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APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy1999 ReportVolume
73, Number 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosalind Ekman Ladd, Chair The most visible part of the work of the committee this year has been its sponsorship of sessions on teaching at the three divisional meetings. At the Eastern division meeting, the committee session was on assessment of philosophy programs. It was very much a "how-to" session, developed in response to a number of inquiries from philosophers looking for help from the APA when their institutions, or in some cases state legislatures, have mandated assessment programs. Jacquelyn Kegley and Hugh Wilder presented models from their own institutions, and then fielded a lively question-answer period and a sharing of ideas among audience members. A summary of the presentations and a list of members who have agreed to serve as resource persons on assessment have been posted on the committee's section of the APA web page. The discussion also raised questions about the APA Statement on Assessment, drawn up a few years ago by another committee. There was some strong sentiment that the statement is not helpful and should be revised. The committee will present to the Board this fall a proposal for reevaluation and perhaps withdrawal of that statement. During the December meetings, the committee chair facilitated an hour long discussion on teaching in the graduate student lounge. Interest in the techniques of teaching is high among those just beginning their teaching careers, and this was a nice opportunity to share ideas, problems, and experience. At the Central division meetings, the committee co-sponsored a series of workshops with the American Association of Philosophy Teachers, as has been the practice for several years. Betsy Decyk organized the series. The topic at the Pacific division session was: Philosophical Reflections on Writing: Writing as a Tool for Inquiry. Chaired by Gayle L. Ormiston, the panelists included Hugo Bedau, Samuel Gorovitz, and A. P. Martinich. One of the long-term goals of the committee over the past three years has been to secure outside funding to develop APA resources for the support of teaching. The APA seems to be behind other professional organizations in this area and increased opportunities for faculty development and resources would be a valuable service to be able to provide members and would-be members. With this goal in mind, the committee, with the help of George Lucas and Eric Hoffman, prepared and submitted a preliminary proposal to FIPSE. Three month later, Congress announced that it was canceling funding for FIPSE grants for this year! The next step is to use the allocation the Board granted the committee to hire a professional to identify other possible funding sources and help write a full grant proposal. In keeping with the same goal, the committee submitted a proposal for a "seed-money" grant from Carnegie/American Association of Higher Education—to fund a planning meeting and some hours of a web master, to gather and post on the APA web site further resources on teaching specific to the discipline of philosophy. In March, Martin Benjamin and Eric Hoffman represented the committee at a meeting of the AAHE, focused on service learning and on developing the scholarship of teaching and learning. As a follow-up, next December's committee session will be on the topic of service learning. In addition to these activities, the committee is considering two new proposals. One, endorsed by the Committee for Pre-College Philosophy, is a proposal for support for an independent newsletter on philosophy for children. This proposal will be brought to the Board in October. The second is a proposal initiated by Wadsworth Publishing for co-sponsorship of a Philosophy web site devoted to on-line resources, designed to be particularly useful to part-time and new faculty. There are a number of details to be worked out before it can be presented to the Board for approval. The committee continues to solicit ideas and proposals for sessions at the divisional meetings, and also requests reports of members who have received teaching awards at their home institutions, so they may be recognized and honored by the APA. Ideas, suggestions, and queries from members are always welcome. |