Teaching Philosophy, Misc

DRAFT The prestige of an academic institution may be determined as a function of affiliations with other academic institutions. Using digital tools to data-scrape, data-mine, and perform network analysis on university websites, an approximation of numbers of academic affiliations may be measured. Especially observing the alma mater institutions of the faculty of employed institutions, these numbers show the relative employment of alumni and a proxy metric for the relative prestige of their degree-granting institutions. These affiliations can be charted and graphed (...) to determine the distributions of affiliations throughout an academic ecosystem from which we might draw conclusions about that system’s hierarchies and inequalities. Here we use anglophone PhD-granting philosophy departments as a case study for this methodology with tentative conclusions. (shrink)

The development and ubiquitous availability of large language model based systems (LLMs) poses a plurality of potentials and risks for education in schools and universities. In this paper, we provide an analysis and discussion of the overreliance concern as one specific risk: that students might fail to acquire important capacities, or be inhibited in the acquisition of these capacities, because they overly rely on LLMs. We use the distinction between global and local goals of education to guide our investigation. In (...) our view, the harm of LLM overreliance is specifically that it severs the connection between local educational goals (e.g., solving a specific math problem) and global educational goals (e.g., acquiring general skills for mathematics). Based on this analysis, we sketch three possible responses to the overreliance concern: preserving the educational goals while distinguishing admissible from inadmissible uses of LLMs (a conservative approach), changing global and local educational goals (a revisionary perspective), and preserving global educational goals while changing local goals (an in-between view). Since different types of responses have different benefits and weaknesses, we think that it is likely that an optimal response ultimately combines elements from all three types. (shrink)

I received a mental disorder diagnosis from North Manchester hospital in October 2023. In January 2024, I strangely wanted to work again at the university. I applied for some administration jobs: there are lots and they are all much the same in requirements. I improved my applications and around April 2024, I began to crack the system. Between April and the July, I got three interviews: all in science faculties. I put my disability on the applications. (I doubt I have (...) one, so of course I wouldn't do that now.) I also got many rejections despite using the same application and there being a compulsory interview scheme given my "disability." I am worried this system is simply not consistent. (1) If one faculty interviews because of the disability compulsory interview requirement, they all should. (2) One faculty interviews because of this. Therefore (by modus ponens): (3) they all should. I am not sure if premise (2) is true, but I suspect it is: my only admin experience is from being a TA. (I had three interviews early this year with businesses without any disability scheme though, and one last year. I don't apply continuously.) Some other interesting information. In my first interview, there was a test which I found very difficult. You had to order an intray fast. Also the test has an Excel component. I prepared for a whole week beforehand for the Excel part and got exercises to do from my friend. I scored well on the test and I think there should always be a test: if you don't have a lot of experience, doing well is a great boost and you can refer to the test elsewhere and it prompts you to do an Excel test on Indeed and you feel the process is fairer than just a chat. In future interviews, almost everyone said Excel skills are useful. In my second interview, I was asked, "How are you going to motivate yourself to do this job, because it is BORING?" My third interview was online. I don't have Internet at home, because its absence ensures that I read books, clean up, etc. I notified the panel but they had no solution for me. So I had to just go into a university building, "illegitimately.". (shrink)

Let's take "On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme" as an example. I guess it is not written for someone like you, despite how good at philosophy you are, all your family are, etc. It is written for two kinds of reader. One is highly sensitive to the text's structure and wording (and even literary value), and likely has a degree from Oxford University, such as P.M.S. Hacker or H.J. Glock. The other is not very sensitive at all. They (...) read some of the paper and register that Davidson is attacking an anthropologist claiming that others have an alien conceptual system, and then they take such claims as Davidson's main target. They read on for pages until they encounter talk of radical interpretation. "Finally, Davidson is going to apply his system to attack his target," they think. They register Davidson's claim that the radical interpreter cannot interpret others as having an alien conceptual system. Then, having noticed these things, they make a reasonable guess at his argument. "He is saying that if we cannot verify that others have such a system, then they don't!" (The specific location of the radical interpreter material in the structure of the paper is ignored.). (shrink)

This a draft of a critical thinking textbook I wrote as an adjunct. I thought I would make it available for others.

In this essay, I am going to explain how my moral intuitions are engaged with my beloved fictions: The Lifecyle of software objects (Ted Chiang, 2010); Wild Wise Weird: The Kingfisher stories collection (Vuong, 2024), The three-body problem (Liu Cixin, 2014). Indeed, stories move us and deepen our understanding of what it means to be human, and great story-tellers achieve what even the greatest philosophers aspire to: making us reflect on our shared humanity.

This story reproduces “The Perfect Plan” in the fiction title Wild Wise Weird, written by Professor Quan-Hoang Vuong with his permission. Prof. Vuong ’s other nonfiction title is Meandering Sobriety.

Sometimes philosophers have been misunderstood. It could be because the philosopher's communication was vague. It could also be because the philosopher didn't use Ockham's razor and multiplied terms unnecessarily forcing reviewers to impose the razor, with the result that what needs to be cut is not cut and what was essential is taken out of the equation. This article cites two cases, one of the Indian thinker M.M. Thomas and other of Peter Van Inwagen, who claimed that their thoughts were (...) misrepresented by some other well known thinker. (shrink)

(This is for the Cambridge Handbook of Analytic Philosophy, edited by Marcus Rossberg) In this handbook entry, I survey the different ways in which formal mathematical methods have been applied to philosophical questions throughout the history of analytic philosophy. I consider: formalization in symbolic logic, with examples such as Aquinas’ third way and Anselm’s ontological argument; Bayesian confirmation theory, with examples such as the fine-tuning argument for God and the paradox of the ravens; foundations of mathematics, with examples such as (...) Hilbert’s programme and Gödel’s incompleteness theorems; social choice theory, with examples such as Condorcet’s paradox and Arrow’s theorem; ‘how possibly’ results, with examples such as Condorcet’s jury theorem and recent work on intersectionality theory; and the application of advanced mathematics in philosophy, with examples such as accuracy-first epistemology. (shrink)

This is a guide to writing philosophy papers aimed at introductory students prepared by the philosophy faculty at Rochester Community and Technical College. It includes sections on reading philosophy and writing philosophy, as well as an explanation of common grading criteria for essays in philosophy.

Zahra Thani & Derek Anderson ABSTRACT: Third-order exclusion is a form of epistemic oppression in which the epistemic lifeway of a dominant group disrupts the epistemic agency of members of marginalized groups. In this paper we apply situated perspectives in order to argue that philosophy as a discipline imposes third-order exclusions on members of marginalized ….

There are many commonalities between the framework of roleplaying games such as Dungeons & Dragons and the way in which we design classes and assignments. The professor (the dungeon master) selects a number of readings with some end goal in mind (the campaign). Along the way the students are expected to be active participants (roleplay) and the professor designs progressively harder assignments (quests) in order to test the students’ abilities and to promote learning and growth (leveling up). This structural analogy (...) prompted me to investigate how such a framework could be implemented more explicitly in a class, and in this chapter I describe how I did so. (shrink)

In recent years, there has been an increase in initiatives aimed at making professional philosophy more accessible to, and inclusive of, practitioners from diverse backgrounds. One important aspect of identity that often gets overlooked, or is at least much less discussed, is the experience of pursuing a degree in philosophy as someone from a first-generation and/or low-income background. Drawing upon a diverse range of personal reflections from philosophers from non-traditional class backgrounds, we first highlight the unique barriers and challenges that (...) such philosophers often encounter, as well as the crucially important perspectives and insights that such students can bring to our philosophy classes and academic communities. We also offer a range of preliminary guidelines and suggestions—things we can do in the classroom as educators, as well as policy-level changes at the institutional level—for how to better support first-generation and low-income students. (shrink)

Shoot From The Hip - Professional Intuition In Decision-Making -/- Why do eighty percent of decision-makers say that they use intuition often or very often in their decision-making? What is intuition? How does it function? How can we achieve becoming more intuitive? How can we apply it in understanding the world and making more ethical decisions?

Abstract: -/- We present a teaching activity, whose aim is to enhance students’ understanding of color perception by introducing them to intersubjective color variations among normal perceivers. The approach can be used in different disciplines, including biology, philosophy, psychology, physics, or statistics, for different purposes and with college students having various levels of sophistication and scientific training.

In light of the acquisitiveness, the imperialism, and social hierarchies of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Dewey claims that a new psychology of human nature is required, and that education is the most effective and organized way to bring about this change. In this chapter McBride suggests that Dewey proffers insights into the ways in which impulses, habitual conduct, and social institutions condition and circumscribe the dominant mode of being human (and the ordering principles that enjoin the relations therein). (...) McBride maintains that these Deweyan insights may be helpful in changing the way we conceive human nature. While Dewey himself was not concerned with the reach and effect of Euroamerican techno-industrial coloniality, McBride believes that these particular Deweyan insights could potentially help us to conceive an education-based path toward a decolonial anthropos (human being). (shrink)

Writing philosophy well is an essential skill in our discipline. Philosophical writing must aim for clarity, precision, and rigor, but in doing so, it can often wind up dry, long-winded and boring. It can take many drafts to produce a paper that is suitable for publication in a journal, and many aspiring (and accomplished!) academic philosophers find the process of writing arduous and frustrating. Still, some people make it look easy – if you’ve read anything by Alan Hájek, you’ve probably (...) noticed his breezy style that effortlessly communicates complex ideas in simple terms. His concise and witty prose makes even formal epistemology, a notoriously complicated, math-heavy subject, accessible and engaging to readers. However, while it might look effortless, Hájek’s spirited style is in fact born out of deep and thoughtful engagement with the craft of writing. His motto is: “Work hard for your readers, so that they don’t have to.” Hájek’s approach is decidedly anti-genius: he believes that having good ideas and communicating them well can be taught, and he has devoted considerable energy to helping his graduate students improve their writing. He has written multiple articles about philosophical creativity, as well as an unpublished lengthy manuscript on the mechanics of writing. I have benefited myself from his advice – at least I believe I have, readers may judge for themselves. My aim in this article is to share a few of his insights that I have found most helpful for myself and for my students. I won’t try to summarize all of Hájek’s advice, and I also don’t claim that all of this is totally new. Rather, I will offer a small collection of greatest hits. I will cover eight aspects of philosophical writing, and for each one, I will explain the basic idea, and then discuss some ways of implementing it for oneself and one’s students. (shrink)

FREE to download my New Book . https://www.academia.edu/31495642/_Meta-Philosophy_Meta-Cognition_and_Critique_of_Doing_Philosophizi ng am in the top 0.5% of Academic Publications on Academia.Edu and belong to a group of Academic giving our work for FREE as Commercial Publishers change too much for books. My new book is HERE for download: https://www.academia.edu/31495642/_Meta-Philosophy_Meta-Cognition_and_Critique_of_Doing_Philosophizi ng Abstract So far in my books and articles I have dealt with the following‭ (‬I hope I do not commit self-plagiarism by referring to my previous work and ideas expressed therein‭! ‬Lol‭)‬: -/- My own (...) discussions or‭ ‘‬philosophizing‭’ ‬follow right at the end after the numerous and very lengthy quotes from philosophers.‭ ‬The nature of the subject-matter of philosophy,‭ ‬the methodology,‭ ‬methods,‭ ‬techniques and tools of doing philosophy or philosophizing,‭ ‬the nature of the different steps or stages of the process/es of theorizing,‭ ‬the fact that doing philosophy are some of the stages of theorizing,‭ ‬the fact that philosophers lack meta-cognition and/or meta-reflection of these things.‭ ‬If they had awareness of what and how they are doing philosophy they might not become involved in quibbling over concepts and the differentiations of these concepts.‭ ‬It is as if philosophers are blind to what they are doing and have been doing for thousands of years,‭ ‬with the result that they continue repeating the same thing‭ – ‬arguing with words over the use of words and in the process creating more and more‭ –‬isms.‭ ‬They are seemingly unable to escape from such‭ –‬isms and their implications.‭ ‬Instead of getting or going anywhere they way they conceive‭ (‬of‭) ‬problems and express their questions they end up with conceiving of notions that cannot be solved or dissolved.‭ ‬They enclose themselves in an insular world or bubble of their own making,‭ ‬compared to sciences investigating humans and the different features and systems of the human body who find irrelevant the problems that philosophers have with things such as the brain,‭ ‬cognition,‭ ‬mind,‭ ‬consciousness,‭ ‬perception,‭ ‬thinking,‭ ‬etc.‭ ‬Sciences deal with these things on many levels and multi-dimensional while philosophers try to restrict them to a single level in one dimension by their words and the way they use those words.‭ ‬Consequently they lose sight of their objects and are unable to question them or express questions about them in a meaningful manner. -/- In my articles and books on the subject-matter I dealt with the traditional branches of philosophy and that with the differentiation of other disciplines and discourses the discourse of philosophy lost subject-matter.‭ ‬I mentioned newer areas of‭ ‘‬philosophy‭’‬,‭ ‬such as X-Phi,‭ ‬Philosophy’s interdisciplinary involvement in for example cognitive sciences,‭ ‬that there exists a philosophy of every discipline possible‭ (‬eg philosophy of science,‭ ‬art,‭ ‬music,‭ ‬sport,‭ ‬social sciences,‭ ‬etc‭)‬,‭ ‬that discourses such as Logic,‭ ‬Critical Thinking,‭ ‬Argumentation and argument maps,‭ ‬Reasoning,‭ ‬etc are relevant to and employed by many if not all disciplines and many discourses and are not uniquely subject-matter of the discourse of philosophy and does not have to form part of or be taught as subject-matter of philosophy. -/- I identified and discussed the methodology,‭ ‬methods,‭ ‬techniques and tools of doing philosophy and some underlying or implicit transcendentals such as pre-suppositions,‭ ‬suppositions and assumptions.‭ ‬I explore the nature of the different features,‭ ‬aspects,‭ ‬characteristics,‭ ‬steps and stages of the processes of theorizing.‭ ‬I showed that doing philosophy or philosophizing employ and/or consist of some of these features,‭ ‬steps and stages of theorizing. -/- As I involuntary have‭ (‬am‭)‬,‭ ‬seemingly endless‭ (‬a stream of consciousness like‭) ‬philosophically-‭ (‬question or problem and insight‭) ‬related‭ ‘‬intuitions‭’‬,‭ ‬it is difficult,‭ ‬painful and frustrating to me for that to be interrupted by social interaction,‭ ‬talking to people,‭ ‬phones,‭ ‬executing all sorts of‭ ‬mundane activities,‭ ‬etc.‭ ‬To understand or cope with this‭ ‘‬mental state‭’ ‬is one of the reasons why I need to explore meta-cognition or thinking about thinking,‭ ‬especially one’s own thinking and related‭ ‘‬activities‭’‬. (shrink)

Conceptual understanding is essential to learn physics principles, for this it is advisable to develop a method of thinking. The Case Method can develop it hence the objectives of research: test the viability of implementing Rational Thought and the Case Metod in classrooms and answer the questions: how does rational thought modify in students conceptualization? and how the Case Method modifies their thinking scheme for learning disciplinary principles? The first stage consisted of theoretically basing classical pedagogy, with the rational thought (...) of ancient Greece and its derivation in scientific thought. For test design, an interaction matrix is proposed to order and interpret data that reflect the level of conceptualization, according to types of structured thought: logical, methodical and narrative; For each type of thought, dimensions of content, purpose and structure are evaluated. In the second stage implement the method with the IGBE model imply: individual activity, Case reading; focus group; plenary; anecdotal log; evaluation judges dimensions understanding; diagnostic surveys and verification of experimental and control groups. The results of first stage: methodological, theoretical and test design foundations were achieved supported by preliminary conclusions. Secondly when implementing the method, the judges evaluated plenary discussion with high levels of understanding. When evaluating logs, the results showed medium and high levels. When implementing diagnostic surveys, similar levels of preconceptions were observed in both groups. When comparing results from verification surveys, higher levels of understanding were observed in the experimental group than in the control group; The method favorably impacts understanding through dialogic socialization. (shrink)

The Research objective is to test the viability of implementing the Socratic method as an ancient classical pedagogy, especially to develop inductive learning and structured rational thinking to learn disciplinary principles by studying an engineering Case. For this, the current theoretical foundations were established and the IGAA model was implemented by applying the Socratic method, with the following activities: individual Case reading; focal groups; plenary; anecdotal logs; assessment by judges of the dimensions of learning; diagnostic surveys and verification of the (...) experimental and control group. The results when implementing the method were: the judges evaluated discussion in plenary, with high levels of learning. When evaluating logs, the results showed medium and high levels. When implementing diagnostic surveys, similar levels of preconceptions were observed in both groups. When comparing results of verification surveys, higher levels of learning were observed in the experimental group than in the control group; the Socrative method favorably impacts learning through dialogic socialization, narrative construction and development of logical, methodical and reflective thinking when carrying out induction work and analysis of the portion of reality under study. Finally, the principal question was answered ¿How does the Socrative method help the development of didactics to learn physics principles? allowing the teacher to teach and the student to build knowledge; However, the method is rarely used in physics and engineering learning. (shrink)

Designing Engineering Cases contributes to learning Physics principles. This involves a method derived from Structured Rational Thinking. The research objectives were: analyze the design process of the Case by the SRJU model: structure, review, judges validation, students evaluation, with the dimensions of: clarity, coherence, relevance, sufficiency. It was described the relationship of rational thinking with the SRJU model. The first stage consisted of theoretically basing pedagogy related with rational thought of ancient Greece; Secondly, was developed the test design through an (...) interaction matrix for order and interpret data that reflect level of conceptualization, according to types of structured thought: logical, methodical, narrative; For each type, dimensions of content, purpose and structure are evaluated, through an essay of the designed Case and Socratic dialogue implemented; with a sample of a control and experimental group of 45 students. To measure the impact of understanding, three levels considered: little, moderate and a lot; each level related to a type of rational thinking with its dimensions, coded with an ordinal scale from 1 to 3. A summary table was constructed for identifying type of thought in student's interpretation when wrote and discussed the Case. In the third stage, the results of validation and evaluation showed optimal levels of relevance and sufficiency; with coincidences in acceptable assessments that the Case is not totally coherent with a linear reality but complex. Conclusion, the SRJU model is effective to design Cases due to its processes derived from rational thought, which also may improve understanding. (shrink)

O conjunto de leituras feitas configuram, em parte, a compreensibilidade de cada leitor específico. Leituras já feitas configuram dirigem, isto é, podem alargar ou restringir, a compreensão de texto de um dado leitor. Em suma, as leituras já feitas de um texto, e as leituras já feitas por um leitor compõe a história de leitura em seu aspecto previsível. 1122 Faz-se necessário que voltemos nosso olhar para a consideração de que um discurso é efeito de sentidos e não transmissão de (...) informações e, por isso, importa que tornemos o discurso pedagógico mais polêmico, de forma que, a polissemia, se faça cada vez mais presente no ambiente de sala de aula, mesmo que nossa intenção seja uma dada formação discursiva. (shrink)

According to a popular theory in philosophical methodology, there is a widespread misconception among philosophers as to their own methods. This misconception is that philosophers use intuitions as evidence. This is a fascinating theory for various reasons. Some of those reasons pertain to what the theory predicts about what philosophers are teaching their students, and whether the theory puts us on the pathway to pedagogical reform. The current paper doesn’t answer those questions but uses them to demonstrate some hitherto unrecognised (...) fascinating aspects of the idea that there is a widespread misconception among philosophers as to their methods. (shrink)

The goal of this research paper is to create model schools for managing learning in the 21st century by combining the Visible Learning method with Professional Learning Communities (PLC) of teachers in the Songkhla Primary Educational Service Area 1. The goal is to enhance the quality of education by preparing students for a rapidly changing, technology-driven society through the development of essential skills such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. In Thailand, educational reform is necessary to equip students with (...) 21st-century skills. This study integrated John Hattie’s Visible Learning model, emphasizing clear and measurable learning processes, with PLC to support teacher development and enhance student engagement. This study had five steps: looking at the needs and starting points of the case study schools; creating a framework and research tools with the help of experts; checking to see if the framework and tools were useful and workable; creating model schools by setting up PLCs and encouraging learning activities that focus on 21st-century skills; and finally, reviewing and judging the results. The findings revealed that developing model schools for 21st-century learning management using the Visible Learning approach combined with PLC significantly improved both the teaching quality of teachers and the learning outcomes of students. The study showed that students learned 21st-century skills like analytical thinking, teamwork, and problem-solving, and they also did better in school, with O-NET scores in Science and English going up by 12.15 and 21.23%, respectively. School administrators identified student engagement, community support, and effective resource management as key factors in the success of educational transformation. This model demonstrates the potential for sustainable improvement in education quality across diverse contexts. (shrink)

This study examines how model schools in the "Thai Teachers for Students in the 21st Century" initiative use John Hattie's Visible Learning framework. Visible learning emphasizes evidence-based teacher methods that improve learning outcomes through transparency and quantifiable progress. The research emphasizes the fundamental components of visible learning, such as effective feedback, explicit instruction, student self-evaluation, and well-defined learning objectives. Thai educational institutions have integrated these components through teacher professional development, action research, and Professional Learning Communities. The study's three main objectives (...) are to (1) learn from model schools that use visible learning, (2) design a training program to improve Thai teachers' educational management, and (3) create 21st-century model schools that use student-centered learning. The investigation examined how visible learning enhanced student engagement, analytical thinking, and educational equity, with a specific focus on its impact on teaching and learning in the five southern border provinces of Thailand. The findings indicate that visible learning improves academic performance, promotes teacher collaboration, and reduces educational inequalities. The teacher training program demonstrated impressive participant satisfaction, accompanied by notable enhancements in knowledge and teaching methodologies. The study concludes with suggestions for the Ministry of Education, school leaders, and policymakers to more extensively incorporate visible learning into the Thai education system to equip students for the challenges of the 21st century. (shrink)

Este capítulo se centra en desarrollar una cartografía integral de la IA en el ámbito educativo y de su impacto en la formación docente. Utilizando la filosofía de la educación como recurso analítico, se examinarán las transformaciones y retos que emergen, brindando a los educadores una guía práctica para una gestión eficiente en el entorno educativo contemporáneo y futuro. El documento está estructurado en seis secciones temáticas que comienzan con una contextualización histórica y filosófica de la tec- nología en la (...) educación, ofreciendo un repaso por la evolución de su incorporación y su impacto en la construcción del conocimiento y en las prácticas pedagógicas. Posteriormente, se aborda el tema de la IA, definiendo sus aplicaciones actuales en el campo de la educación. A continuación, se analiza el nuevo rol de los agentes educativos en la era de la IA, discutiendo las competencias requeridas dentro de su for- mación en este nuevo contexto. Se prosigue con una reflexión sobre la respuesta de la filosofía de la educación a la digitalización y la IA, así como de los desafíos éticos y pedagógicos que la IA plantea en el proceso enseñanza-aprendizaje. La sección final examina casos prácti- cos y experiencias innovadoras, proporcionando una guía práctica de varias herramientas de IA, sus resultados y enseñanzas extraídas para enriquecer el quehacer educativo. (shrink)

This research focused on creating an instructional model for social studies that combines problem-based learning with community-based learning to enhance 21st-century skills in students attending small schools. The study analyzed the effects of implementing this integrated instructional model on developing skills within the target student group. The results indicated the following points: The teaching model combines problem-solving and community involvement and has four main parts: (1) learning actively and on your own; (2) hands-on experiences connected to civic duty, culture, and (...) social life; (3) working together to share ideas; and (4) using what you've learned in real-life situations outside of school. The model consists of a five-step instructional process: (1) encountering a social studies situation, (2) integrating social studies thinking, (3) producing social studies work, (4) disseminating social studies outcomes, and (5) consolidating reflective social studies evaluation. The experimental group showed a much better improvement in 21st-century skills after the intervention compared to the control group, with results that are statistically significant at the .05 level. The experimental group demonstrated significantly greater academic achievement in social studies compared to the control group at the .05 level. The overall satisfaction of students was at its highest level with the social studies instructional model that integrates problem-based and community-based learning. (shrink)

This study focused on designing a management approach for social studies instruction that incorporates problem-based learning alongside community-based learning. Additionally, examine the outcomes of instructing social studies through the integration of problem-based learning alongside community-based learning. This study employs an experimental design featuring a one-group pretest-posttest approach, involving students from five small schools located in the Hat Yai District, under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Primary Educational Service Area of Songkhla, Area 2. During the initial semester of the (...) 2024 academic year, a total of 89 individuals were examined. The instruments utilized in the study included a teaching plan for social studies that incorporated problem-based learning alongside community-based learning, as well as an assessment form for 21st-century learner skills. Assessment of the Social Studies Achievement Test and the evaluation form regarding student satisfaction with instructional methods, utilizing the specified model, among other considerations. The analysis of the data involved the application of fundamental statistical methods, specifically percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The findings indicated that social studies instruction was structured through the integration of problem-based learning alongside community-based learning. Comprising four learning management plans, one six-week period, totaling 16 hours, the learning management process unfolds in five steps: Step 1: Addressing social studies scenarios, Step 2: Incorporating Concepts from Social Studies, Step 3: Creation of social studies project, Step 4: Sharing findings from social studies research, and Step 5: Finalizing the Social Studies Audit. The findings from the implementation of problem-based learning alongside community-based learning in social studies revealed that learners are developing essential skills for the 21st century. The post-test scores of the students showed a significant increase compared to their pre-test scores, achieving a statistical significance level of .01. Additionally, the students' social studies achievement after their study period was notably higher than their performance prior to studying, also at the .01 level. The findings from the investigation into students' satisfaction with the teaching and learning process revealed that the students reported the highest overall satisfaction (M = 4.58, SD = 0.24). (shrink)

This study aims to 1) establish a community-focused learning framework for social studies that incorporates project-based learning; and 2) evaluate the outcomes of this instructional approach. The research utilizes a onegroup pretest-post-test experimental design, involving 67 students from six small schools in the Hat Yai District, administered by the Primary Educational Service Area of Songkhla, Area 2, during the first semester of the 2024 academic year. The research instruments comprised a social studies lesson plan incorporating community-based and project-based learning, a (...) social studies achievement assessment, a behavioral evaluation of students' responsibility towards their studies, and a satisfaction survey gauging students’ perception of the teaching model. We conducted data analysis employing essential statistical methods including percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The research results indicate that: The community-based, project-based learning methodology for social studies comprises four instructional plans, each spanning 16 weeks and totaling 16 hours, executed in five phases: Phase 1 encompasses brainstorming and selecting social studies topics; Phase 2 entails executing the social studies project; Phase 3 emphasizes reflecting on the project process; Phase 4 involves presenting the social studies project to the community; and Phase 5 focuses on evaluating the project’s effectiveness. The application of this method revealed a substantial enhancement in students' disciplined behavior regarding their learning responsibilities following the intervention, achieving statistical significance at the .01 level. Furthermore, students' social studies achievement scores were markedly elevated following the learning period, also at the .01 significance level. The evaluation of student satisfaction with this instructional model indicated a generally elevated level of satisfaction (M = 4.61, SD = 0.26). (shrink)

Philosophierende verstehen und inszenieren sich als Person mit autobiographischen Mitteln. Autobiographisches Philosophieren hat sinnstiftende und orientierende Funktion. Zur Beförderung philosophischer Bildungsprozesse plädieren die Herausgeber des vorliegenden Bandes für die Etablierung des Autobiographischen Philosophierens in Schule, Hochschule sowie im Referendariat. Der Band führt in das fachdidaktische Konzept des Autobiographischen Philosophierens ein und versammelt praxisorientiert eine Vielzahl von Beispielen aus Schule, Hochschule und Referendariat.

The objective of the research is to test the feasibility of implementing Structured Rational Thinking to learn disciplinary principles, evaluate written language, and answer the questions: What are its epistemological foundations? What explains why rational thinking is not common in people? How do students modify their conceptualization of thematic principles through it? And how does it help students to build knowledge and express it? Rational thinking was theoretically framed and its derivation into types of structured thinking: logical, methodical, and narrative; (...) and its characterization according to its content, purpose, and structure, in its classical and modern forms. The hypothesis was: "people stop thinking rationally due to the lack of applying a method to order and properly conduct thoughts; one aspect is the method and another is the thought that it generates." Mixed methodology; results, it is expected that 50 students surveyed generate knowledge and language attached to objectified reality. Test 1: the level of understanding was assessed according to types of thinking, in ranges of: little, moderately and a lot, coded with ordinal values in intervals from 0 to 2, by interaction matrix. Test 2: table identifying levels of rational thinking, interval scale: 1 to 2 low level, 3 to 4 medium, 5 to 6 high, more than 6 very high. Conclusions, the effects of not applying a type of thinking that orders ideas to interpret reality and generate proven knowledge, far from conjectures, are outlined. The best thinking, guides reason when faced with compound and dynamic facts. (shrink)

Research advances are presented whose objective is to test and qualify the viability of implementing Rational Thought of the ancient classical pedagogical area, in digital classrooms of foreign languages; and answer the questions: what are the current theoretical foundations and on which thematic digital teaching should be built in multilingual diversity classrooms?; How does rational thought modify in students of different languages, research and conceptualization related to linguistic, literary and cultural topics? How does classical pedagogy help the development of didactics (...) in the digital context, allowing the teacher to teach and the student to build knowledge? The first stage consisted of theoretically basing classical pedagogy, with the rational thought of ancient Greece and its derivation in scientific thought as its guiding axis. Design that implied contrast in ways of thinking about thematic diversity. With the following organization: methodological, theoretical and procedural foundation. For the test design, an interaction matrix is proposed to order and interpret data that reflect the level of conceptualization to be collected by written language; according to types of structured thought: rational logical, methodical and narrative; For each type of thought, dimensions of content, purpose and structure are evaluated. The methodology used for this stage is qualitative; In the second stage, test design will be applied. As a result of the first stage, methodological, theoretical and test design foundations were achieved, implementing the scientific method, supported by preliminary conclusions and an annex of examples to address multiple topics. (shrink)

Uno de los pilares del proyecto de Filosofía para Niños de Matthew Lipman lo constituye su concepción de ciudadanía democrática, en razón de que es la encargada de promover y preservar el establecimiento de una democracia de alta calidad, que representa mucho más que la mera idea de sistema de gobierno o de régimen político. En efecto, la ciudadanía democrática asume esta forma de organización de la sociedad como una manera de vivir, lo que debe traducirse en que las acciones (...) de las personas sean solidarias y transformadoras, algo que resultaría del despliegue de las habilidades superiores del pensamiento. Por tanto, no es gratuito que esta propuesta de educación filosófica para la infancia apunte a la formación de ciudadanos razonables, ya que una tarea así requiere de la propiciación de ciertas condiciones que favorezcan el desarrollo del pensamiento multidimensional en las aulas de clase; en este sentido, el arribo a una democracia plena y reconstructiva requiere de una preparación integral en las comunidades de investigación, de cara a un ejercicio efectivo de la ciudadanía democrática. De modo que el propósito de este artículo consiste en evidenciar el lugar privilegiado que ocupa dicha ciudadanía en el constructo del filósofo y pedagogo norteamericano. (shrink)

Despite strong evidence that autonomy enhances motivation and achievement, few interventions for promoting student autonomy in higher education have been developed and empirically tested. Here, we demonstrate how two autonomy-supportive policies effectively increase classroom attendance and subject mastery. First, in a randomized controlled field study, we explored the effect of allowing students to choose whether to make their attendance mandatory (i.e., a component of their course grades). We found that nearly all students used the opportunity as a pre-commitment device and (...) were subsequently more likely to attend class than were students whose attendance had been mandated. Second, in a multi-year cohort study, we explored the effect of allowing students to opt out of a challenging, high-effort assessment stream, finding that students given greater autonomy invested more effort into their assignments and attained greater proficiency with the material. We discuss other opportunities for applying choice architecture to improve learning, motivation, and well-being in higher education. (shrink)

Children from various countries have been acknowledged and studied for their ability to philosophize, while, unfortunately, Filipino children have not received similar recognition. In this paper, I make a rather unpopular claim that Filipino children can and already are doing philosophy in their efforts to make sense of their existential conditions. “Doing philosophy” here refers to the act of being perplexed by one's own or other people's experiences and making an effort to comprehend them. Filipino children, are a vast and (...) diverse group, coming from various backgrounds, speaking different or even multiple languages, and representing rich cultures and unique circumstances. This diversity adds richness to the wide array of experiences from which existential questions can emerge. However, to truly comprehend the philosophical thinking of Filipino children, they need opportunities and guidance to explore their existential questions and solutions, regardless of how tentative or rudimentary these may seem to adults. Without such opportunities, it remains unclear to what extent their thinking engages with philosophical themes and issues. This not only offers Filipino adults a view of children’s inner worlds but also brings fresh perspectives to commonly held assumptions. (shrink)

Teacher quality, its effect on students’ outcomes, and the association of these with economic growth, is the core of recent discussions in Latin America given the region’s weak results in international learning assessments. This paper investigates whether there is an effect of philosophy on the outcomes of critical reading for students in B.Ed. programs in Colombia. Relying on exact matching combined with propensity score matching with regression adjustment, we use national data from Colombia to show that students in B.Ed. in (...) philosophy outperformed students in other B.Ed. in critical reading test (0.401–0.124 SD), and, importantly, with higher effects observed for students with lower prior academic achievement (0.44 SD). This suggests that philosophy can help to narrow educational outcomes of students whose socioeconomic conditions are disadvantageous, contributing to social justice in education. (shrink)

There’s a lot of discussion at present about how we university educators need to embrace and harness the potential of AI for enhancing student learning. To hold onto old ways of teaching and assessing in the era of AI would be a disservice to our students. One common piece of advice, offered widely, including on the Monash AI learning circle website, is that AI might be useful for students to help them summarise readings and compose first drafts of essays. If (...) students don’t need to waste their time on this initial grunt work, then they will be freed to spend more time on the higher-order critical thinking skills which are the true value of a university education. Sounds great, right? Let’s see what happened when I tried to put this into practice. Spoiler alert: it didn’t turn out well. (shrink)

How do we prepare engineering students to make ethical and responsible decisions in their professional work? This paper presents an approach that enhances engineering students’ engagement with ethical reasoning by simulating decision-making in a complex scenario. The approach has two principal inspirations. The first is Anthony Weston’s scenario-based teaching. Weston’s concept of a scenario is a situation that changes in response to choices made by participants, according to an inner logic. Scenarios can dynamically explore open-ended complex problems without imposing predetermined (...) results, allowing students to apply their ethical reasoning in a more realistic fashion. The second inspiration is Thi Nguyen’s theory of games. According to Nguyen, games are the “art of agency,” meaning that they provide a structure under which some result is agreed to be valuable, along with prescribed ways of achieving that result, in a relatively low-stakes and temporary social arrangement. By playing many games, Nguyen argues, we can develop a “library of agency,” that is to say, a set of values and means to achieving them that can inform how we make high-stakes decisions in real life. Engaging with carefully designed game scenarios, then, can enable students to practice making ethical decisions within a structured framework, which unfolds in response to their choices, while their decisions are driven by some defined goal. This roleplaying game–based approach thus allows students to build their own ethical libraries of agency, in preparation for professional decision-making. The approach is illustrated using a specific example recently deployed in a seminar on engineered living materials (building materials that incorporate living tissues). The scenario uses techniques from tabletop roleplaying games (e.g. Dungeons & Dragons) for outcome resolution, adventure design, and character creation. Through the game, students practice making difficult decisions in a humanitarian context. (shrink)

Hume describes skeptical philosophy as having a variety of desirable effects. It can counteract dogmatism, produce just reasoning, and promote social cohesion. When discussing how skepticism may achieve these effects, Hume typically appeals to its effects on pride. I explain how, for Hume, skeptical philosophy acts on pride and how acting on pride produces the desirable effects. Understanding these mechanisms, I argue, sheds light on how, why, when, and for whom skeptical philosophy can be useful. It also illuminates the value (...) of skeptical philosophy for a humanistic education, giving us a reason to include Hume in curricula. (shrink)

In this short piece, I reflect on my experience in organising and convening a public engagement event after submitting my PhD Thesis. I explain how my initial motivations to put together a seminar series on the philosophy of music were centred on the idea of distributing the finding of my doctoral work. Yet, I conclude showing how the two-way relationship with a small, motivated and enthusiastic audience ended up being the inspiration for further research.

This innovative text is psychologically informed, both in its diagnosis of inferential errors, and in teaching students how to watch out for and work around their natural intellectual blind spots. It also incorporates insights from epistemology and philosophy of science that are indispensable for learning how to evaluate premises. The result is a hands-on primer for real world critical thinking. The authors bring a fresh approach to the traditional challenges of a critical thinking course: effectively explaining the nature of validity, (...) assessing deductive arguments, reconstructing, identifying and diagramming arguments, and causal and probabilistic inference. Additionally, they discuss in detail, important, frequently neglected topics, including testimony, including the evaluation of news and other information sources, the nature and credibility of science, rhetoric, and dialectical argumentation. The treatment of probability uses frequency trees and a frequency approach more generally, and argument reconstruction is taught using argument maps; these methods have been shown to improve students’ reasoning and argument evaluation. (shrink)

In the 21st century, the educational landscape has been substantially altered by the rapid advancements in technology, globalization, and the changing demands of the workforce. An increasing number of people believe that the traditional educational paradigms, which place a strong emphasis on rote memorization and standardized testing, fall short of adequately educating pupils for the complexity of today's society. The 21st-century education model emphasizes the pursuit of communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical reasoning. The purpose of this investigation is to investigate (...) the incorporation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and John Hattie's Visible Learning principles in the establishment of a 21st-century, model school. Visible Learning emphasizes the transparency and quantifiability of student learning processes, whereas PLCs cultivate an environment of ongoing professional development and improvement among educators. The results indicate that the combined approach fosters a supportive, data-driven, and student-centered learning environment, as well as improves student engagement, critical thinking, and academic performance. Increased job satisfaction, professional development, and structured collaboration are advantages that teachers experience. Despite the necessity of ongoing professional development and resistance to change, this integrated model is a scalable and replicable framework for educational excellence that addresses the imperative need for educational reform and prepares students for the 21st century. (shrink)