Schools and community - Philosophy
We have been doing philosophy with schools and in the Nottingham community for many years.
Philosophy in Schools volunteering project
Run by Professor Andrew Fisher and based on his research about the value of critical thinking and student-centred learning, the Philosophy in Schools volunteering project has seen more than 80 students teaching philosophy in primary schools across Nottinghamshire.
All philosophy students at Nottingham get the chance to be involved. After training on how to deliver philosophy, classroom management, and safeguarding, students work in teams to deliver five or 10 week sessions to Key Stage 2 children.
Student feedback:
This has been one of the most valuable things I've ever done. It was really great to see the children get excited about their thoughts on questions they had never really considered before.”
Joe Murrary (3rd year Philosophy student)
Pupil feedback:
Since I've been going to philosophy I've been talking to my mum more...”
It changed my personality... before we started the club, I didn't used to speak to a lot of people, I only used to speak to my friends but now I speak to everybody.”
I suggest other people do it as well. Because it gets them thinking and, plus, it joins everybody together.”
Ethics for A-Level
A concise and highly-engaging textbook that is free to download or read online. Tailored to the Ethics components of AQA Philosophy and OCR Religious Studies it is also of practical use for those studying Philosophy as part of the International Baccalaureate or an introductory Philosophy course at university. Will also appeal to anyone seeking a rigorous and lively introduction to the challenging subject of ethics. Co-authored by the Department of Philosophy's Professor Andrew Fisher.
Access the book online
Some useful research on teaching philosophy
Cam, P., 2014. Philosophy for children, values education and the inquiring society. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 46(11), pp.1203-1211.
Colom, R., Moriyón, F.G., Magro, C. and Morilla, E., 2014. The long-term impact of Philosophy for Children: A longitudinal study (preliminary results). Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis, 35(1).
Fisher, A, 2016. “Philosophy, Pedagogy and Professional Development” Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis. 37, (In Press.)
Fisher, A and Tallant, J, 2015. Can teaching philosophy in schools count towards the Research Excellence Framework (UK)? Cogent Education. 2,
Topping, K.J. and Trickey, S., 2015. Philosophy for children. The Routledge International Handbook of Research on Teaching Thinking, p.103.
Worley, P., 2016. Philosophy and children. The Philosophers' Magazine, (72), pp.119-120.