We develop and offer resources to help K-12 teachers engage their students in thoughtful ethical discussions that are grounded in philosophical methods and theories.
Teacher training is offered in a community of practice format that brings together teachers from different schools and subject areas with a trained philosopher who specializes in ethics and philosophical pedagogy.
What do students get out of it?
Well-facilitated ethical discussion builds both critical thinking skills and social-emotional skills. Ethical discussion promotes empathy, resilience in the face of questions without clear answers, authentic listening, creativity, perspective-taking, appreciation of diverse viewpoints, curiosity, and attention to detail.
Discussing choices faced by characters or historical figures can create meaningful connections to class material. Ethical reasoning skills also provide students with new ways to approach issues they face in their own lives and ways to address disagreements between students.
What do teachers get out of it?
Participating teachers learn techniques (informed by professional research on ethics and teaching ethics) for facilitating discussion on challenging questions about what is right and wrong. Teachers learn guide students in
reasoning about ethical questions in a sympathetic, open-minded, yet rigorous manner.
These methods can be applied to fictional case studies, to issues that arise in class material, and to issues that arise in students’ lives.
Who we are
Project Leader
Dawn Jacob, PhD candidate in Philosophy
Sponsors
Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization
Philosophy Outreach Program of Colorado
