Adventures in Reasoning

Communal Inquiry through Fantasy Role-Play

Jason J. Howard

Helping students think more critically, communicate ideas more effectively, and work more cooperatively with others are goals widely recognized as indispensable to a proper education. Adventures in Reasoning: Communal Inquiry Through Fantasy Role-Play provides middle school, high school, and even post-secondary teachers with a method to cultivate these crucial skill sets in a way that is engaging, academically rigorous, and also fun.

The role-playing approach draws upon the pioneering notion of the community of inquiry as a vehicle for enhancing student learning and development through discussing philosophical concepts and issues. Students create characters that they then use to explore a rich fantasy world filled with practical and conceptual challenges specifically designed to enhance a wide range of cognitive and communication abilities. Drawing together the appeal of fantasy narratives with the rigor of communal inquiry, Adventures in Reasoning provides educators with a rich array of tools through which to engage students’ interests, capture their curiosity, and cultivate crucial cognitive and social skills. Some additional key features of this book include:

step-by-step instructions on how to implement fantasy-gaming in the classroom
tips on how to assess students’ critical and creative reasoning skills
easy to understand rules for fantasy role-playing
detailed adventure quests provided that target a wide array of skill sets
overview of the pedagogical benefits of introducing philosophy and communal inquiry to middle and high school students
lots of advice and suggestions on how to facilitate an effective community of inquiry and how to accommodate different class sizes and student abilities
recommendations on how to use fantasy role-playing as a type of service learning in college classrooms

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 160 • Trim: 7 x 10

978-1-4758-0910-7 • Paperback • March 2015 • $56.00 • (£43.00)

978-1-4758-0911-4 • eBook • March 2015 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

Subjects: Education / Teaching / Methods & Strategies, Education / Philosophy, Theory & Social Aspects, Education / General, Education / Non-Formal Education

Adventures in Reasoning

Communal Inquiry through Fantasy Role-Play

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Helping students think more critically, communicate ideas more effectively, and work more cooperatively with others are goals widely recognized as indispensable to a proper education. Adventures in Reasoning: Communal Inquiry Through Fantasy Role-Play provides middle school, high school, and even post-secondary teachers with a method to cultivate these crucial skill sets in a way that is engaging, academically rigorous, and also fun.

The role-playing approach draws upon the pioneering notion of the community of inquiry as a vehicle for enhancing student learning and development through discussing philosophical concepts and issues. Students create characters that they then use to explore a rich fantasy world filled with practical and conceptual challenges specifically designed to enhance a wide range of cognitive and communication abilities. Drawing together the appeal of fantasy narratives with the rigor of communal inquiry, Adventures in Reasoning provides educators with a rich array of tools through which to engage students’ interests, capture their curiosity, and cultivate crucial cognitive and social skills. Some additional key features of this book include:
- step-by-step instructions on how to implement fantasy-gaming in the classroom
- tips on how to assess students’ critical and creative reasoning skills
- easy to understand rules for fantasy role-playing
- detailed adventure quests provided that target a wide array of skill sets
- overview of the pedagogical benefits of introducing philosophy and communal inquiry to middle and high school students
- lots of advice and suggestions on how to facilitate an effective community of inquiry and how to accommodate different class sizes and student abilities
- recommendations on how to use fantasy role-playing as a type of service learning in college classrooms

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 160 • Trim: 7 x 10

978-1-4758-0910-7 • Paperback • March 2015 • $56.00 • (£43.00)

978-1-4758-0911-4 • eBook • March 2015 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

Subjects: Education / Teaching / Methods & Strategies, Education / Philosophy, Theory & Social Aspects, Education / General, Education / Non-Formal Education

Author

Jason J. Howard is associate professor of philosophy at Viterbo University, La Crosse, WI. He has published articles on Hegel and Kant as well as in the areas of emotion, moral education, and aesthetics. He is editor of the Journal Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis and recently authored a book on ethics, Conscience in Moral Life.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface

Introduction
PART I: Overview, Research, and Rules

Chapter One: Fantasy Role-playing and the Philosopher’s Stone

Chapter Two: The Basic Rules of Fantasy Role-playing

Chapter Three: Fantasy Role-playing in Action
PART II: The Adventure Quests

Chapter Four: Organizing the Adventure, The Quest for Justice

Chapter Five: Mission Two, Judging Truthfully

Chapter Six: Mission Three, Diverse Factions

Chapter Seven: Mission Four, The Scales of Justice
PART III: Supporting Materials and Explanations

Chapter Eight: Implementing and Assessing the Game and Expanding the Rules

Chapter Nine: Glossary
Appendix: Character Sheets & Equipment