Philosophy for Children

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Philosophy for Children Developing Language for
Learning through P4C 4th February 2009 Sue
Youngson Tracey Millar
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• Overview of the workshop
• Quick overview of what P4C is.
• Context of Marshlands School
• Why P4C
• How we implemented P4C
• What benefits are to Marshlands
• What it is not
• A workshop on how to implement P4C in your
  school

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• The Origins of Philosophy
• for Children

• Developed by Professor Matthew Lipman Ann Sharp
• Why?

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Theory

• Socrates I know nothing except the fact of my
  ignorance
• Vygotsky What the child can do in co-operation
  today, he can do alone tomorrow
• Dewey An education that emphasises community,
  communication and intelligent enquiry, and a
  reconstructive attitude can best serve the
  citizens of an ever-changing world

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Aims of Philosophy for Children

• Developing cognitive ability and emotional
  intelligence
• Helping children become more reasonable thinkers
  and problem solvers
• Promoting such dispositions and qualities as
  curiosity, creativity and wisdom

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The Development of Thinking Skills
Higher order thinking skills
Middle order thinking skills
Lower order thinking skills
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The structure of an Enquiry

• Preparation
• Presentation
• Thinking time
• Conversation
• Formulation
• Airing
• Selection
• First words
• Building
• Last words

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The teachers/facilitators role is to

• Choose a suitable stimulus
• Establish group conventions
• Extend pupils thinking
• Steer the discussion by asking Socratic'
  questions see sheet/next slide
• or
• Purely as a facilitator

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Success Criteria and Evaluation

• Ask good questions to provide a focus for the
  enquiry?
• Give reasons or evidence to support arguments and
  judgements?
• Clarify concepts through making connections,
  distinctions and comparisons?
• Generate ideas and alternative viewpoints through
  imaginative thinking?
• Test for truth by gathering information,
  evaluating evidence, examples and counter
  examples?
• Expand ideas by sustaining and extending lines of
  thought and argument?
• Summarise by abstracting key points of general
  rules from a number of idea or instances?
• Evaluate their own discussion/contribution/thinkin
  g

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Background to Marshlands Primary school

• In an area of deprivation in the most 10
  deprived areas in the Country was classed as a
  hard to shift school until 2008.
• Improving school (OFSTED 2008)
• Majority of children achieve or exceed targets
  compared to FFT type D data.
• Considered a successful and effective school
  (LEA 2008).

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Why do P4C at Marshlands Primary School?

• Speaking listening had been identified by the
  school as an area for development initially as
  part of the ISP.
• The headteacher had heard about the benefits of
  P4C for speaking listening
• Children have low levels of attainment in
  speaking and listening on entry and while
  interventions such as Teaching Children Talking
  were effective it was felt that a whole school
  wave 1 initiative might be valuable.

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So how was language developed in year 5 in
Marshlands Primary School?

• All children developed confidence in speaking
• Most notably vulnerable girls SEN boys
• Able to extend gifted talented
• Able to use in other context in out of class
  
• Impact on behaviour through a common language
• Developed causal language i.e. because
• Developed ability ask appropriate questions
  across subjects
• More analytical about talk

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• Why we felt language in year 5 developed?
• P4C allows-
• Reflection Time time to compose thoughts before
  speaking, think, pair, share.
• Week by week consolidation extension of
  vocabulary allowing over- learning of vocabulary
  for SEN extension for GT
• Peer modelling support
• Teaches skills for effective communication.
• Ensures all children speak developing confidence
  in the quieter or more vulnerable children.
• Ensures children develop listening skills
  particularly in more dominant children
• Teaches the correct terminology for debate
• Gave children chance to develop thinking skills
• Such as, questioning, self-reflection, higher
  order skills such as synthesis (developing
  arguments), and evaluation

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• Other benefits
• Encouraged children to listen and value other
  peoples opinion
• Enabled children to develop more independence in
  their thinking
• Developed democracy and decision making skills
• Gave the children the language to challenge other
  children's in a constructive manner
• Children were seen to transfer speaking,
  listening and thinking, skills to other lessons
  and situation

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What next?

• Rolled out to the junior classes and year 2
  after further consultation with the teachers.
• Then looked at adapting it initially for year 1
  and then for foundation

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• Adaptations
• Year 1
• Whole class for stimulus sharing
• Chn split up into groups
• Each group worked on a P4C skill for 15 mins
  then moved around to different skill.
• Foundation
• Children split up into groups of approx 6 and
  they did 5 minutes on each skill.

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Ofsted and P4C

• Ofsted view P4C favourably see hand out

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Questions