CFP: 2024 AAPT-APA Teaching Hub - Pacific Division

The American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT) and the APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy (CTP) seek presenters for various sessions at the AAPT-APA Teaching Hub at the 2024 APA Pacific Division meeting, March 20–23, in Portland, Oregon. The AAPT-APA Teaching Hub is a collaborative meeting space hosting a series of interactive workshops and conversations designed specifically for philosophers and created to celebrate teaching within the context of the APA divisional meetings. The Teaching Hub aims to offer a range of high-quality and inclusive development opportunities that address the teaching of philosophy at all levels.

FORMAT: 

Rather than a traditional paper presentation, Teaching Hub sessions are expected to be highly interactive. Proposals should indicate how audience members will participate in the session. The primary goal for the Teaching Hub is for attendees to walk away with something concrete to deploy in their own classrooms/teaching context.

What does the Teaching Hub mean by “highly interactive”? This includes (but is not limited to) the following:

• Presenters focusing less time on arguments for teaching some content or teaching a particular way, and more time on what it would actually look like to teach that content or teach in that way.

• Presenters thinking of the audience as their students and themselves as the facilitator/teacher. How could you cover the same content in a way that your audience participates in active learning activities during the session time?

• Presenters offering clear, practical examples of teaching methods, classroom activities, policies, practices, etc.

SUBMISSION: 

• Proposals should be submitted to individual session chairs, whose names and email addresses are listed below. 

• In the body of the email, please include your name, institutional affiliation (if any), position (if any), and email contact information.

• Attached to the email, please include an anonymized submission of 500–750 words (.doc, .docx, or .pdf) detailing the following: (1) description of the focus of your session, (2) an overview of how you plan to use your session time, including how you will make the session highly interactive, and (3) what you hope the audience will take away from your session.

• We aim to ensure representation of a range of voices.

DEADLINE for all proposals: September 1, 2023.

1. ChatGPT & AI in Education

In the fall of 2022, the announcement of ChatGPT produced a flurry of commentary that education as we knew was over, with many contending that the capabilities of ChatGPT should lead us to completely redesign the way we teach. Others have adopted a more measured tone and strategies in response, but the rapid pace of technological change raises a host of important pedagogical and philosophical questions that are important to discuss. We welcome submissions that address questions about the pedagogical and ethics implications of AI technology. Among the questions we hope to address include the following:

• Should faculty use AI in the classroom? If so, in what ways and for what purposes? What are the ethical implications of using AI in the classroom?
• What important questions about the ethics of idea generation and creation in the classroom does the improvement of text generation technology raise, and what does this imply for our pedagogical practices?
• What kinds of assignments, if any, would be AI-proof, and should AI-proofing be an important consideration for assessment design?
• Are there serious ethical concerns with using AI to combat AI plagiarism, and, more generally, using detection software in the first place?
• Does the rapid change in AI capabilities suggest that re-designing our assignments and pedagogical approaches in light of them is futile? If so, what considerations should we take into account when we design courses and assessments?

Anonymized proposals should be sent to Rebeka Ferreira ([email protected]) and Carissa Phillips-Garrett ([email protected]) by September 1, 2023, with the subject line “ChatGPT & AI in Education AAPT-APA TH 2024.”

2. Creative & Radical Pedagogy

The Graduate Student Council (GSC) of the APA and the Teaching Hub seek presenters for a session on Creative and Radical Pedagogy at the Teaching Hub of the 2024 Pacific Division Meeting of the APA. We look forward to submissions that take up both creative approaches to classic pedagogy, as well as radical reimaginings of how we should approach teaching and assessing philosophy. Presentation topics might address, but are not limited to, the following questions:

• What are important guidelines, strategies, or policies for balancing student mental health and the need for flexibility with pedagogical reasons for requiring attendance and giving flexibility on deadlines? Do flexible attendance and grading policies support students in learning?
• How should trauma-informed pedagogy reshape our learning goals and practices?
• What are creative assessments that go beyond narrative and/or numerical evaluation, and what are strategies for developing such assessments?
• What are creative ways of teaching students how to read and/or write philosophy?
• How can we make online discussions more lively, effective, and personable?
• Are there good strategies to balance efforts to diversify syllabi and move away from the Eurocentric canon with ensuring that majors have a sufficient foundation in classical Western philosophy? Should we even try to do so?

Anonymized proposals should be sent to Rebeka Ferreira ([email protected]) and Carissa Phillips-Garrett ([email protected]) by September 1, 2023, with the subject line “Creative & Radical Pedagogy AAPT-APA TH 2024.”

3. Outreach & Growth

With college enrollments projected to drop in the coming years and the devaluing of the humanities in favor of STEM, there is increased pressure to articulate and show the value of philosophy. Additionally, philosophers have become increasingly interested in developing outreach opportunities to bring philosophy beyond traditional classroom spaces on university campuses. In this session, we welcome proposals on any topic related to this theme, including (but not limited to) the following topics:

• Successful strategies for philosophers to collaborate with other departments and disciplines, especially STEM disciplines
• Philosophy in the pre-college years
• Strategies for building philosophical opportunities at non-major/degree granting institutions
• Participation in specific outreach activities in the community, such as Philosophy in Prison
• How to spread the value of philosophy on campus, such as hosting an “Ask a Philosopher” table on campus

Anonymized proposals should be sent to Rebeka Ferreira ([email protected]) and Carissa Phillips-Garrett ([email protected]) by September 1, 2023, with the subject line “Outreach & Growth AAPT-APA TH 2024.”

For general information about the AAPT-APA Teaching Hub, please visit https://www.apaonline.org/page/TeachingHub. For specific information about the Teaching Hub at the 2024 APA meeting in Portland, please contact co-chairs Carissa Phillips-Garrett ([email protected]) and Rebeka Ferreira ([email protected]).

https://www.apaonline.org/general/custom.asp?page=TeachingHub2024CFP#pacific