CFP: Children, Food, and Philosophy

CALL FOR PAPERS

The American Philosophical Association Committee for Pre-College Instruction in Philosophy (CPIP) is sponsoring a session on Children, Food, and Philosophy to be held at the APA Eastern Division Meeting January 6-9, 2016 in Washington, D.C. 

The CPIP invites presentation proposals about the intersection between children and food. This may include any of the following topics: ethics and food, food justice from farm to table, food activism, the aesthetics of food, local food, the global food system, or food and health.

Send title of presentation, abstract (500 words), and academic or professional affiliation to:

Dr. Beth Dixon

beth.dixon@plattsburgh.edu 

AND

Dr. Sara Goering

sgoering@uw.edu 

Deadline for submission is May 15th, 2015

Handfield: Reflections on the Flipped Classroom

A guest post from Toby Handfield, Monash University:

There is much buzz around my university at the moment about the promise of the flipped classroom. The idea is that the lecture is not an effective method of delivering content, relative to the alternatives we now have. We can deliver content better via videos, Khan academy style, and we can then use our class time for more interactive work with students. Give them questions, have them complete assignments in class, work with them one on one, or get them into small group discussions. So content delivery becomes homework; homework becomes classwork.

There is currently so much confidence that this is a better way to teach that I have more than once heard administrators speak as though the adoption of a flipped classroom paradigm is evidence, in and of itself, of superior teaching quality. No doubt, that is exaggerated. Any pedagogical approach can be implemented badly.

But scepticism aside, many aspects of the flipped classroom are very appealing. Of course we should be using class time in ways that make the most of interactions between teacher and student, and many of us no doubt are trying to do that already. What began to excite me about flipped learning was when I experienced firsthand how powerful a series of short screencasts can be as a means of teaching content. My first exposure was teaching my daughter some mathematics, using the Khan academy. I could see how empowering it was for her to have a series of short videos that could be paused and reviewed at her own pace. I then taught myself some game theory usingGameTheory101.com, created by a PhD student in international relations. The question then became more pressing: if the sort of material I present in lectures can be presented just as well, or possibly better in this online format, then why not use class-time for more constructive, interactive encounters between students and teacher?

So since then I have been toying with changes that would begin to “flip” my own classroom. I experimented with making a few screencasts last year to accompany my lectures in political philosophy and an interdisciplinary unit, which covered topics such as economic efficiency in the context of climate change.

But as I thought further about this model, I wondered: haven’t many of us already, in effect, flipped our classrooms?

Subscribing to Teaching Philosophy

I've been posting information about the contents of Teaching Philosophy for a while, but you may not know how to subscribe. The basic information is here, but a rundown:

• Members of the American Association of Philosophy Teachers receive online access free with membership.
• Annual print subscriptions are $33, $40 for online, $53 or online and print.
• Institutional subscriptions are (as expected). But I'd encourage your libraries to subscribe so that all of your faculty and students have access.

Seeking How to Teach articles

Teaching Philosophy is continuing its highly successful 'How to Teach' series, articles focusing on how to teach common courses in philosophy curricula. Having published articles in the series on critical thinking, early modern philosophy, comparative philosophy, business ethics, metaphysics, and philosophy of science, the journal would be happy to receive proposals for articles focusing on any of the following courses:

• epistemology
• philosophy of language
• philosophy of religion
• ancient philosophy
• environmental ethics
• political philosophy
• philosophy and/through film
• philosophy of law
• the continental tradition
• feminist philosophy

If you'd like to propose an article, please send me an e-mail at mjcholbi*at*cpp.edu. Thanks!

Latest issue of Teaching Philosophy

The latest issue of Teaching Philosophy is now available:

Sarah Cashmore

Changing Values in Teaching and Learning Philosophy: A Comparison of Historic and Current Educational Approaches

This paper examines the pedagogical values inherent in various traditions of philosophy education, from the ancient Greeks to current practices in Ontario high schools, and asks whether our current educational practices are imparting the philosophical values we wish to bestow upon our learners. I compare the approaches of Socrates, Descartes, and Dewey on the nature of philosophy and the pedagogical frameworks they defend for transmitting the “spirit” of philosophy, and then examine the Ontario curriculum guidelines for the teaching of philosophy. In past philosophical traditions, dynamic growth, free questioning, and social responsibility are considered essential to the practice of philosophy. Certain factors in today’s educational institutions limit students’ abilities to achieve those values, although the appeal to these values is the same. I end with recommendations for amendments to the Ontario curriculum expectations that would help put the philosophical development of the individual student more clearly at the centre of these guidelines.

Christopher Gifford

How to Teach Metaphysics

This paper examines the pedagogical values inherent in various traditions of philosophy education, from the ancient Greeks to current practices in Ontario high schools, and asks whether our current educational practices are imparting the philosophical values we wish to bestow upon our learners. I compare the approaches of Socrates, Descartes, and Dewey on the nature of philosophy and the pedagogical frameworks they defend for transmitting the “spirit” of philosophy, and then examine the Ontario curriculum guidelines for the teaching of philosophy. In past philosophical traditions, dynamic growth, free questioning, and social responsibility are considered essential to the practice of philosophy. Certain factors in today’s educational institutions limit students’ abilities to achieve those values, although the appeal to these values is the same. I end with recommendations for amendments to the Ontario curriculum expectations that would help put the philosophical development of the individual student more clearly at the centre of these guidelines.

Alexandra Bradner

How to Teach Philosophy of Science

Philosophy of science is a challenging course to teach. This paper offers suggestions for early-, middle- and late-career professors who teach philosophy of science at the undergraduate or graduate level. The advantages and disadvantages of four different course designs are discussed, and a list of possible syllabus topics is presented. The paper encourages a thoroughgoing approach to inclusive pedagogy: it recommends that we look for ways to highlight a range of underrepresented voices throughout the semester, instead of tacking on one or two feminist readings at the end of a course. The author reports success with two forms of student assessment, in particular: a peer participation grade and a series of short critical response papers. Also covered are learning goals, textbook selection, and faculty assessment.