2018 AAPT Grant recipients

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Recipients of the 2018
AAPT Grant for Innovations in Teaching

(Projects 2019-2020)

Rebecca Scott, Harper College

The grant recipient plans to design an introduction to philosophy course in which students study the works of 4-5 current philosophers who speak on topics of relevance to majors and non-majors alike. Students will study a philosopher for 3-4 weeks and culminate the unit with a video conference call with the philosopher. The grant recipient also aims to have each philosopher comment on student papers on his or her work. Grant money will be used to reimburse the philosophers who participate in the video conference calls and respond to student work.

Kristin Seemuth Whaley, Graceland University

In her “Social Dimensions of Equality” course, the grant recipient plans to assign a poster presentation connecting methodology and theories discussed in class to a particular social or political issue. Students will work in groups as they create a poster that they will interactively present to their classmates and then eventually present at their university’s Scholars’ Showcase, a campus-wide event highlighting student research. Grant money will be used to pay for the costs of printing the posters.

David C. Spewak, Jr., Marion Military Institute

According to the grant recipient, researchers have neglected one of reflective journaling’s valuable uses which is to provide a safe place for students to work through difficult ideas in class before speaking. The grant recipient’s project aims to remedy this gap by analyzing the effects of regular, structured reflective journaling both in the classroom and outside the classroom. Grant money will be used to pay for the journals students use.

  • “Steve Biko as a Means of Introducing First-Year Philosophy Students to Modern Philosophy”

Gregory Swer, University of Zululand

According to the grant recipient, instruction in South African universities such as the University of Zululand is typically in English as opposed to the students’ mother tongue (There are 11 official languages in South Africa.) In the grant recipient’s introduction to philosophy course, student presentations on Steve Biko and modern philosophy will be recorded both in English and in the student’s mother tongue, isiZulu. The videos will be publicly disseminated. Grant money will be used to cover a salary for an isiZulu speaking postgraduate student to assist with the preparation of video presentations in isiZulu.

For more information about the grant program, visit https://philosophyteachers.org/aapt-grants-for-innovation-in-teaching/