Topics Education

Question Are there teaching techniques for 40-student classes in order to make them think philosophically?

Accepted:
October 10, 2007

Comments

Thank you for your question. I don't know that level this class is, nor even what the ostensible subject matter is. As a result I'm shooting in the dark a bit in trying to answer. However, aside from the obvious choice of asking students to engage directly with a philosophical work, such as a classic work or a contemporary text, you might consider philosophically provocative literature. For instance, Huxley's _Brave New World_ raises questions about what it is to have a just society, and what is the nature of happiness. For another example, it's not to hard to find in Mark Twain lots of material to get students to think about the relation between duty to the laws of one's country, racism, and duties of friendship. In fact, much great literature also raises philosophical questions, and often students "philosophize" better by responding to literature than by discussing philosophical theories directly.

Some suggestions of technique might also be helpful. Rather than trying to teach philosophical works directly, say by lecturing and asking students to internalize what you teach, it might be useful to pose some questions and then ask students to break up into small groups to discuss those issues. They might even do this outside of class. I like this method because it takes a bit pressure off each individual, while also provoking students to think on their own.

I hope these suggestions help a bit.

Mitch Green

Question Are there teaching techniques for 40-student classes in order to make them think philosophically? Accepted:October 10, 2007

Question Are there teaching techniques for 40-student classes in order to make them think philosophically?

Accepted:
October 10, 2007