Course Details

Course #: AR180428
Course Title: An Introduction to Philosophy for Children
Course Description: This course is designed to aid educators in incorporating the theories and strategies of Philosophy
for Children (p4c) Hawai'i and the philosopher's pedagogy (Makaiau & Miller, 2012) into their own
pedagogical frameworks. Philosophy for Children is a worldwide movement in response to the callfor school redesign and overall education improvement for students across the globe. Since 1984,
p4c Hawai'i has been used to encourage students to approach learning as a critical thinker and asa significant member of meaningful community of inquiry.
In true p4c Hawai'i spirit, this professional development plan is not designed to be prescriptive.
Each educator will have to collectively challenge their thinking as they strive towards finding waysthat p4c Hawai'i can be used to promote a positive change in their classroom practice. The course
is designed to create an intellectually safe collaborative community of inquiry, provide a conceptual
understanding of the philosopher's pedagogy, model p4c Hawai'i's foundational strategies andactivities, and aid educators in the designing of curriculum to be implemented into their contentspecific classes.
The course will take place on Oahu and run from January 11, 2016 through May 20, 2016.
Portfolios will be submitted by April 22, 2016. Course participants will meet once a week for 2
hours for 12 weeks during the duration of the course. The course participants and the instructors
will collectively determine the meeting schedule and location. No funds will be provided forstipends, substitutes or transportation.

Disclaimer: No funds for substitutes, stipends or transporation willl be provided.
Sponsoring Group: OCISS State
Number of Credits(Hours for NonCredit Courses):

Charter
User School
3.0 PD Credit--

Allow Audit: No

Flat Fees:

Show/Hide Fees

Course Type: Live
Course Survey: Professional Development Evaluation
Category: Action Research
Course Provider: Department Sponsored
Prerequisites:
Notes:
Allow participant to No
enroll in multiple
sections of same
course:Availability: Hawaii
Subjects: - Not Set Required
Demographics: - No Demographics Set Recommended
Demographics: - No Demographics Set Restricted
Demographics: - No Demographics Set Competencies: - Not Set Sections

StatusSectionSection#Instructor(s)Amber Makaiau
Benjamin T

Date

Seats

Lukey1.

An Introduction to Philosphy for Children January
280356 Chad Miller
2016-May 2016
Thomas Yos

January 11, 2016 - May
20, 2016

30

Thomas ElricJackson

Additional Information

Syllabus
Specific Objectives:

1. Identify and explain the components, history, and theories of p4c Hawai‘i/philosopher’spedagogy is based upon.
2.

Develop an intellectually safe professional community of inquiry.

3. Create and use tools and strategies for mediating listening and speaking in order to create
an intellectually safe community of inquiry.
4.

Explain the relevance and purpose of an intellectually safe classroom community.

5. Identify, explain, and apply the seven reasoning tools of The Good Thinker’s Toolkit to makeprogress in a philosophical inquiry.
6. Design lessons to teach and hone the thinking skills of The Good Thinker’s Toolkit tostudents.
7. Create a specific plan of action portfolio that uses evidence (i.e. specific classroom
strategies, assessment activities, unit plans, videos, classroom observation, etc.) and reflection
to demonstrate how they have modified their current practice in order to utilize and implement thephilosopher’s pedagogy into their classroom practice.

Activities to Achieve
Objectives:

Content of Learning
Portfolio:

Read several articles and chapters that lay the foundation for the philosopher’s pedagogy
Engage in a collaborative discussion to identify the behaviors associated with intellectual
safetyRead student reflections of their experiences with the philosopher’s pedagogy
View video of an expert p4c Hawai‘i teacher in action
Participate in ongoing activities that model and create a professional community of inquiry
Participate in guided reflection of their practice in connection to the commitments of thephilosopher’s pedagogy
Show the progression of their development throughout the course through the use of areflection journal, discussion notes, and philosophical inquiry questions
Apply the Good Thinker’s Toolkit to their subject areas
Participate in intellectually safe “Plain Vanilla” philosophical dialogues (not debates) that
explore complex topics and issues
Develop a portfolio that contains key course information, strategies designed andimplemented in the classroom, and participant reflections

The Portfolio: This will be used to provide evidence to show your growth as a p4c Hawaii
instructor.The requirements for Learning Results Portfolio:
1. One page description of the context in which you are teaching (i.e. grade level, content
area, student demographics, grade, student profiles, school culture, etc.)
2. Three context-sensitive p4c Hawaii lesson plans that include:
1. Content standards addressed
2. p4c Hawaii elements addressed
3. Lesson/Unit objectives
4. Agenda
5. Procedural description (describe how the class is going to go/what are the students
going to do).
6. Assessment Activities

7. Assessment Tools (i.e. rubrics)
8. A written teacher reflection after lesson is taught
3. Evidence of student learning. This should include student learning evidence from at least three
students at varying levels of proficiency. The evidence should be collected at two points in timedemonstrating how you acted on the evidence to improve the students’ learning. This should beaccompanied by a written reflection.
4. One video recorded p4c Hawaii Lesson and a written reflection of the lesson that incorporates
evidence and examples from your video. This reflection should be structured to either address
the Four Pillars of p4c Hawaii or the Six Commitments of the philosopher’s pedagogy.
5. Culminating reflection by the teacher at the end of the course describing what was learned,
how the course impacted their teaching, and what steps they want/need to take next.

Captions: Each and every document in the portfolio including all student work samples
must contain a caption that does the following:
Explains what the document is:
Why is it being provided as evidence; andWhat is is evidence of

Other Instructions:This course will run from January 11, 2016 through May 20 2016. Portfolios will be due on April
22, 2016. This is a face-to-face course and participants will meet weekly 12 times during theduration of the course for 2 hours.

Course Requirements:

Participants need access to a classroom as well as computer and internet access. Prior
approval is needed from the teacher's principal or supervising administrator to use this course
for reclassification (Form 201a). This course will meet weekly on Oahu from January 2016-May
2016. The participants and the course instructor will determine the exact meeting schedule andlocation on Oahu. There is no funding for transportation, substitutes or stipends. The meetings
will take place on weekdays after school hours.

(Prerequisite skills, text
reading) Prior approval fromteacher's principal orsupervising administrator asneeded to use this course
reclassification (Form 201a)

Fee Payment To:

there is no fee for this course

Program Plan
Qualifications ofInstructor(s):Dr. Amber Strong Makaiau is currently the Director of Curriculum and Research at the Universityof Hawai’i Uehiro Academy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education. Dr. Makaiau graduated witha BA in Psychology and Education from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1999. Deeply
affected by the undergraduate fieldwork in California’s public schools Dr. Makaiau returned
home to Hawaii to cultivate a teaching practice emphasizing social justice, multicultural, culturally
responsive, and student-centered approaches to education.
Dr. Chad Miller is currently the Director of Teacher Development at the Uehiro Academy for
Philosophy and Ethics in Education at UH Manoa. Dr. Miller received his Doctorate ofPhilosophy in Educational Foundations from the University of HawaiÊ»i at MÄ​noa (2013). Dr.
Miller was the HawaiÊ»i State Teacher of the Year in 2012 and received his National Board forProfessional Teaching Standards Certification in 2009. He has published two articles and given
over 20 presentations at academic conferences concerning the use of p4c Hawai‘i and thephilosopher’s pedagogy. He has been leading teacher workshops and teaching professional
development courses since 2007.
Dr. Thomas Jackson (“Dr. J”) received his PhD in Comparative Philosophy from the University of
Hawai’i in 1979. In 1984 he discovered “Philosophy for Children” (p4c) and spent three weeks at
a workshop at Montclair State University in New Jersey with other scholars from around theworld. There he learned from p4C’s creator, Matthew Lipman, an inspiring approach to working
with children, a provocative new way of thinking about philosophy and an exciting development ineducation. Since 1984 he has been passionately committed to the development of p4c in
Hawai`i and around the world. In 1987 he became a full time Specialist with the Department of
Philosophy, UH Manoa and Director of the Philosophy in the Schools Project, a joint effort

between the Department of Philosophy and the Hawai’i Department of Education. Dr. J works inclassrooms with teachers and their students, regularly offers courses in p4c both on and off the
UH Manoa campus, serves on dissertation committees of students engaged in research on p4c
in both the College of Arts & Humanities and in the College of Education in Hawai’i and students
who come from abroad to study the p4c Hawai’i approach. Dr. J has been a conference andworkshop presenter and keynote speaker locally, nationally, and internationally in China, Taiwan,
Singapore, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Austria and Israel.
Dr. Benjamin Lukey is the Associate Director of the University of HawaiÊ»i at MÄ​noa’s Uehiro
Academy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education. While completing a Masters and Doctorate in
Philosophy at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, he facilitated p4c inquiries and worked withmany excellent teachers at Waikiki Elementary, Hokulani Elementary, Wai‘au Elementary andAla Wai Elementary. Dr. Lukey also spent two years facilitating p4c at Loveland Academy,
working with children with autism and other developmental disorders. Since 2007, Dr. Lukey has
served as the Philosopher in Residence at Kailua High School, working with English and Ethnic
Studies teachers to integrate p4c Hawaii into their curricula. In addition to his administrative
duties, Dr. Lukey serves as Philosopher in Residence at Waimanalo Elementary andIntermediate School, and continues to support p4c Hawaii teachers and students at Waikiki
School and the University of Hawai‘i at MÄ​noa.
Dr. Thomas “Toby” Yos is a part-time Assistant Specialist at the Uehiro Academy. His primary
focus is on designing and coordinating Academy outreach programs. Dr. Yos is also aphilosopher-in-residence at Ala Wai Elementary School. Situated in the school’s counselingdepartment, Dr. Yos works with teachers to incorporate p4c Hawaii into their classrooms and ispiloting new p4c Hawaii based counseling projects. Dr. Yos received his Doctorate degree in
Philosophy from the University of Hawai‘i, MÄ​noa. His dissertation, entitled “Educating for Good
Judgment,” was the first in the Philosophy department to concentrate on Philosophy for Children.
Dr. Yos began his work with p4cH in 1991 and he has worked with teachers at Kaala Elementary
School, Waiau Elementary School, Pearl Harbor Elementary School, and, for the past twenty
years, Ala Wai Elementary School. Working in the Ala Wai Counseling Department as thecoordinator of the school’s Primary School Adjustment Project, Dr. Yos has had extensive
training and practice in leading Child-Led Play counseling sessions. In 2008 Dr. Yos and his Ala
Wai School Counseling Department colleagues were honored by the Coalition for a Drug-Free
Hawaii with the Ola Pono award for promoting safe, healthy, and drug-free lifestyles.

Purpose of the Activity:

To provide teachers with ongoing professional development opportunities that allow them tomore deeply understand and implement an inquiry based approach to learning.

Budget Plan Details:

n/aAdditional Information:

Participants must have access to a computer with internet access. Participants must have theirown classroom or access to a classroom to implement their lesson plans.

Elements of Quality PD
Focus on the HawaiiContent and PerformanceStandards (HCPS):
Identifies HCPS focus.
Describes how the
HCPS will
broaden/expand
teachers knowledge ofthe content they teach.

The professional development course provides participants with resources and examples tosupport inquiry based instruction tied to Hawaii’s Core Standards and the p4c pedagogy. The
course will help teachers deepen their knowledge of Hawaii’s Core Standards and inquiry based
instruction. The formative assessment process will be embedded throughout the course as
participants determine learning goals, provide descriptive feedback and adjust instruction
throughout.

Focus on the School's
Strategic Plan:
Professional
Development activity is
an integral part ofschool-wide goals.
School Strategic Plan
supports the need for the
professional
development course or
activity.

Teachers will incorporate the inquiry based approach into their classrooms to deepen student
learning. This professional development activity is directly tied to the Educator Evaluation
System and the Danielson Framework for Teaching as it support the generation of high quality
rigorous questions and discussions.

Focus on Student Learning, Participants will use the portfolio process to demonstrate their impact on student action andaccomplishment. Students will deepen their understanding of the General learning outcomes
Results-Oriented:
Demonstrates impact on and their quality products will be collected and shared in the portfolios. The p4c Hawaii
approach focuses on helping students truly become community contributors as they work withstudent action andtheir peers in a community of inquiry.
accomplishment.
Develops generallearning outcomes.
Generates quality
student performance andproducts.

Appropriate Content:
Incorporates content
knowledge and specificresearch valid
Links new to priorknowledge.
Delivers content
appropriate forparticipants.

On-going and Sustained:
Is long-range andsupported over time.
Allows participants toexperiment/reflect on
their practices.

Active Engagement:
Models what needs tooccur in the classroom.
Is inquiry-based, varied
and engaging
Models practice byfacilitator/instructor.

The activities throughout the course will continually have teachers linking their previous learning to
the new knowledge they are co-creating with their students. Teachers will be provided with
opportunities to reflect on their practice throughout the course, including the reflection on their
video-taped lesson.

Teachers involved with the p4c Hawaii approach will be part of a network of educators working
together across the state to support inquiry based instruction.

The course will model the type of p4c instruction that will take place in the classroom. The
participants will be actively engaged in coursework as they:
Participate in community of inquiry discussion
Develop philosophical questions
Conduct action research
Reflect on their learning and teaching practices
Use student work to formatively assess student learning
Create and implement standard-based curriculum and reflect on its impact

Collegial:

Participants in the class’ community of inquiry will build trustworthy relationships among peers
Brings teams together. and a habit of collaboration in their practice.
Requires participants todesign and implement
activities that have direct
application to work.

Job-Embedded:
Is an integral part of theschool.
Rpresents mutual
obligation and requires
planning and reflecting
on practice.

Teachers are learning an approach that they will use in their own classrooms. They aredesigning and delivering the p4c instruction in their classrooms.

Systemic Perspective:

Participants in the course will recognize that they are stakeholders in the education discourse
Incorporates stakeholder and planning. This course is being offered in response to teacher requests to deepen theirunderstanding of inquiry based learning and Hawaii p4c. This course fits well with the Danielsongroup(s).
Creates responsibilities Framework for Teaching and the desire to have teachers increase their ability to ask high levelin the change process. inquiry based questions and guide effective discussions.

Client-Focused andAdaptive:

The course is being created due to the strong interest of teachers across the system. A survey
was administered to faculty at one high school and roughly 50% of the faculty indicated wanting
Based on interest/needs professional development on the philosopher’s pedagogy and bringing philosophical inquiry into
the subject areas they teach. Teachers comments from the survey were incorporated into theof participants, school,
design of the coursework and activities.
and change over time.
Based on formal
analysis of needs.

Incorporates Reflection:

One of the defining features of the pedagogy is reflection. Participants in this course will be
Has time for participants given tools to support their development as a reflective practitioner.
to analyze and reflect.
Challenges, enhancesand connects withpractice.
Promotes continuous
improvement.

Requires Learning Portfolio Each participant will submit a learning results portfolio that is reflective of the course content
learned and implemented.
From Each Participant:Mutual agreement on thecontent of the portfolio.
Portfolio is a reflectionand evidence of newlearnings.
Incorporates Essential
Features of a Learning
Results Portfolio.

Sponsor Assures Quality
PD Activity:
PD application
accurately reflects
course content andimplementation.
Instructor delivers course
content as specified in
the application.
Instructor sponsor
ensures quality portfolios
reviews all portfolios andrequests revisions asnecessary.
Application documents
include timelines,
including how and whenpost-events activities will
be completed.

The course activities and assignments are aligned with the course objectives listed on the PD
application. Participants will be provided with class schedules, course assignments and due
dates. Follow-up reminders will be provided to participants, as needed, for successful
completion of course requirements.