Philosophical Dialogue in Science Education

Conference  | Monday 18 – Tuesday 19 March 2019 | National STEM Learning Centre, York UK

A growing number of teachers, science communicators, museum educators and educators in the broadest sense adopt the practice of philosophy with children in the context of science education. Philosophical questions can ignite students’ interests in science and create a broader perspective on science, reality and society.

The philosopher Matthew Lipman observed that philosophical inquiry stimulates critical and creative thinking among students, and this has been supported by numerous studies in the last decennia. In the context of science education, philosophical dialogue may contribute to the discussion of big ideas such as substance, classification, the nature of science and ethically or culturally sensitive issues arising in the science class such as the theory of evolution or sexuality.

How do you integrate philosophical inquiry into the science curriculum? How can science teachers use philosophical inquiries? Which approaches exist to stimulate dialogue and discussion about conceptual issues in science? How do we know that philosophical dialogue helps meet the aims of science education?

In this meeting consisting of workshops and talks from international experts in philosophical dialogue in science education we aim to share and reflect upon innovative practices and research with regard to the use of philosophical dialogue in science education.

In this conference we aim to share and reflect upon innovative practices and research with regard to the use of philosophical dialogue in science education through workshops, presentations and other forms of inquiry. For more information, visit sites.google.com/view/aquestionofscience and https://www.york.ac.uk/education/research/uyseg/coursesandconferences/ Contact:

ly**********@yo**.uk