Teaching
I approach teaching as a sympathetic collaborator. Everyone in the classroom is a student, I have simply traveled farther in my education than the others at this point. The philosophical and intellectual issues we discuss are problems that face all of us as learners. Undertaking this collaborative approach, I liken my teaching role to that of a navigator. I can help the students know which direction to go, if they are headed the wrong way, and more effective routes to take, but ultimately they are in control of their own destination. I hold the map, but they steer the ship.
This approach is motivated by two learning objectives: that my students develop a sense of ownership over their education and that they acquire a philosophical attitude. My hope is that students leave my courses with the tools to pursue life-long learning and a critical, non-dogmatic, approach to ideas, respecting the need for reasons and evidence. While these objectives are applicable to most aspects of one’s education, philosophy in particular is well suited to achieving these goals.
This approach is motivated by two learning objectives: that my students develop a sense of ownership over their education and that they acquire a philosophical attitude. My hope is that students leave my courses with the tools to pursue life-long learning and a critical, non-dogmatic, approach to ideas, respecting the need for reasons and evidence. While these objectives are applicable to most aspects of one’s education, philosophy in particular is well suited to achieving these goals.
Courses
Courses
University of Regina
- PHIL 100 - Introduction to Philosophy
- PHIL 150 - Critical Thinking
- PHIL 272 - Contemporary Moral Issues
McMaster University
- PHL 4/6D03 - Metaphilosophy in 20th Century Analytic Philosophy
University of Rochester
- WRT 105 - Science in a Democracy