Category: Teaching
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Laptops in Classrooms Revisited
Nearly two years ago, prompted by a Columbia professor’s decision to ban laptops in his classes, we discussed classroom computer and phone policies. The…
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Philosophy of Science Undergrad Summer Program
The Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh will be hosting a summer program in philosophy of science for undergraduate students from underrepresented…
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Encouraging Your Promising Students To Take Another Philosophy Course
This is a good idea: Every semester, about this time, I identify students in my intro classes who are doing reasonably well, seem interested…
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Why Women Choose To Continue Studying Philosophy — Or Not
Two attitudes help explain why some women choose to not continue studying philosophy, according to research recently published in Analysis.
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Converting One-Time Philosophy Students Into Repeat Enrollees
A philosophy professor writes: Our department is thinking about ways we can convert students who take one class for accidental reasons (it fulfills a…
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A Philosophy Course Based On Consensus, Not Conflict
In introductory college courses in the sciences and social sciences, and even some humanities disciplines like history, the material taught largely consists of basic…
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How To Use Recitation/Discussion Sections
Many college course have meetings of recitation or discussion sections in addition to the course lectures which are sometimes run by the professor, sometimes…
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Custom Student Evaluations Of Teaching
Maybe, just maybe, if more of the comments on our student evaluations looked like the following, they’d be worth it:
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White Supremacists, Charlottesville, and the Philosophy Classroom
Racist violence has been a defining feature of the United States since its creation. One risk of focusing on highly visible instances of racist violence,…
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How Will You Try To Improve Your Teaching?
Hello, fellow academics, it’s August 1st, the date that indicates the summer is, sadly, soon over. Amidst the scramble to meet deadlines and knock items…
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Should Philosophers Teach the Meaning of Life (and other Possibly Depressing Subjects)?
If there’s a question that comes to mind when people see the word “philosophy” it’s this: “what’s the meaning of life?”
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Skepticism About Philosophy’s Capacity To Improve Thinking
Philosophy departments often include in their pitch to undergraduates the claim that studying philosophy can improve one’s thinking skills. But does it?
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How To Structure A Philosophy Major
What should the curriculum of a philosophy major look like? Specific answers will vary across different types of schools, but perhaps at some level…
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Teaching Controversial Topics In High School Philosophy
Last summer, Landon Hedrick, a PhD student at the University of Nebraska who, while working on his dissertation, teaches philosophy at the Vanguard Classical…
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Learning Through Teaching
Well, given my background I knew virtually no philosophy. So I have taught myself most of the philosophy I know by teaching it. If…
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An Impressively Detailed Philosophy Paper Grading Rubric
Micah T. Lewin, a recent PhD from Stanford who is currently an adjunct professor of philosophy at Perimeter College, Georgia State University, has created…
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Never Trained How To Teach
I was never trained or advised how to teach. I just imitated what I liked about my own teachers… Once I said in a…
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Favorite Teaching Experiences 2016-17
The school year is wrapped up at some places, and about to be wrapped up at others. We could use some positive vibes around…
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An “Open Textbook” for Introduction to Philosophy (guest post by Christina Hendricks)
The following is a guest post* by Christina Hendricks, Professor of Teaching in the Department of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, about…
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Is Philosophy Really The 89th Most Popular Major? Update: No
A site called Match College lists philosophy as the 89th most popular major. It comes in just after “Baking and Pastry” and “Respiratory Therapy,”…