Skills you learn from Philosophy (Year 11)

This is one of three lesson plans designed for Year 11 teachers introducing students to Philosophy:

• Jobs that use Philosophy (Year 11)
• Skills you learn from Philosophy (Year 11)
• Why study A-Level Philosophy? (Year 11)

These lesson plans will help you show students how Philosophy connects to their future careers - whether or not they go on to study it at A-Level.

We recommend using this lesson plan at the end of the autumn term. By this point Year 11 students are starting to weigh post-16 options. Because Philosophy isn't a GCSE, the question isn't "what skills have I built from studying Philosophy?" but "do I already build Philosophy-style skills in my other subjects, and do I want to deepen them?" Answering that helps students decide whether A-Level Philosophy is a natural next step, or whether they're better off building those skills through other routes.

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Learning objectives

• Students will name the core skills that Philosophy builds.
• Students will recognise which of their existing subjects build the same skills.
• Students will consider what this tells them about whether A-Level Philosophy fits their post-16 plans.

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Before the lesson

• You will need a computer connected to the internet and a classroom screen.
• Open the What can you do with Philosophy? page and have it ready on the screen.
• Review the Skills that Philosophy builds section. For each of the skills, think of an example from your own subject (or a closely related one) of when students built that skill.

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During the lesson

1. Where do skills come from? (5 mins)

• Ask students to recall a recent piece of work in your subject - an essay, a source analysis, an extended written response, a structured debate.
• Ask them what skills that piece of work asked them to use.
• Write the suggestions on the board.

2. Skills that Philosophy builds (15 mins)

• Bring up the What can you do with Philosophy? page on the classroom screen.
• Review the contents of the page with students so that they understand what it covers.
• Scroll to the Skills that Philosophy builds section and work through each of the six skills in turn.
  • For each skill, ask students which of their existing subjects builds it, and where they've used it recently.
  • Share your own teaching examples to anchor the discussion if students are stuck.

3. So what does that tell you about Philosophy? (10 mins)

• Ask students to reflect on the overlap between Philosophy's skills and the skills their current subjects build.
• Prompt them with questions:
  • Do these skills appeal to you - work where careful argument, close reading, and reasoning about hard questions matter?
  • Are you already building them in subjects you enjoy?
  • Would you want to deepen them through A-Level Philosophy specifically, or through other subjects?
• Close by reminding students that choosing a good set of post-16 subjects isn't only about which ones they enjoy - it's about which ones compound the skills they want to take into work or further study.

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After the lesson

• Share the What can you do with Philosophy? page with students and their parents/carers:
  • www.coffeewith.xyz/subjects/what-can-you-do-with-philosophy
• Encourage parents/carers to explore the page with their child and to discuss the contents.
• Use the School Tools / Activities feature to record the lesson activity:
  • Activity name: Year 11 - Skills you learn from Philosophy
  • Activity type: Linking curriculum learning to careers
• Read the follow-on lesson plan:
  • Why study A-Level Philosophy? (Year 11)