This course, a joint venture between the Centre for Critical Thinking and Ethics at Newington College and the Association for Philosophy in schools NSW, is tailored for secondary Philosophy teachers wishing to have a better understanding of best practice in NSW in the formative and formal assessment of community of inquiry (COI), a core component of the DET Stage 5 Philosophy course and many schools’ programming.

Specifically, this course will help teachers to consolidate and extend their skills in assessing individual student performance in relation to thinking moves (à la Cam, 2006) and collaborative inquiry. As such, this course will assist teachers to practice their skills in tracking metacognition and in composing quality feedback for students in these areas. It will also provide experience and improved understanding of student performance in formal assessment of COI.

This course is essential for teachers wishing to bring teams to the 2024 Sydney Philosothon, as it is the required benchmarking course which will equip teachers to judge competitive, inter-school COI. The APCOI benchmarking component of this workshop will be offered a second time, later in the year, with evening timing.

Delivery will be blended:

Participants will be expected to dedicate approximately 4 hours (individually, on their own time) undertaking professional reading, assessing a recorded COI, and composing feedback for student participants.
The face-to-face workshop will take place on 22 March at Newington College from 9:00am – 3:30pm for benchmarking and professional discussions with experienced practitioners.

The course fee of $40.00 per person covers catering, including lunch and refreshments.

Program

9:00am – Coffee and registration
Session I – Benchmarking
Morning Tea
Session II – Presentations and Forum
Lunch
Session III – Live Community of Inquiry with Year 9 Elective Philosophy students + Marking & Debrief
3:30pm – Finish