STRATEGIES FOR SMALL GROUP TEACHING
Each strategy has three sections:
- Rationale: this explains the reasoning behind the strategy, what you are trying to achieve by using it.
- What is it in a nut-shell? A brief account of the strategy which acts as a description and reminder for each one.
- Examples: of the strategy in practice. Usually there are more than one, most are on ethics but some cover other areas in philosophy.
You can use the strategies in different ways:
- You can use the examples directly in your own teaching,
- or you can adapt them to fit your needs,
- or you can take inspiration from the rationale to create new examples,
- or you can take inspiration from the resource to create new strategies.
Feel free to share your comments, suggestions and questions on our Facebook page or contact me directly.
The examples are written in the form of Tutor Notes, i.e. text in italics is for the use of the tutors and explains the reasoning behind the exercises and the likely developments in the discussion, normally formatted text is for the use of the students.
You may want to ask students to split into small groups to discuss the exercises and report back to the larger group or you may want to tackle some exercises with the whole group.
Table of Contents of Examples
1. Exercise First
Valid Consent
Virtue Ethics
2. Escalation
Deception
Tolerance A
Body Dysmorphia
Our Obligations to the Developing World
3. Difference
Cheating At Exams
Whistle-blowing
Pre-implantation Diagnosis
Genetic Information
4. Superficial Similarity
Getting it Wrong
Lying is Wrong
Tolerance B
The Hairdresser and the Surgeon
Lifestyle Choices and Treatment
5. Changing Views
Female Genital Circumcision
Same-sex marriages
6. The Value of Misdirection
Friendship
Magic
7. A Way In
Personhood
Descartes on Knowledge
8. Consistency in Ethics
Consistency in Ethics
9. Imposing Your Own Structure
Advance Directives
Slippery Slopes
10. The Two Viewpoints
George the Chemist
Stem Cell Therapy
Drilling for Oil
11. The Importance of Definitions
Civil Disobedience
12. Reasoning Skills
Mistakes in Reasoning
Analogies
Causation