Teaching

Epistemology Working Group

My advanced students and I meet regularly to workshop each other's research. The group, which started in 2020, is called the Epistemology Working Group (EWG). Description here. 

Course Guides


Graduate Seminars


Undergraduate Classes


Auxiliary Guide Example (Link coming soon)


Why Two Course Guides?

I split my course guides into two: The Course Guide and the Auxiliary Course Guide. (See above for examples.) 

This is because I believe the various conflicting functions of a course guide cannot be easily met with one cohesive document. That is, when we think about what a Course Guide does (that is, its functions), it is a mistake to assume we must meet these conflicting needs in one document.

Here is what I do instead:

1.) Main Course Guide. Quick Overview. Nuts and Bolts. Need-to-know information, presented at a glance. As short as possible. Easy to navigate when time-crunched and stressed. Students don't get lost in it. It's a quick reference for students who need to check the course structure (required readings, assignments, deadlines, contact info, etc).

2.) Auxiliary Course Guide. This supplements the main document. It includes expectations, resources, advice about how to do well, and further information about the assignments, course, department, and university. It articulates what I am looking for in each assignment. Accordingly, this second document is very long and thorough. 

My view: If information from Document Two is weaved into Document One, it renders Document One harder to use. And the main course guide must be easy to use, otherwise it cannot perform its key function of helping to reorient stressed-out, time-crunched students. Students need information from both documents, but not in the same document. 

Long Course Guides cannot perform their job well, no matter how well-formatted they are

Teaching Activities

Here are some ideas for teachers. Click on the titles for links.

The Counterexample Game

Find problems with definitions

The Experience Machine

Photo

The first photo is a screenshot from a student's hilarious and beautiful commemoration video for an Introduction to Philosophy course, autumn 2020.  (Photo credit: Nathanael Parsons.) The second photo is the multi-award-winning Delia McDevitt's EURēCA poster presentation on the epistemology of sexual assault trials. 

Student News

Recent news about student projects I advise and collaborations with students. Details on request.
 

I'm on this fellowship this year, so many she'll take over my office next year, and we'll call it the Philosophy Wing of the research centre!