Experiencing Philosophy: Engaging Students in Advanced Theory

Abstract

In this paper, we will argue, predominantly using examples tested in the crucible of our own teaching, that there is a place for experiential education in the teaching of advanced theoretical ideas. As experiential educators trained as philosophers of education and working in faculties of education, we regularly encounter students with little or no history, experience, even aptitude in engaging philosophical texts and concepts, and as such, finding ways to better enter those discussions is an important pedagogical project. In this paper, we will describe three experiences that we have designed over the course of our attempts to respond to the aforementioned challenge. In the first example, John Dewey and the Sticky Rope, the activity has been constructed to help in understanding a particular philosophical text. The second activity, A Question of Framing, is designed to help make sense of an educational discussion on a particular aspect of pedagogical practice. The final activity, Martin Buber's Encounter on a Knife-Edged Ridge, is a material incarnation of a written metaphor of the philosopher's own creation. We conclude this paper by suggesting that our experiences using these activities and a myriad others offer insight into how experiential educators might consider the use of the visceral and somatic experience as a means to enter and engage in deeply philosophical and theoretical content.

Keywords

Experiential Education Philosophy of Education John Dewey Martin Buber Framing

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