Syllabus for Philosophy 650, section 1
Teaching Philosophy, schedule # 22678, PSFA 308
Steven Barbone/Fall 2015/Wednesdays 16h-18h45
Description from 2014-15 Graduate Bulletin: PHIL 650. Seminar in Teaching Philosophy (3).
Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in philosophy. Critical thinking and writing skills to teach
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philosophy. Syllabus construction, teaching techniques, assessment, and outcomes measurement.
Objectives: This course helps fulfill unit requirements for the MA degree in philosophy, and it can help
fulfill the requirement to have 4 seminars in philosophy. The primary objective is to prepare students to
teach introductory level philosophy classes. Specifically, students prepare a suitable curriculum vitæ and
cover letters as if they were applying for a teaching job. Students demonstrate appropriate use of student
assessment and outcome measurements and apply these to philosophy. Students construct exams, quizzes,
and other assessment measures and show how these might be assigned and evaluated. Students plan
introductory philosophy courses and construct an appropriate syllabus for courses. Students experience
what it is like to teach philosophy. These outcomes will be measured by students’ submitting a written
CV, cover letter, and written examples of skills to be taught and appropriate assessment techniques for
those skills. Students will submit in writing examples of exams, quizzes, and written assignments.
Successful learning will be measured by students’ preparation of a syllabus suitable for teaching critical
thinking, introduction to logic, introduction to ethics, and general introductory philosophy courses.
Classroom technique and poise will be assessed through the students’ delivering lectures or leading
teaching sessions.
As a secondary objective, students polish critical thinking, logic, and writing skills. Students demonstrate
basic knowledge of various theories of ethics, the history of philosophy, and general themes within
philosophy (metaphysics, theory of knowledge, etc.) These goals will be measured through successful
completion of written exercises, in class presentations, and incorporation of these main ideas into syllabi.
[Outcomes noted by italics.]
The classroom format for the first 11 weeks will be mostly lecture with some discussion; some peer
review and group work is required. Students will practice teach the final 3 weeks.
Required Texts: Green, Mitchell. Engaging Philosophy. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2006.
Morrow, David and Anthony Weston. A Workbook for Arguments. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing
Company, 2011.
Note: renting books is acceptable. In addition to these texts, there may be short readings distributed in
class or posted on Blackboard, and students may do independent readings in order to fulfill course
requirements. Students will also read and evaluate other students’ (including their classmates’) work
during the semester.
Contact Information:
Room 434, Arts and Letters Building.
Office phone: (619) 594-0249. Dept. phone: (619) 594-5263.
Email: barbone@rohan.sdsu.edu.
Office Hours, 24 August-10 December:
Tuesdays, about 11h-13h, Cuicacalli Dining Hall; Wednesdays, 14h-15h30, AL 434;
Thursdays about 11h-11h45, AL 434; other meetings by appointment at mutually convenient time.
Syllabus Phil 650
fall 2015
Quizzes and exams: No exams or quizzes will be offered in this course though there will be work
assigned in class to be completed in that class period. There is no final exam for this course (though for
the record, the final exam day/time for this course is Tuesday, 16 December, 16h-18h).
Written Assignments: 7 short written assignments will be assigned and collected, each one worth about
2.5% of the final grade (15% total). Many of these assignments are responses to material presented in a
session, so students must be present to be eligible to turn in the assignment. Many exercises will call for
short answers or ask the student to provide examples of some specific concept or idea. These exercises
will be assigned in their respective class periods.
Each student will turn in 4 syllabi, one suitable for a critical thinking course, one for an introductory logic
course, one for an introduction to ethics course, and one for a general introduction to philosophy course.
Each syllabus is worth 7.5% of the final grade (30% total). All syllabi are to be turned in electronically so
that they may be posted on Blackboard to be accessed (and assessed) by all students in the course.
Students will also provide written feedback to their peers on their syllabi and on their in-class lecturing.
The total value of all feedback is 20% of the final grade; individual values will be determined based on
enrollment. In all cases, written feedback will be given first to the instructor for evaluation and then to the
student who is to receive that feedback. For both types of feedback (for syllabus construction and for inclass presentation), each student will be given a rubric to use and be asked to provide additional
comments. Students are expected to be critical but kind in assessing their peers’ work. Feedback on
syllabi is due in the class immediately after syllabi are posted; feedback on teaching is due in the session
wherein the student lectured. No feedback is accepted late for credit.
Short presentations: Each student will have the opportunity to make some short presentation (probably
15-20 minutes depending upon enrollment) in the class. The goal is to get immediate feedback from the
instructor and classmates about style, poise, bearing, etc. Content will not be much considered, but how
that content is delivered will be evaluated. This presentation is worth 5% of the final grade.
Teaching sessions: Depending on enrollment, each student will lead a number of class sessions as if s/he
were an instructor assigned to teach a session of critical thinking, introduction to logic, introduction to
ethics, or general introduction to philosophy. Classmates will play the roles of undergraduates in those
classes. Students will receive feedback from the instructor and their peers about their performances. The
total value of all teaching sessions is 30% of the final grade. If possible, these sessions will be recorded
for each student to be able to have the chance to observe her/himself.
Attendance: Attendance is expected, and absence does not excuse a student from completing any
assignment or from the material covered in the missed class(es). If it is true that learning occurs as a result
of interactive experience, students should not expect to gain much from this course if they do not at least
allow for the possibility of that experience.
Because active participation is expected from each student, participation requires presence, so students
cannot expect to “make-up” any missed classes. Nevertheless, if a student foresees being absent and
communicates this to the instructor before the class meeting, the material from any missed class(es) may
be reviewed at a time mutually convenient for the student and the instructor. Make-up classes are a
privilege, not a right. Otherwise, in extraordinary circumstances (illness, death, other catastrophe) the
student may request upon returning to campus to have a make-up session. If a student has to miss a class
that s/he was scheduled to teach, that student may arrange to trade days with another student. There are no
other exceptions to this policy.
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By university policy, students who must miss a class meeting due to a scheduled religious holiday and/or
participation in an SDSU sponsored event (athletics, marching band, etc.) must inform the instructor
within the first 2 weeks of classes so that any necessary accommodations may be made. Failure to notify
the instructor before 4 September alleviates the instructor’s obligation to provide any accommodation.
Attendance, attentiveness, and participation are very important to the instructor, and while attendance
cannot count (per university policy) for any part of a student’s final grade, final grade calculations rarely
end up neatly or squarely on acceptable university grades (i.e., 4.0, 3.7, 3.3, etc.) Some value for
participation, however, may be used in computing a final grade. The instructor, therefore, will have some
“wiggle” room when assigning grades. If a student’s final average should work out numerically to be
3.69, the instructor is under no obligation to assign the nearest higher grade (i.e., 3.7 or A-). The student
fairly could be assigned 3.3 (B+) since the student didn’t make the 3.7 cutoff. Attendance, attentiveness,
and participation, then, may make a difference in a student’s final grade. If a student foresees any time
conflicts due to work, family, or personal concerns, that student is advised to withdraw and to take
another course.
Grades: Scores for all assignments will be made according to the guidelines in the SDSU 2014-2015
Graduate Bulletin. That is, 4.0 = A; 3.0 = B, and so on. Note that a grade of 3.0 (B) signifies that the work
is acceptable and done at the level one would expect; 2.0 (C) signifies that the work is acceptable but
barely so; 1 (D) signifies that the work is not acceptable for credit; 0 (F) indicates a failing grade. 4.0 (A)
signifies excellence and is assigned for the highest accomplishment.
The final grade is computed by averaging all assigned and graded work; once a numerical score is
determined, the instructor considers factors such as attendance, participation, effort, etc. in deciding
whether to raise (never lower) a student’s final grade above the numerical score.
Other: Students may learn how to avoid plagiarism by completing an on-line tutorial sponsored by Love
Library at: http://infotutor.sdsu.edu/plagiarism. The tutorial takes about 20-30 minutes to complete. The
library also offers help with citation styles. Go to: http://library.sdsu.edu/guides/sub.php?id=258.
All students are expected to follow the administrative rules and standards of conduct detailed in the San
Diego State University Catalogue. Students are expected to submit only their own work on papers. It is
the student’s responsibility to know and observe all the SDSU rules concerning academic integrity and
plagiarism. Students should become familiar with SDSU Academic Senate Policy on Plagiarism found at
http://senate.sdsu.edu/policy/pfacademics.html. Here are some highlights:
2.0 Definitions
2.1 Cheating shall be defined as the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work
by the use of dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent means. Examples of cheating include, but are not
limited to (a) copying, in part or in whole, from another’s test or other examination; (b) discussing
answers or ideas relating to the answers on a test or other examination without the permission of the
instructor; (c) obtaining copies of a test, an examination, or other course material without the
permission of the instructor; (d) using notes, cheat sheets, or other devices considered inappropriate
under the prescribed testing condition; (e) collaborating with another or others in work to be
presented without the permission of the instructor; (f) falsifying records, laboratory work, or other
course data; (g) submitting work previously presented in another course, if contrary to the rules of the
course; (h) altering or interfering with the grading procedures; (i) plagiarizing, as defined; and (j)
knowingly and intentionally assisting another student in any of the above.
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2.2 Plagiarism shall be defined as the act of incorporating ideas, words, or specific substance of
another, whether purchased, borrowed, or otherwise obtained, and submitting same to the University
as one’s own work to fulfill academic requirements without giving credit to the appropriate source.
Plagiarism shall include but not be limited to (a) submitting work, either in part or in whole,
completed by another; (b) omitting footnotes for ideas, statements, facts, or conclusions that belong
to another; (c) omitting quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a
paragraph, sentence, or part thereof; (d) close and lengthy paraphrasing of the writings of another; (e)
submitting another person’s artistic works, such as musical compositions, photographs, paintings,
drawings, or sculptures; and (f) submitting as one’s own work papers purchased from research
companies.
Some course material (study guides, notes, etc.) will be made available to students on Blackboard.
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class [e.g.,
additional time for an exam, sign language interpreter, oral texts rather than printed ones], it is your
responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt
of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note
that accommodations are not retroactive and that accommodations based upon disability cannot be
provided until you have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from Student Disability
Services. Students who have concerns that might prevent them from otherwise doing well in this course
should discuss this with the instructor so that arrangements may be made to accommodate their
conditions.
The use of laptop computers is allowed, but students should be mindful that flickering screens are
generally very distracting to those around them; please refrain from using a computer for activities other
than note taking. No one is required to be attentive or interested in classroom activities, but all students
are expected to behave as if they were interested in order not to disturb or to distract students who are
making the effort to be attentive.
End of syllabus
Course Calendar (Required readings and assignment due dates)
Phil 650, fall 2015
Readings are to be done before the scheduled class week. Based on enrollment, the calendar may change
to accommodate enough time for practical sessions for everyone.
1st week (26 August): Intro to the course; lighten up and things that bump in the night. Assignments #1
(cover letter and CV drafts) and #2 (essay on What I Bring) due next class meeting.
2nd week: (2 September): Writing help. Assignment #3 due next class meeting.
3rd week (9 September): Look at me! Seals and fishes (assessment and outcomes). Assignment #4 (sample
outcomes and assessments) due next class meeting.
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4 week (16 September): Constructing exams and quizzes; writing assignments; other. Assignment #5 due
next class meeting.
5th week (23 September): Texts and syllabus construction. Assignment #6 due (syllabus boiler plate) next
class meeting.
6th week (30 September): Class clowns and that scary guy. CV and cover letter, final versions due
(assignment #7) next class meeting.
7th week (7 October): Logic fun. Review Weston’s 10 rules. Syllabus for logic due on-line by next class
time.
8th week (14 October): Critical thinking. Review Weston’s worksheets.
Syllabus for critical thinking due on-line by next class time; feedback on classmates’ syllabi for logic due
in class.
9th week (21 October): Metaphysics (the good stuff). Green 1-30, 31-66; 97-120; 143-156.
Syllabus for general intro due on-line by next class time; feedback on classmates’ syllabi for critical
thinking due in class.
10th week (28 October): All about ethics. Green 67-96.
Syllabus for intro to ethics due on-line by class time; feedback on classmates’ syllabi for general intro
due in class.
11th week (4 November): Short presentations. Feedback on classmates’ syllabi on intro to ethics due in
class.
12th week (11 November): Veterans’ Day Holiday – no class.
13th-16th weeks: (18 and 25 November; 2 and 9 December): Teaching sessions. No class on 25 November
– Thanksgiving break.
Weeks 14-16: feedback due at the end of class for each student-teacher.
17th week: (16 December): scheduled time for in-class final exam, 16h.
There is no final exam for this course!
End of calendar
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Syllabus Phil 650
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Rubrics for all graded work
Philosophy 650 – fall 2015
Grading criteria for exercises (includes CV and cover letter)
To earn an F, you do not turn in the exercise.
To earn D (1.0) or lower, you do not turn in a complete exercise or you turn it in late.
You fail to put your name on each page of the exercise.
To earn C (2.0) or lower, you have met these minimum conditions:
You responded to all or most of the prompt, though not all correctly.
There are several grammatical or spelling errors in your work.
To earn B (3.0) or lower:
You respond correctly to the entire prompt.
Your responses are relatively free from grammatical and spelling errors.
To earn 3.5 or higher, you fulfill the above conditions as well as some of the following:
You use examples to illustrate your responses.
You use outside material (if appropriate) to add to your response.
To earn an A (4.0), you fulfill the above conditions as well as some of the following:
Your work is without error or cannot easily be improved.
Your responses address the prompt but also relate to a larger picture.
You use very original or interesting examples to support your responses.
Philosophy 650 – fall 2015
Grading criteria for syllabus construction
To earn an F, you do not turn in a syllabus.
To earn D (1.0) or lower, you meet any of these minimum conditions:
The syllabus is turned in late;
The syllabus is missing several key components; or
You fail to include your name and other identifying features on the syllabus.
To earn C (2.0) or lower, you meet these minimum conditions:
The syllabus is missing some key component(s);
The syllabus contains more than 4 misspellings or grammatical errors; or
The syllabus is unclear or confusing.
To earn B (3.0) or higher, your syllabus:
Contains all key components, including outcomes and assessments;
Is relatively free from grammatical or spelling errors;
Covers the necessary material; and
Neither covers too little nor too much.
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To earn an A (4.0), your syllabus does the above plus one or more of the following:
Is exceptionally clear or well organized;
Contains no errors;
Covers all the necessary material, but in an interesting or new way; or
Incorporates new material.
Philosophy 650 – fall 2015
Grading criteria for lecture and short presentation
To earn an F, you do not teach or present.
To earn D (1.0) or lower, your lecture meets these minimum conditions:
Your lecture or activity lasts less than 15 minutes;
The lecture is about some topic other than the one planned; or
The lecture is very disjointed or rambling.
To earn C (2.0) or lower, your presentation meets these minimum conditions:
The lecture or activity lasts less than 20 minutes;
You read the entire time to us, and what you read is uninteresting or not well organized;
You do not speak clearly or directly to us (e.g., you face the board or computer screen most of
the time);
Any graphics used are difficult to understand, appear unrelated, or are confusing; or
You ignore or otherwise do not respond to questions or misunderstandings.
To earn B (3.0) or lower, you:
Use the full time allotted for the lecture or activity without filler or fluff;
Read your lecture without looking up (though the content of the lecture is very good);
Remain motionless throughout the session;
Outline the session for us (or recap it);
Use graphics to support the content of your presentation (if appropriate);
Respond/acknowledge questions tersely without adding anything to them;
Control the class environment; or
Show respect for your “students.”
To earn 3.5 or higher, you:
Are somewhat animated (you move about or you use voice inflections well);
Do not read a script but present material to us (using notes OK);
Look at us and make steady eye contact;
Show familiarity with the material by not having to refer constantly to notes;
Present interesting examples or use jokes to keep our attention;
Relate your content to some bigger picture outside the session;
Respond well to questions; or
Encourage and engender discussion.
To earn an A (4.0), your lecture meets the above conditions plus does some of the following:
Is very interesting or compelling;
Suggests a very new idea or an old idea in a very new way;
Sparks discussion;
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Syllabus Phil 650
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Uses graphics (if appropriate) that focus attention on the main points of your work; or
Makes the point especially clear and memorable (will it be on the test?)
Philosophy 650 – fall 2015
Grading criteria for feedback
To earn an F, you do not give assigned feedback.
To earn D (1.0) or lower, your feedback meets these minimum conditions:
Does not have your identity noted on each page;
Does not identify to whom you are responding;
Does not identify to what you are responding;
Is not informative (e.g., it merely says everything’s great); or
Is very disjointed or rambling.
To earn C (2.0) or lower, your feedback meets these minimum conditions:
It acknowledges whom or what you are commenting on;
It offers nothing concrete either positive or negative;
It overlooks obvious errors without comment;
It does not comment on any extremely positive qualities of the work; or
Has very few or no grammatical or spelling errors.
To earn B (3.0) or higher, you:
Identify what is good/bad;
Offer general suggestions on how to improve the work; and
Correct technical errors (if there are any).
To earn 3.5 or higher, you:
Explain technical errors (if there be any) and instruct your peer how to avoid them;
Offer concrete, precise suggestions on how to improve the work; or
Identify what is good/bad and explain what makes it so.
To earn an A (4.0), your feedback meets the above conditions plus does some of the following:
Is very interesting or compelling or unusually thorough;
Suggests a very new idea; or
Offers precise, concrete instructions for improvement.
End of rubrics
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