The SoTL about Philosophy: a Research Collective (The SPaRC)
The SoTL about Philosophy: a Research Collective (The SPaRC)
Call for Participants
2027-2028 Topic: Question-Focused Pedagogy
Sponsored by the American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT) Committee on Teaching and Learning and the American Philosophical Association (APA) Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy, The SoTL about Philosophy: A Research Collective (The SPaRC) is an opportunity for mid- and late-career philosophers, and those with significant teaching and/or SoTL experience, to deepen their pedagogical practices and research. Participants who may no longer benefit from existing development opportunities available within the AAPT or APA (such as the AAPT Graduate Teaching & Learning Seminar, or the AAPT Early Career Symposium) are particularly well suited for this project. The SPaRC aims to provide participants with intentional pathways for expanding and further refining their philosophical pedagogies informed by the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, as well as opportunities for philosophical discourse that may lead to contributions to the scholarly literature. Finally, it aims to build a philosophical community for those interested in collaborative philosophical pedagogy and SoTL.
The topic of the 2027-2028 SPaRC will be question-focused philosophy pedagogies – i.e., the nature and role of questions, and how to help students understand, learn, and deepen philosophical questioning skills. We invite you to read the Question-Focused Pedagogy Series, part of the Blog of the APA, to better understand the project, the purpose of which is articulated here and with some examples here, here and here.
Through The SPaRC, participants will:
- Participate in a 2-week intensive, on-line discussion sessions taking place from 1- 4pm (Eastern) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from June 14-25, 2027. There will be common readings intended to be completed before and between these sessions.
- Develop (or deepen) question-focused pedagogies in their classroom practices during the ‘27-’28 academic year, and study and reflect on the efficacy of those practices, and
- Make their work public. To that end, we will organize opportunities to present (individually and/or in groups) at the 2028 AAPT workshop/conference.
In addition: - After the 2028 AAPT workshop/conference, the facilitators will work with participants who are interested in publishing opportunities.
The 2027-2028 SPaRC facilitators are:
● Stephen Bloch-Schulman, Elon University
● Melissa Jacquart, University of Cincinnati
● Giancarlo Tarantino, Arrupe College of Loyola University Chicago
Facilitators come from very diverse institutions (predominantly white and minority serving institutions; R1, SLAC, and 2 year schools) and bring a wealth of teaching and scholarship of teaching and learning experience and success, including having won two David W. Concepción Prizes for Excellence in Teaching and two Lenssen Prizes for contributions to the scholarship of teaching philosophy.
Application
Please submit a document with your name, contact information, and short responses to the following prompts. Please limit your responses to one to two paragraphs for each question.
.
● Teaching Experience and Current Teaching Context. A brief statement of your experience teaching (such as kinds of classes taught) and teaching context (such as student populations you have taught, and your pedagogical approach to teaching).
● Background in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and Pedagogy Research. How have you engaged with SoTL and philosophy pedagogy research previously? Have you presented at conferences or published work on philosophical pedagogy? Have you participated in related kinds of pedagogical development opportunities?
● Hopes and Expectations. What are you hoping to get out of this experience? What are you looking for as a philosophy teacher in relation to this group?
Application should be submitted as a PDF to https://forms.gle/XmmGjuSQpzVZaCVs5
Application Deadline: November 15th, 2026. We aim to notify applicants by December 1, 2026.
Please submit questions to Stephen Bloch-Schulman at sschulman@elon.edu.
