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My teaching
philosophy consists in two general beliefs about education and
philosophy, and three core beliefs concerning teaching philosophy
effectively.
It is perhaps idealistic, but in
addition to food, water, and shelter, a good education is vital to
life. This is not in the sense that one must learn reading,
writing, and mathematics in order to have any chance of navigating
society. Rather, a good education is vital for the flourishing of
the whole person and the whole society.
It is in regard to
this flourishing of the whole person (and society) that philosophy’s
role is central to a good education. As is often pointed out, as
educators we should not be teaching others what but rather
how to think critically about the world, themselves, their place
in it, and the barrage of information received daily. Among other
things, it is these critical habits of thought for which a
philosophical education aims.
However, philosophy goes above and beyond
“mere” critical thinking. Each of us is inherently limited in his
or her personal experiences and by his or her social and historical
context. The history of philosophy allows us to transcend these
limitations. For example, whether one grows up within a
Judeo-Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist culture, Aristotle’s
Nichomachean Ethics allows for a wonderful change of perspective
on ethics and the good life. Plato, Aquinas, Hume, Kant, Mill, et
al., all give us a rich variety of ways to see the world and
ourselves.
Given the importance of education and
philosophy, the hard part is, of course, being an effective teacher,
mentor, and role model. Though welcome, it is a challenge to teach
students from diverse backgrounds—backgrounds often different from
one’s own—how to think critically and to appreciate, if not love,
the possibilities that await them in reading, thinking, and writing
about philosophy. This is made even more difficult since the
opportunity to engage with students is limited to such a brief
period of time in their lives. Nevertheless, with enthusiasm, the
use of student centered teaching methods, and regular, active
writing, we can have an impact in the course of a single term. Let
me explain.
My students’
positive feedback and my own experience as a student have made it
exceedingly clear how important enthusiasm is. Students thrive off
of your enthusiasm. I love philosophy. I love reading it, thinking
about it, writing it, talking about it, and teaching it. One of the
most exciting things about teaching—aside from awakening students to
the joys of philosophy—is the sheer amount that I learn. Either a
student asks a question that frames the material in a different
light, or in the midst of teaching I suddenly see something that I
had not seen before.
Enthusiasm is important in teaching but also in
the students’ approach to philosophy. A key to awakening their
enthusiasm is to get them to see the relevancy of philosophy to
their lives. Answers to questions concerning the existence of God,
the soul, the nature of the mind, the subjective, relative, or
absolute nature of ethics, the relationship between religion and
ethics, etc., all have important implications for our lives. Upon
realizing that some form of physicalism has important implications
concerning the possibility of an afterlife, students naturally
engage at a deeper level with the issues involved in the mind-body
problem.
While simply
standing in front of a class and lecturing may be “easy” for me, not
all students learn effectively from lecturing alone. In rousing my
students to philosophy, I incorporate not only lecture and
discussion, but also group work and short, in-class writing
assignments in which the students think and write about a question I
pose to them so that we can better discuss it. It is very effective
to break up a single class period into different activities. For
instance, when reading J.L. Mackie’s “Evil and Omnipotence” in which
he considers and rejects four different attempts to solve the
problem of evil, I lay out the general problem and then break my
students into groups. I assign to each group the task of either
explaining one of the four attempted solutions or Mackie’s reason’s
for rejecting them. The students respond well and it results in
much more participation from everyone after we come back together as
a class.
It has also proven
helpful to engage my students’ senses in different ways. For
example, I incorporate visual explanations and examples other than
the written word as often as possible. One of my favorite things to
do when teaching Hume’s problem of induction is to bring in an
object with which the students are unfamiliar. I use an old,
handheld slide viewer that is essentially a strange looking small,
red box. They do not know what it is or what it does just from
looking at it and holding it in their hands. This helps to
illustrate the idea that our knowledge of cause and effect relations
is a posteriori.
Because not all students
learn at the same rate, I make a point regularly to encourage
students who are having trouble or who require more time to come to
my office hours. And I make sure they know that I’m available at
other times by appointment. I also utilize the online course
management software provided by the University of Iowa to address
their questions and concerns, and to encourage discussion between
students outside of class. Ensuring that the students feel
comfortable both answering my questions and asking questions of
their own is critical. Students must not be made to feel stupid,
nor can the instructor allow anyone to intimidate or belittle their
fellow students.
Many students
entering higher education are neither effective readers nor
effective writers. The latter is particularly the case when it
comes to writing an argumentative essay. Being able to write a
well-crafted argumentative essay is not only important in it itself,
but it is also indicative of a student’s ability to formulate clear
and critical thoughts. As teachers and scholars, we know how much
learning takes place while researching and writing. Because of
this, I emphasize writing in my philosophy courses (Introductory
logic courses are a possible exception). I have experimented with
different methods and I have found that regular, short writing
assignments are effective in both honing their writing skills and
getting students to engage a deeper level with readings. As the
course progresses, the short writing assignments go from being
merely summaries to requiring evaluation of the arguments found in
the texts.
In the end,
whether I am an effective teacher depends on the students’ coming
away from what may very well be their only philosophy class with a
better understanding of philosophy and how philosophy can positively
affect and even change their lives. In the four years I have taught
Principles of Reasoning and other introductory philosophy
courses, I have concentrated on helping my students achieve these
goals. I have experimented with different ways of structuring the
course and a variety of teaching methods, and I have spoken with
colleagues about their successes and failures. From student
evaluations, conversations during office hours, class participation,
and improvement in my students’ writing abilities, I have found that
my approach to teaching philosophy is effective. I eagerly await
new opportunities to put it into practice and to refine it further.
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