2012 IB Asia Pacific Conference Singapore
Collaborative Inquiry through Philosophy for Children (P4C)
Cultivating thinking, questioning and discussion.
Presenters: Paul Southwell, Nick Martin and Nicole Jaggers
Radford College Canberra
What does it mean to be educated?
Is it more important to know or understand?
Is it more important to be knowledgeable or a thinker?
Collaborative Inquiry through Philosophy for Children (P4C)
Cultivating thinking, questioning and discussion.
Presenters: Paul Southwell, Nick Martin and Nicole Jaggers
Radford College Canberra
What does it mean to be educated?
Is it more important to know or understand?
Is it more important to be knowledgeable or a thinker?
This session will explore the role of philosophical inquiry in deepening student questions whilst providing practical tools for supporting discussion. P4C assists children in making sense of the world by providing them with the skills and confidence to articulate their opinions and beliefs in a safe and nurturing community of inquiry. P4C is not a subject, but rather a way of bringing the curriculum to life by engaging students in meaningful discussion around issues and concepts of relevance and importance to the students. Students learn to reason together and share their intellectual thinking to reach a reflective understanding of concepts discussed.
This workshop will reflect on the journey Radford College is taking in embedding P4C within its Programme of Inquiry. It will outline the key components of the P4C approach as well as provide practical examples of how philosophical inquiry can enhance Units of Inquiry. It will also attempt to tackle, through the voices of children, the important question, What does it mean to be educated?
Participants will be engaged in a range of philosophical questioning skills and practical tools, enabling them to take back ideas to share with their school community that will result in a positive impact on teaching and learning.