teaching
What Do Experiments in Philosophy Teaching Look Like? (guest post)
“There is room to think creatively about how to improve learning and love of philosophy via innovation in pedagogy.” (more…)
Teaching Philosophy in a World with ChatGPT
“It will be difficult to make an entire class completely ChatGPT cheatproof. But we can at least make it harder for students to use it to cheat.” (I’m reposting this to encourage those teaching philosophy courses to share what they are doing differently this semester so as to teach effectively in a world in which their students have access to ChatGPT. It was origina..
AI, Teaching, and “Our Willingness to Give Bullshit a Pass”
There has been a fair amount of concern over the threats that ChatGPT and AI in general pose to teaching. But perhaps there’s an upside? (more…)
Teaching Hume and His Racism
“Whenever someone claims that we should not mention Hume’s racism because he was a product of his time we should commit that argument ‘to the flames: for it contain nothing but sophistry and illusion.'” (more…)
Philosophy Teaching & Learning Materials on Professors’ Websites
Individual philosophy instructors often post publicly available resources for students on their websites. Here’s a place to share them. (more…)
Teaching and Writing About Abortion in Idaho (and elsewhere?)
“Academic freedom is not a defense to violation of law, and faculty or others in charge of classroom topics and discussion must themselves remain neutral on the topic and cannot conduct or engage in discussions in violation of these prohibitions without risking prosecution.” (more…)
Conversation Starter: Teaching Philosophy in an Age of Large Language Models (guest post)
Over the past few years we have seen some startling progress from Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT-3, and some of those paying attention to these developments, such as philosopher John Symons (University of Kansas), believe that they pose an imminent threat to teaching and learning (for those who missed its inclusion in the Heap of Links earlier this summer, yo..
Philosopher Wins State-Wide Teaching Award in Texas
Manuela Alejandra Gomez, professor of philosophy at El Paso Community College (EPCC), was named a 2022 Piper Professor, an honor bestowed by the government of Texas to recognize excellence in teaching. (more…)
Some Results from the Teaching Philosophy Online Survey
Recently, Thomas Nadelhoffer (Charleston) conducted a survey of those who had taught philosophy courses online over the past year. What did he learn? (more…)
Teaching Philosophy Online: A Survey
The COVID-19 pandemic has given us a lot of experience with online teaching. What lessons are to be learned from it for online teaching in the future? (more…)
Teaching Philosophy as a Way of Life (guest post)
The following is a guest post* by Stephen Angle, Steven Horst, and Tushar Irani, philosophy professors at Wesleyan University, about their team-taught course, “Living a Good Life” which was featured in The New York Times earlier this year, and about the idea of teaching “philosophy as a way of life.” (more…)
Bad Arguments Against Teaching Chinese Philosophy
“ME: Have you considered teaching Chinese philosophy in your department?
COLLEAGUE: Philosophy is by definition the tradition that goes back to Greece…” (more…)
Tenured & Tenure-Track Profs: Take the Summer Off from Teaching (guest post by Ted Shear)
In the following guest post*, Ted Shear, lecturer in philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder, suggests a way that those with secure positions in academia can help out their more vulnerable colleagues during this time of increased economic insecurity. (more…)
Tips for Teaching Online Synchronous Courses
Many of us will be teaching online synchronous courses this term, and some of us have already begun. What have you learned about doing so that you think others might benefit from knowing? And what do you want to know about it? (more…)
Hybrid & Online Teaching: Four Helpful Workshops
Julia Staffel, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Zak Kopeikin, a new graduate of the PhD program there, recently conducted four online workshops on hybrid and online teaching, sharing what they know about online teaching strategies and technology to save others the time and trouble of researching and figuring out various o..
Uncovering A New Approach to Teaching Philosophy Texts (guest post)
“Texts can be challenging in multiple ways, some more useful than others…” (more…)
COVID-19 and Teaching Evaluations
The abrupt transition to online teaching, the hasty reorganization or course schedules in light of cancelled classes, and the move to pass/fail grading options characteristic of many schools’ responses to the pandemic will likely affect students opinions of the courses they’re taking and the instructors teaching them. (more…)
Having Fun Teaching Philosophy Online? Christina Van Dyke Is.
Christina Van Dyke, professor of philosophy at Calvin College, like many of us, had to move her courses online. She has been teaching her students Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics lately, posting videos online for her students to watch. But she’s not content to record a lecture over slides. (more…)
A Second “Teaching Philosophy Online” Session
Ian Schnee and Paul Franco, philosophers at the University of Washington who ran a videoconference session last week about teaching philosophy courses online, are hosting a second one this Wednesday. (more…)
Teaching Philosophy to High Schoolers Stuck at Home
With K-12 students across the world at home instead of school, and with school districts varying in how they are educating them under these circumstances, some parents are taking it upon themselves to supplement their children’s education. (more…)
“Teaching Philosophy Online” Sessions
Ian Schnee and Paul Franco, philosophers at the University of Washington have organized a series of online sessions to help those who are looking for suggestions and guidance about teaching their philosophy courses online. (more…)
Concerns About The Sudden Move To Online Teaching
As some schools are now responding to the spread of the coronavirus by cancelling in-person classes and replacing them with online teaching, faculty are beginning to voice concerns. (more…)
Sandra Dwyer & Claire Katz Recognized for Excellence in Teaching
Sandra Dwyer, principal senior lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at Georgia State University, and Claire Katz, Associate Dean of Faculties, the Murray and Celeste Fasken Chair in Distinguished Teaching in the Liberal Arts, and a Professor of Philosophy at Texas A&M University, are the winners of the 2019 Prize for Excellence in Philosophy Teaching. (more…)..
A Collection of Stories for Teaching Ethics
Luc Bovens, professor of philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has created a website that gathers together and organizes various “short stories in world literature by both classical and contemporary writers” that may be useful in teaching a range of questions in ethics and social and political philosophy. (more…)
Teaching Students How To Ask Philosophical Questions
“Question asking… is a skill all-too-often undervalued in philosophy pedagogy and philosophy pedagogy research”
A Plea for More Teaching Apprenticeships (guest post by Mercy Corredor)
“Working for an instructor is worlds apart from working with an instructor with the aim of learning about the practice of teaching.” (more…)
What You Wish You Knew When You Started Teaching Philosophy
The fall term is almost upon us, so let’s talk teaching.
Teaching-Focused Philosophy PhD Programs
Which philosophy PhD programs focus on training students to teach and getting them placed into permanent teaching-oriented jobs (with some success)? (more…)