ABSTRACT
Would school-aged children studying science and mathematics benefit if their teachers established communities of inquiry (CoI) and conducted discussions using methodologies drawn from the Philosophy for Children (P4C) movement (known as Philosophieren mit Kindern und Jugendlichen or PmKJ in Germany)? Like many others, the authors of this chapter believe that they would and intend to support their position with the help of three case studies. In particular we wish to explore the following three benefits that flow from using communities of scientific or mathematical inquiry (CoS/MI) and conducting discussions in the P4C/PmKJ manner in the science or mathematics classroom: (1) promoting students’ creativity; (2) scaffolding students’ thinking and enhancing their understanding of chemical concepts; and (3) encouraging students to generate their own questions and explore them through collaborative work in small groups. The cases used to demonstrate these benefits were chosen because they are supported by well-documented, practical experience and in some cases also by empirical research. In addition, a number of the studies documenting them have only been published in German. Besides demonstrating certain benefits these case studies also show practitioners a variety of ways in which P4C methodology and philosophical discussions can be employed in mathematics and science classes.
