Creation of Philosophy Teaching Materials

Code:

MEFILO022

Acronym:

CMDF

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Didactics

Instance: 2025/2026 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Philosophy
Course/CS Responsible:	Teaching Philosophy in Secondary Education

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MEFILO	22	study plan from 2025	1	-	3	21,5	81

Teaching Staff - Responsibilities

Teacher	Responsibility
Sílvia Manuela Andrade Bento

Teaching - Hours

Theoretical and practical :	1,00
Tutorial Supervision:	0,50

Type	Teacher	Classes	Hour
Theoretical and practical	Totals	1	1,00
Theoretical and practical	Sílvia Manuela Andrade Bento		1,00
Tutorial Supervision	Totals	1	0,50
Tutorial Supervision	Sílvia Manuela Andrade Bento		0,50

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

Critically reflect on the possibilities and limitations of teaching Philosophy.
Create and assess the relevance of different teaching materials for Philosophy at secondary school level.
Develop skills to design, produce and use appropriate teaching materials for Philosophy at secondary school level.
Practise the isolated and combined use of different teaching materials in Philosophy syllabus modules for Years 10 and 11.

Learning outcomes and competences

The course unit aims to offer students the opportunity to create and explore teaching materials for an engaging practice of Philosophy teaching at secondary school level. The creation and exploration of such materials will be developed with a view to the critical and appropriate use of these resources in the professional context of our students.

Throughout the semester, teaching methods that encourage students to acquire knowledge autonomously will be prioritised, through: 1) textual practice as a central resource in Philosophy, 2) reading and explaining philosophical texts, 3) mastery and incorporation of core discursive practices in Philosophy (questioning, dialogue, debate, argumentation, presentation), 4) use of resources, conventional or otherwise, as motivational tools and facilitators of understanding Philosophy, 5) incorporation of these resources into lesson planning for different topics and diverse school and social contexts.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Not applicable

Program

The programme is divided into the following points:
I. Analysis of the document "Essential Learnings" – Philosophy (Years 10 and 11) and initial familiarisation with the Philosophy curriculum content at secondary school level.
II. Creation and critical exploration of teaching materials for Philosophy at secondary school level, such as: reading sheets with carefully selected philosophical excerpts; guides for philosophical debates (including role play); thought experiments; guides for podcasts and other materials exploring the concept of flipped classroom; visual, auditory and audiovisual materials from the arts, which may constitute an interesting contribution to the teaching of Philosophy at secondary school level.

Mandatory literature

Baggini , Julian; The philosopher.s toolkit : a compendium of philosophical concepts and methods. ISBN: 0-631-22874-8
Baggini, Julian; The Pig that Wants to Be Eaten: And 99+ Other Thought Experiments, Granta Books, 2024
Falzon , Christopher; Philosophy goes to the movies : an introduction to philosophy. ISBN: 0-415-23741-6

Complementary Bibliography

Catapano, Peter; Critchley, Simon ; The Stone Reader: Modern Philosophy in 133 Arguments, Liveright, 2015
Esquith, Stephen; How Neutral is Discussion?, Teaching Philosophy 11 (3):193-208 , 1988
Mullis, Eric C. ; On Being a Socratic Philosophy Instructor, Teaching Philosophy 32 (4):345-359, 2009
Pinto, Maria José Vaz; Ferreira, Maria Luísa Ribeiro (eds); Ensinar Filosofia? O que dizem os filósofos, CFUL, 2013

Teaching methods and learning activities

The course unit will have a fundamental practical component. The aim is to promote critical reflection on the use of different teaching materials applicable to the teaching of Philosophy at secondary school level, combined with practical work in creating and exploring these materials.

The assessment will be continuous, without a final exam. Throughout the semester, students are expected to develop various teaching materials, which will later be compiled into a portfolio to be submitted for assessment on a date to be determined (end of the semester).

The periodic presentation of these materials during the teaching period will constitute one of the assessment components (50%). The final portfolio, incorporating all work produced throughout the course, will constitute the second assessment component (50%).