The course is designed for teachers who haven't been formally trained in philosophy who wish to foster deeper, more philosophical, and more critical thinking in their students: it serves as a comprehensive guide to bringing philosophical thinking, discussion and debate into the classroom. The course includes:
Teaching strategies & learning activity ideas
Teaching resources that allow you to put your learning into practice with ease
Tips, tricks & advice from an experienced philosophy teacher
This course is of particular interest to Primary School Teachers and Elementary School Teachers who wish to inspire philosophical thinking in their students. It is also of interest to Middle School and Secondary School Teachers teachers working with younger learners (i.e. Year 7/ 6th Grade). It is certainly a useful course for anyone working with students aged 7-12.
The focus of the course is on 'doing philosophy with' (not 'teaching philosophy to') young learners: there is less emphasis on teaching about specific philosophers, philosophical concepts, or movements in the history of philosophy; instead, the course emphasises the value of philosophical thinking styles, questioning skills and 'community of inquiry' approaches to the exploration of philosophical issues in classrooms.
Regardless of your specialist teaching subject, bringing philosophical thinking into your lessons and into the lives of your students is profoundly beneficial: sign-up now to "philosophise" your teaching practice and inspire young learners to think as deeply as possible.
Some of the topics we'll explore in this course include:
The value of getting students to think philosophically in lessons
Teachers as 'Philosophical Mentors'
'Do's & don'ts' of doing philosophy in the classroom
Leading philosophical discussions
Developing philosophical questioning skills
The P4C Method / The Lipman-Sharp P4C Method
Instilling sceptical mindsets: the value of doubt and uncertainty
Critical thinking, philosophical argumentation and logical fallacy detection skills
Using philosophical discussions to explore other cultures
Existentialism and Existential Psychology for Young Learners
Each of the video-learning sessions is accompanied by links to external resources (such as articles, research papers, and videos) allowing you to develop your expertise further.
The course includes access to a wide range of teaching tools and educational resources that you can use with your students: this will allow you to put what you have learnt on the course into practice right away!
