Little Thinkers Little Kids Big Thinkers Philosophy for
Little Thinkers Little Kids Big Thinkers Philosophy for Children Rebecca Denham
What is Philosophy? Philosophy for Children, P 4 C or P for C is the trademark of a curriculum for 6 -16 year olds. Developed by Matthew Lipman and his associates at IAPC (Institute for Philosophy for Children) in New Jersey, USA during the late 60’s early 70’s. as a way to encourage children to be more reasonable – that is, to reason and be reasoned with. He was concerned that children were not learning effectively because they were not encouraged to think things through for themselves and felt that the process of philosophy - of seeking answers to questions that seem puzzling, and discussing them with friends who might disagree - could help improve the situation. He developed a new model of learning – ‘Communities of Enquiry’
Why teach philosophy? Philosophy for Children is one of the key ways to develop effective thinking. The process focuses on • giving reasons and examples, • making connections and distinctions, • drawing out implications and intentions, “Philosophy is awesome. I enjoy it heaps. It gives you a safe environment to say what you think” Padraig • searching for criteria, • and striving for consistency. • constructing appropriate questions, recognising and applying relational concepts (such as cause, same, different),
Students who take part in Philosophy for Children lessons often develop • a greater willingness to listen, • more empathy with their peers, • a better understanding of what them, motivates • and a more questioning mind, • not to mention greater reasonableness. • It provides the opportunity for the teacher and children to collaborate with each other to grow in understanding, not only of the material world, but also of the personal and ethical world around them. “I love philosophy. I have learnt that all ideas are good” Mykaela
How does P 4 C fit into the curriculum? Debate is an integral part of the citizenship curriculum. Grade description for personal development …. . Pupils know how to discuss and debate issues and ideas in a considered way…p 63 Ofsted handbook excellence, by aiming high and by persevering in the face of difficulties. innovation, enquiry, and curiosity, by thinking creatively, critically, and reflectively; diversity, as found in our different cultures, languages and heritages; respect for themselves, for others, and for human rights; equity, which means fairness and social justice; community and participation for the common good care for the environment (the Earth and its interrelated eco-systems); integrity, which involves being honest, responsible, and accountable and acting ethically.
Values The specific ways in which these values find expression in an individual school will be guided by dialogue between the school and its community. They should be evident in the school’s philosophy, structures, curriculum, classrooms, and relationships. When the school community has developed strongly held and clearly articulated values, those values are likely to be expressed in everyday actions and interactions within the school. Through their learning experiences, students will learn about: their own values and those of others; different kinds of values, such as moral, social, cultural, aesthetic, and economic values; the values on which the UK s cultural and institutional traditions are based; the values of other people and cultures.
Values Through their learning experiences, students will develop their ability to: express their own values; explore, with empathy, the values of others; critically analyse values and actions based on them; discuss disagreements that arise from differences in values and negotiate solutions; make ethical decisions and act on them.
Key Competencies Key competencies are the capabilities people need in order to live, learn, work, and contribute as active members of their communities. Competencies are more complex than skills. Capable people draw on and combine all the resources available to them: knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values. Opportunities to develop competencies occur in social contexts. People adopt practices that they see used and valued by those closest to them, and they make these practices part of their own identity and expertise. Competencies continue to develop over time, shaped by interactions with people, places, ideas, and things. Students need to be challenged to develop their competencies in contexts that are increasingly wideranging and complex.
In order to be active citizens we need to draw on the following competencies: v managing self v participating and contributing v relating to others v thinking v using language, symbols, and texts.
Managing self involves self-motivation, a “can-do” attitude, and the ability to establish personal goals, make plans, and set high standards for oneself. It is about students knowing who they are, where they come from, and where they fit in. Students who can manage themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable, and resilient. They act appropriately and are aware of the effects that their words and actions may have on others. They have strategies for meeting challenges and know when and how to follow someone’s lead or to make their own, well-informed choices.
Relating to others is about interacting effectively with a diverse range of people in a variety of contexts. The competency includes the ability to listen actively, recognise different points of view, negotiate, and share ideas. Students who relate well to others are likely to be open to new learning and able to take different roles in different situations. They know when it is appropriate to compete and when it is appropriate to co-operate.
Participating and contributing is about participating actively in local, national, and global communities. These communities may be based on kinship, interest, or culture and may be drawn together for purposes such as learning, work, or recreation. The competency includes a capacity to respond appropriately as a group member, to make connections to others, and to create opportunities for including people in group activities. Students who have developed ways of belonging in a range of contexts will have the confidence to participate and contribute actively in new roles. They understand the importance of balancing rights, roles, and responsibilities and of contributing to the quality and sustainability of social, physical, and economic environments.
Thinking is about using creative, critical, metacognitive, and reflective processes to make sense of and question information, experiences, and ideas. These processes can be applied to research, organisation, and evaluation for all kinds of purposes – developing understanding, making decisions, shaping actions, or constructing knowledge. Intellectual curiosity is at the heart of this competency. Students who have well-developed thinking and problem-solving skills are active seekers, users, and creators of knowledge. They reflect on their own learning, draw on personal knowledge and intuitions, ask questions, and challenge the basis of assumptions and perceptions.
Community of Enquiry The following points summaries the structure for facilitating a ‘Community of Enquiry’. v Preparation – room, rules v Warm up - games for thinking v Presentation of the stimulus v Thinking Time v Formulation of the questions v Airing of the questions v Selection of the question v First thoughts v Debate v Final thoughts
Preparation Select a quiet place to work, free from interruptions. Arrange the chairs in a horse shoe. Ideally all the chairs need to be the same size. Leave enough space between the chairs so everyone in the circle can be heard and seen. Place a whiteboard at the opening of the horse shoe, again so that everyone can see. Place the resources needed for the session under each chair (stops the temptation to fiddle. ) Ideally to start with, it is more constructive to work with a group of around 12 -14 children. Share the rule for debate with the children.
Rules for Thinking No put downs – We value and respect each others opinions. We listen carefully to what others think. We practice active listening by, looking at the person who is talking and sitting still. We give each other space and time for thinking. We take it in turns. We consider all ideas. We challenge respectfully and constructively. We build on ideas. We encourage those who need encouraging. Debate stays in the classroom.
Why is a safe environment so important? “When we don’t feel listened to, or if we think others don’t care about our ideas or we make fun of what we think, we stop thinking. When we think everyone is smarter than us or we have nothing worthwhile to share, we stop thinking. We come to doubt our thinking abilities. Thinking is a risky business. We are always scared that people will disagree, that they will shoot us down or that we will look stupid in some way. Unless we are in an environment were we feel safe to air our thoughts and that they will be listened to and considered without prejudice, we don’t engage in high level thinking. ” Introductory paragraph in Clinton Golding’s Developing a Thinking Classroom. An excellent read if you are interested in creating a thinking environment.
Teacher as Facilitator The class teacher’s role is as a ‘facilitator’ v Gradually developing the children’s questioning, reasoning, evaluating and generating skills. v Ensure a ‘safe environment’. v ‘Referee’ in charge of ‘fair play’. v Guide the children towards better thinking. v Help to move the discussion forward. v Focus attention on key elements of thinking.
I’ve been thinking about what you said and I would like to reinforce what Jack said Have you thought about ……? Can you give me an example? That’s a good idea…. I think you have a good point but…. I agree with …. . I don’t agree with you because …………. . Why do you think that? I completely disagree Can you explain a little bit more….
Warm up games Games that promote thinking are a good introduction to a philosophical debate. The advantage of using games for thinking is that they motivate children’s interests and activity and are a motivating start to the lesson. Depending on the ages of the children and the time available I spend approximately five minutes playing warm up games. This may vary whilst the children become familiar with the games. ‘Games for thinking are designed for children to have fun whilst exercising their capacities for thinking. Robert Fisher, Games for Thinking available from Thinkshop The best thing in life are games - Tom aged 9 Games lubricate the body and mind - Benjamin Franklin
Bottleneck Q Lateral Thinking Put a coin in a bottle and then stop the opening with a cork. How can you get the coin out of the bottle pulling out the cork or breaking the bottle? without Getting Across Q Ms. Waters and her twins, Danny and Anny, want to cross from the east side of the river to the west side in a canoe. But the canoe can hold no more than 200 pounds. Ms. Waters weighs 160 pounds, and Danny and Anny weigh 100 pounds each. How can all three of them reach the other side of the river in the canoe?
Bottleneck Q A Put a coin in a bottle and then stop the opening with a cork. How can you get the coin out of the bottle without pulling out the cork or breaking the bottle? Push the cork into the bottle, and shake the coin out Getting Across Q Ms. Waters and her twins, Danny and Anny, want to cross from the east side of the river to the west side in a canoe. But the canoe can hold no more than 200 pounds. Ms. Waters weighs 160 pounds, and Danny and Anny weigh 100 pounds each. How can all three of them reach the other side of the river in the canoe? A First the twins paddle to the west side of the river. Anny stays on the west side, and Danny comes back. Mrs. Waters rows alone to the west side, leaving Danny on the east side. Finally, Anny comes back for Danny. Together, they paddle to the west side of the river.
Presentation-Stimulus Picture books, news articles and video animations are ideal for stimulating deep thinking. The children start off by sitting so that they can all see each other and can equally share the story/stimulus. Read the stimulus through uninterrupted. Re-read pausing frequently to answer any questions. Make sure the children understand all the vocabulary especially with news articles. (This is important as it gives the children practice at asking for clarification in a safe environment without feeling that everyone else knows the answer. The children quickly become comfortable at doing this and realise that more often than not they are not the only ones that don’t know the answer. )
Thinking Through The News NEWS AS STIMULUS Text Bullying Rebecca Denham May 2007 With the growth of mobile phone ownership comes the growth of text and video bullying. Text bullying has become a common form of bullying. All bullying is serious, but nasty texts can be sent fast and anonymously by lots of people, so it is especially serious. Text bullies often use extreme language, because they feel anonymous and safe and their victim is out of sight. It can be very upsetting to be text bullied because texts can be sent after school, at night, and even on weekends. Surveys show that as many as 1 in 4 children have experienced text or video bullying. With text bullying on the increase so is the number of related teenage deaths. Last year a much publicised story told of the death of a twelve year old Putaruru girl, Alex Teka. The day before school started, Alex Teka was found dead in the back garden of her home. She had been the target of text bullies. For the previous eight months, Alex was bullied relentlessly by a group of girls not much older than her. Her mother Deanne Teka described it as an orchestrated campaign by email and text. Over the summer holidays the playground bullying had culminated in a threat against her life. Ms Teka says Alex had been accused of verbally abusing the sister of one of the girls. But she believes her daughter was the victim of "tall poppy syndrome". "Maybe people need to understand you don't actually have to do anything wrong to be bullied. " A pupil from the school Alex attended writes on a bullying support website that he himself is the victim of text bullying and a further six pupils have now committed suicide as a result of bullying. Students at Duffryn High School, in Newport, will be banned from bringing their phones to school after Easter.
Presentation-Stimulus Picture books, news articles and video animations are ideal for stimulating deep thinking. The children start off by sitting so that they can all see each other and can equally share the story/stimulus. Read the stimulus through uninterrupted. Re-read pausing frequently to answer any questions. Make sure the children understand all the vocabulary especially with news articles. (This is important as it gives the children practice at asking for clarification in a safe environment without feeling that everyone else knows the answer. The children quickly become comfortable at doing this and realise that more often than not they are not the only ones that don’t know the answer. )
Thinking Time Encourage the children to think about questions that have arisen from the stimulus. This is called 'thinking time'. Formulation-Generating Questions After a couple of minutes of thought, the children talk freely about their questions in pairs for a few more minutes. The children can record their questions on a small whiteboard or A 4 paper.
Airing of the Questions When the children have generated the questions ask them to share these questions which are recorded on a flipchart using the children's exact words and with the children's names written next to the questions they have posed. This gives their ideas status, helps practitioners keep track of them and models the use of writing as an aid to remembering. As the children generate more and more questions you can adapt this section by asking the children to choose the question they think generates the most thought.
Airing of the Questions generated by year 6 pupils from The News as Stimulus- The Smacking Bill. What is reasonable force? Hailey Should it be a crime to smack your child? Kade How will the police monitor the bill without invading your privacy? Felicity Why do people want to smack? Jacinta Should you go to jail for smacking your child? Lewis What is offensive and disruptive behaviour? Padraig How are they going to enforce the bill? Maria What is the point in introducing it now they have amended the bill? Padraig
Selection-Voting for Questions The children then choose a question from the list that forms the starting point for dialogue. To do this we use a voting system. Each child chooses the question they would like to debate the most and gives it 3 marks The next favourite 2 marks And the third favourite 1 mark. Record the marks from each child next to each question Add up all the marks The highest scoring question forms the basis for debate.
First Thoughts In order to start the debate invite the children to share their first thoughts. Initially it is a good idea for the facilitator to model this by sharing their first thoughts. Allow all the children to contribute their first thoughts if desired. Give the option to pass if the children do not feel comfortable. As soon as they feel safe to do so they will contribute.
Debate Open the floor for discuss. It maybe a good idea to give the children prompts to us when agreeing or challenging others ideas. This ensures it is done in a respectful way. As the facilitator it is important to ensure the debate stays a safe environment to share thoughts and ideas. Gently prompt the children to extend their thinking by asking them to give reasons for their points of view and by seeing whether their ideas are similar or different to other people. However, the content of the discussions is the children's own. It is amazing how long they can talk once they get stuck into a question that they themselves have generated.
The Smacking Bill A transcript of the opening debate with year 6 pupils discussing “Should parents be allowed to smack their children? ” Maria I think you should use smacking as a child needs discipline. You can use other methods but smacking is more effective. Padraig I am going to have to completely disagree with Maria. I don’t think parents should be able to smack because it could lead to violence. If children are smacked they could hit other children. Georgia I agree with Padraig because my brother did something really bad and my mum smacked him now he runs round smacking other people.
Tatiana If people smack their children, they will smack their children and it will go on and on. Jack Smacking should be allowed otherwise the world would be upside down and people will do bad things. It should be stopped when children are small. Mykaela I don’t think parents should be allowed to smack Jack because a smack could turn to beating. Kade Yeah one little hit could turn into World War 11.
Final Thoughts When the debate has run its course ask the children for their final thoughts. Have they changed their opinion? Have their opinions become stronger? Can they summarise their ideas?
Little Thinkers Little Kids Big Thinkers Philosophy for Children Rebecca Denham
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