Trent's Teaching Tips: Tone it down

So I went in to teach today with a terribly soar throat.  I *hate* to cancel class, so I thought I could probably just get by.  I'm a pretty animated speaker and so I'm fairly accustomed to wrapped attention, but today of all days all eyes were on me.  The reason, I take it, is that I was speaking half my usual volume and sitting on a table instead of frenetically pacing about all over the room as usual. 

 

Now obviously if you just waked in and did this from day one, they'd be sawing logs in no time.  But the *variance* seems to have really grabbed their attention, even more than usual.  I read teaching books from time to time and in thinking about this was reminded that that I once read the suggestion to do this within an individual class.  I don't know about that, but I can certainly tell you that the change was noticed and made class work in spite of my low level of energy.  Pretty cool.  

Teaching with paradoxes: sorting out sorites soreness.

So it's been a bit frustrating to have students avow that two grains of sand is a pile (and thus denying that one grain never makes the difference between a pile and a non-pile). Yet several have done just that--the majority in one section. So next time, I'm going to walk in and say "Who put this pile of sand on my desk?!" (And, I *vow* there will be two grains.) Then *after* they says that's crazy that two grains of sand are a pile I'll say "Hmmm, well then what do you say about this..."

The idea is that they might well say anything in *response* to a paradox (professional philosophers sure do!), but if you elicit the intuitions when they're off their guard, you can use them against them later.

If you're one of my students, don't spoil the secret! :-)

JFP = "Just Freakin Post it!"

The text for the link to the new JFP has been up since at least 5:30 am, but it is still not active! C'mon people, don't you know some of us are OCD! This is the worst control-to-importance position we are likely to be in, don't make it harder! Just freakin' post it! :-D (But seriously...

October Surprise!

September was rough, finishing up the dissertation.  Very rewarding work though, feels amazing to have that thing handed in.  I'm very happy with how it turned out, more connected than I even thought.  It actually tells a story, there's a sort of narrative logic through it, which, interesting, emerged from shifting the order of the chapters around a bit.  

The last two weeks I've been focused on the details of the 5th Biennial Graduate Epistemology Conference, and the next month will see me awash in job applications.  Then in November I'll be reading a book MS for an Author Meets Critics session at the Eastern APA (where my fate will be decided!).  

After that, I'm eager to return to a couple of pet paper projects which have had to be put on hold in the mean time.  

That's all the news that isn't here.