate this since it fosters a lively class energy. Feel free to reach out for copies of slides, assignment templates, and more.

Pictures:

1. A slide on crucial experiments.

2.  Early Modern Philosophy Jeopardy! 

3.  Fill-in philosophy chart in feminist epistemology. 

4.  Formalization of an argument with an objection by a group of students.