Kant addresses two main types of teaching methods in his writing The Metaphysics of Morals: lecture and questioning. Lecture can most easily be demonstrated in most typical college courses, where the professor presents the students with information and expects the students to accept said information as fact, without questioning from either side except in the case of needed clarification. Lecture teaching methods are commonly seen in traditional engineering education, where a professor might work a problem on the board or explain a concept to students and only answer questions where further explanation is needed on an individual basis.
Questioning teaching methods can be split into two subcategories – dialogue and catechism. Dialogue is most …show more content…
In this method, the pupil is asked guiding questions to aid them in reaching their own thesis, one which isn’t easily changed. This differs from the dialogue and lecture methods in that the student reaches their own conclusions without being told by the teacher and without asking questions. Part of the reason the student does not ask questions in this method is because typically they do not have the moral foundation to ask intelligent questions to further the so-called Socratic dialogue. The purpose of the leading questions is to allow the teacher to direct the student to forming their own conclusions which can be then written down for posterity, as the conclusions reached should not be easily changed. This format, somewhere between dogmatic and dialogue, is how I see most of ENGR/PHIL 482 being presented. During face to face lecture each week, the professors ask leading questions that allow the students to reach their own conclusions about the material being presented (whether that conclusion is vocalized or not). While this is helpful for Ethics in Engineering, I don’t think this type of format is pragmatic for much of the coursework or professional work I have encountered/will encounter as a chemical engineering
Questioning teaching methods can be split into two subcategories – dialogue and catechism. Dialogue is most …show more content…
In this method, the pupil is asked guiding questions to aid them in reaching their own thesis, one which isn’t easily changed. This differs from the dialogue and lecture methods in that the student reaches their own conclusions without being told by the teacher and without asking questions. Part of the reason the student does not ask questions in this method is because typically they do not have the moral foundation to ask intelligent questions to further the so-called Socratic dialogue. The purpose of the leading questions is to allow the teacher to direct the student to forming their own conclusions which can be then written down for posterity, as the conclusions reached should not be easily changed. This format, somewhere between dogmatic and dialogue, is how I see most of ENGR/PHIL 482 being presented. During face to face lecture each week, the professors ask leading questions that allow the students to reach their own conclusions about the material being presented (whether that conclusion is vocalized or not). While this is helpful for Ethics in Engineering, I don’t think this type of format is pragmatic for much of the coursework or professional work I have encountered/will encounter as a chemical engineering