When we think of progress in Philosophy for Children, we often think about students developing important skills and dispositions such as these:
giving reasons
getting better at justifying
becoming more confident to share their thoughts
having more empathy
questioning and challenging each other
asking for clarification
building on other people’s ideas
disagreeing respectfully
becoming more skilled at the 4Cs
listing relevant criteria for different scenarios
and so on.
But progress in P4C goes beyond skills. Students should also progress in terms of their conceptual knowledge and understanding:
gain deeper understanding of concepts
start to differentiate between belief and knowledge
understand the importance of evidence, justification, and reasoning
realise what we know is often built up from different ideas, experiences, or sources, not just one simple truth
recognise subjectivity and perspective.
Metacognitive awareness
This leads to more metacognitive awareness. For example, progress in P4C often means shifting from I know what I think or I know the right answer to I can explore different possibilities and ask better questions.
Find some time to reflect on where your students are up to.
