Active Listening, Problem-Based Learning

If I were to teach a critical thinking and practical reasoning course, I would emphasize active listening, problem-based learning, and Seize the moment/Gestalt/ah ha.

Active listening not only teaches students how to listen, but also how to transmit the fact they are listening to others. I would prepare by familiarizing myself with an active teaching curriculum. Then I would practice with friends of friends for honest feedback. Once class started, I would teach using a lecture style approach until students were familiar with the theory (passing a quiz/test), then shift to a facilitator style of teaching. Students would split into groups and give a short introductory speech about themselves to their actively listening classmates. Other topics

Students have a much higher chance of being interested in they pay attention; especially if they can speak and feel heard too. I'd move on to problem-based learning once I felt my students were actively listening.

Problem-based learning is when you are asked to solve a purposely vague problem. I would prepare by reviewing some of the problems we tackled during this class (PHIL 110). I would then ask my class questions and topics similar to what we covered; for example: "Is the Universe like a watch?" and give students time to reply. Students would need to reply in less than 200 words. Their homework would consists of reading each other's answers and ranking their merit (Bad, Good, Best). I would compare a few Bad, Good, and Best replies in class and talk about what they lacked and excelled at, and practice revising them.

Problem-based learning is important because facts are not knowledge. A student may copy a style of reasoning but not understand why it's structured in such a way. Doing this excessive every day will allow students to gain understanding as to why something makes sense, and as a collective, gravitate into critical thinking and piratical reasoning. Once students begin to understand critical thinking and practical reasoning, I'd challenge their understanding of said concepts with controversial