Philosophy of Pedagogy (3000-4000 Level Courses)

I construct my advanced courses around a theme. Though this has the disadvantage of ignoring those aspects of the speciality irrelevant to the theme, the strategy does posses the considerable advantage of allowing us to develop an extended, coherent argument/explanation to which all the assigned readings contribute.

Because these are advanced courses, I expect you to take much more responsibility for your learning. By this I mean that instead of me teaching you by means of didactic lecture, you will be expected to teach yourselves by means of reading and discussion.

More specifically, there will be no formal lectures in this course. Instead, you will be assigned readings accompanied by questions which, in your endeavour to answer, will guide and provide a context for your learning. For each reading, the procedures outlined below will be utilized:

1) individual level reading wherein you will struggle by yourself to comprehend, guided by the assigned questions, which will inevitably give rise to multiple understandings, confusions, your own questions, etc.

2) group discussion level of the reading (I will assign you into groups) wherein you - together with the other members of your group - will struggle to comprehend the assigned questions and attempt to deal with your and the other group members multiple understandings, confusions, questions, etc.

3) class discussion level wherein all of us (including me) will do the same.

This pedagogy is intended to produce for each of you the more profound understanding that can only emerge from this co-operative grappling with the material. I wish you to transform information into knowledge. Rather than being your teacher (which implies that I am the fount of knowledge to be imparted to you in the form of information by means of lecture), I am your guide and helper.

This pedagogy means that you must do the work. More specifically, you must do the readings and answer the questions so you will be prepared for discussion and collaboration with your fellow students. Your obligation is not so much to me as it is to your fellow students. Not only must you do the work, you must do it on time. There is no point whatsoever in doing a reading and answering the questions two weeks after it is due. Your participation (reading, answering questions, discussion with others) is crucial; the success of the course depends on this.