This aim of this paper is to explore the concept of intellectual and moral virtue across cultural... more This aim of this paper is to explore the concept of intellectual and moral virtue across cultural, religious, and philosophical points of view—with special attention to the role of education in the formation of virtue. The central ambition of this paper is to determine if virtue is a concept that transcends cultural contexts and, should it do so, to what extent? It is shown that certain ubiquitous virtuous character traits are valued across cultural lines, and that similar understandings of virtue emerge in almost all cultural and religious contexts. Despite this, it also clear that virtue functions differently across cultural and religious contexts, and that the expression of virtue may itself look very different. This is demonstrated through various religious texts, works of philosophy, and traditional proverbs from several important traditions: Chinese, South Asian, Greek philosophy, and African moral theory. I conclude with a discussion of challenges facing virtue- based theories
This “think piece” explores the definitional possibilities of “body”—that is, what is a body and ... more This “think piece” explores the definitional possibilities of “body”—that is, what is a body and how should we understand it, especially in light of the recent emergence of virtual bodies. To this end, the author employs an essentialist framework for understanding: Is the body reducible to some fundamental essence or substance, something common to all bodies? To what extent does a definition of body extend to virtual bodies? These questions (and others) are posited, and the author invites readers to consider the manifold issues engendered by such reflection.
In fall of 2012—having missed a couple important emails—I began an experiment. I decided to creat... more In fall of 2012—having missed a couple important emails—I began an experiment. I decided to create a new university-based Gmail account for each course I taught. It occurred to me that if I could largely eliminate student email from my main email account, I’d see a drastic reduction in volume. After all, the modern professorD the recipient of an onslaught of student emails, committee reports, meeting reminders, and drivel. (How did I get on Nabisco’s email list?) Understanding this, email clients like Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail offer users the ability to create complex filters to do the dirty work of sifting and organizing. Unfortunately, these filters have their semantic limitations and seldom work as advertised. Users still find themselves checking every single folder for errant emails. Thus, a quick inquiry to our IT Helpdesk and one e-form later, and I was the proud owner of three additional email accounts. I’m happy to report my experiment has been successful. In fact, there have been five stress-reducing advantages. One: I’m sure the reader is familiar with the following scenario: Johnny College sends his professor an email inquiring about an upcoming assignment. His professor is teaching two sections of the same course and cannot recall if he is enrolled in section 1 or 2. Now she has to look Johnny up or send Johnny an email requesting this information. The net result: time wasted. By creating a unique email address for each section, however, it is no longer necessary to gather this information; I already know. Two: The second advantage (and not one that I anticipated) is purely psychological. Knowing that every email I open pertains to a single class, and often a single assignment, helps me stay focused—no more hopping from one disparate topic to another. Many times I can simply copy and paste replies to similar questions! This has improved my efficiency and thus reduced the time I spend emailing students. Three: These email addresses are reusable. For this reason semi-generic email addresses are desirable—e.g., do not use a specific course numbers and prefixes if your course-load varies widely. After completing a semester, I simply open up the email account and archive all emails. When it comes time to teach the course again, I take the email address off the virtual shelf and reuse it. Four: Most universities have policies in place restricting official correspondence between faculty and students to university-based email accounts. Through negligence or simple ignorance, students often ignore these rules, opting instead to send messages from their personal accounts. Course specific email, however, offers a clever way to remedy this. For example, Gmail (and most other email clients) gives users the option to set up “auto-responders” to all but a few selected email addresses. Quick solution: Copy and paste students’ email addresses into a “filter,” turn on an auto-responder for all other email with the canned response: “Please send all correspondence from your official university email account.” Given that this email account is only used for a single course, there is very little risk of missing important memos. Five: The final and most important advantage: this system has drastically improved the quality of my communication with students. When I log in to a course account, I don’t log out until every email is answered.
Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been a long tradition in America’s public schools, extending bac... more Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been a long tradition in America’s public schools, extending back to the 19th century to the work of Francis W. Parker and John Dewey. As a method for general education, the idea of project-based classroom instruction was co-opted from agriculture and the industrial arts and, after first being applied in the elementary schools, was extended to all grade levels. Initially focused on “real-world” problems with tangible, measurable outcomes, the project method was quickly adopted and applied to any activity of interest to students, however transient and/or insignificant. The lack of a succinct definition for the project method has prevented the assessment of its success, regardless, the “method” became the “current” model of instruction in all subjects for all students, often failing to meet the needs of children, teachers, or society. The project method, as a descriptive term for school practice, was replaced with child-centeredness and the activity curriculum. After a period of near obscurity, PBL has been reclaimed by educators to educate 21stcentury students.
Toward a Regulative Virtue Epistemology for the Theory and Practice of Education. (August 2011) M... more Toward a Regulative Virtue Epistemology for the Theory and Practice of Education. (August 2011) Mark Jason Ortwein, B.A., Oklahoma State University; M.S., Pittsburg State University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. G. Patrick Slattery This dissertation develops and explores how a particular variety of virtue epistemology (VE) applies to the theory and practice of education. To this end, several key issues are addressed: knowledge and epistemology, knowledge in education, virtue and culture, and the application of a particular variety of VE to education. Furthermore, this dissertation employs a philosophical methodology based in theoretical work from two disciplines—philosophy and education. In Chapter I, I explicate the purpose of this dissertation and provide a rationale for pursuing this project. I also clarify some key terminology, discuss some delimiting factors, and offer chapter previews. In Chapter II, I discuss how Edmond Gettier challenged the standard definition of knowled...
This aim of this paper is to explore the concept of intellectual and moral virtue across cultural... more This aim of this paper is to explore the concept of intellectual and moral virtue across cultural, religious, and philosophical points of view—with special attention to the role of education in the formation of virtue. The central ambition of this paper is to determine if virtue is a concept that transcends cultural contexts and, should it do so, to what extent? It is shown that certain ubiquitous virtuous character traits are valued across cultural lines, and that similar understandings of virtue emerge in almost all cultural and religious contexts. Despite this, it also clear that virtue functions differently across cultural and religious contexts, and that the expression of virtue may itself look very different. This is demonstrated through various religious texts, works of philosophy, and traditional proverbs from several important traditions: Chinese, South Asian, Greek philosophy, and African moral theory. I conclude with a discussion of challenges facing virtue- based theories
This “think piece” explores the definitional possibilities of “body”—that is, what is a body and ... more This “think piece” explores the definitional possibilities of “body”—that is, what is a body and how should we understand it, especially in light of the recent emergence of virtual bodies. To this end, the author employs an essentialist framework for understanding: Is the body reducible to some fundamental essence or substance, something common to all bodies? To what extent does a definition of body extend to virtual bodies? These questions (and others) are posited, and the author invites readers to consider the manifold issues engendered by such reflection.
In fall of 2012—having missed a couple important emails—I began an experiment. I decided to creat... more In fall of 2012—having missed a couple important emails—I began an experiment. I decided to create a new university-based Gmail account for each course I taught. It occurred to me that if I could largely eliminate student email from my main email account, I’d see a drastic reduction in volume. After all, the modern professorD the recipient of an onslaught of student emails, committee reports, meeting reminders, and drivel. (How did I get on Nabisco’s email list?) Understanding this, email clients like Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail offer users the ability to create complex filters to do the dirty work of sifting and organizing. Unfortunately, these filters have their semantic limitations and seldom work as advertised. Users still find themselves checking every single folder for errant emails. Thus, a quick inquiry to our IT Helpdesk and one e-form later, and I was the proud owner of three additional email accounts. I’m happy to report my experiment has been successful. In fact, there have been five stress-reducing advantages. One: I’m sure the reader is familiar with the following scenario: Johnny College sends his professor an email inquiring about an upcoming assignment. His professor is teaching two sections of the same course and cannot recall if he is enrolled in section 1 or 2. Now she has to look Johnny up or send Johnny an email requesting this information. The net result: time wasted. By creating a unique email address for each section, however, it is no longer necessary to gather this information; I already know. Two: The second advantage (and not one that I anticipated) is purely psychological. Knowing that every email I open pertains to a single class, and often a single assignment, helps me stay focused—no more hopping from one disparate topic to another. Many times I can simply copy and paste replies to similar questions! This has improved my efficiency and thus reduced the time I spend emailing students. Three: These email addresses are reusable. For this reason semi-generic email addresses are desirable—e.g., do not use a specific course numbers and prefixes if your course-load varies widely. After completing a semester, I simply open up the email account and archive all emails. When it comes time to teach the course again, I take the email address off the virtual shelf and reuse it. Four: Most universities have policies in place restricting official correspondence between faculty and students to university-based email accounts. Through negligence or simple ignorance, students often ignore these rules, opting instead to send messages from their personal accounts. Course specific email, however, offers a clever way to remedy this. For example, Gmail (and most other email clients) gives users the option to set up “auto-responders” to all but a few selected email addresses. Quick solution: Copy and paste students’ email addresses into a “filter,” turn on an auto-responder for all other email with the canned response: “Please send all correspondence from your official university email account.” Given that this email account is only used for a single course, there is very little risk of missing important memos. Five: The final and most important advantage: this system has drastically improved the quality of my communication with students. When I log in to a course account, I don’t log out until every email is answered.
Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been a long tradition in America’s public schools, extending bac... more Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been a long tradition in America’s public schools, extending back to the 19th century to the work of Francis W. Parker and John Dewey. As a method for general education, the idea of project-based classroom instruction was co-opted from agriculture and the industrial arts and, after first being applied in the elementary schools, was extended to all grade levels. Initially focused on “real-world” problems with tangible, measurable outcomes, the project method was quickly adopted and applied to any activity of interest to students, however transient and/or insignificant. The lack of a succinct definition for the project method has prevented the assessment of its success, regardless, the “method” became the “current” model of instruction in all subjects for all students, often failing to meet the needs of children, teachers, or society. The project method, as a descriptive term for school practice, was replaced with child-centeredness and the activity curriculum. After a period of near obscurity, PBL has been reclaimed by educators to educate 21stcentury students.
Toward a Regulative Virtue Epistemology for the Theory and Practice of Education. (August 2011) M... more Toward a Regulative Virtue Epistemology for the Theory and Practice of Education. (August 2011) Mark Jason Ortwein, B.A., Oklahoma State University; M.S., Pittsburg State University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. G. Patrick Slattery This dissertation develops and explores how a particular variety of virtue epistemology (VE) applies to the theory and practice of education. To this end, several key issues are addressed: knowledge and epistemology, knowledge in education, virtue and culture, and the application of a particular variety of VE to education. Furthermore, this dissertation employs a philosophical methodology based in theoretical work from two disciplines—philosophy and education. In Chapter I, I explicate the purpose of this dissertation and provide a rationale for pursuing this project. I also clarify some key terminology, discuss some delimiting factors, and offer chapter previews. In Chapter II, I discuss how Edmond Gettier challenged the standard definition of knowled...
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