Report Evaluation

The "Philosophy with Children" workshop, conducted by the Association for Child Studies, aims to support children's intellectual development and inquiry skills. This module seeks to enhance children's critical thinking abilities, encourage them to respect different thoughts, learn self-expression, and promote creative thinking. Believing in the importance of introducing philosophy at a young age, we aim to contribute to children's intellectual and emotional development.

Module Name: Philosophy and Science Experiment Workshops with Children 

Module Description: The Philosophy and Science Experiment Workshops for Children are designed to support children's cognitive, emotional, and social development. These activities aim to help children enhance their comprehensive thinking and inquiry abilities while also developing skills in using the scientific method, conducting experiments, and exploring their curiosities.

Module Purpose: The primary goal of this module is to enhance children's critical thinking abilities, foster respect for different perspectives, improve their skills in active listening and self-expression, nurture their curiosity, and instill the practice of scientific thinking. Additionally, it aims to contribute to children's overall development through the doors opened to various realms of thought.

Introduction: The Philosophy and Science Experiment Workshops for Children aim to introduce children to the fundamental concepts of philosophy and science. Within the traditional education system, such topics are often postponed to later ages, but as the Association for Child Studies, we believe that these valuable fields should be explored from early childhood. Philosophy is a cognitive art that is present in all aspects of life and holds the potential to question every moment. As Matthew Lipman has also emphasized, the age when philosophy should begin to be learned is childhood. Therefore, we have initiated these workshops to provide our children with the opportunity to become acquainted with philosophy.

Method: We conducted workshops that lasted for two months, with groups of 10-15 participants, five days a week. Different topics were covered each week, and these topics were chosen to be age and developmentally appropriate for the children. Sessions were kept at a 40-minute duration to ensure healthy communication. Adequate physical spaces were provided to make sure that participating children felt comfortable and safe. During workshop sessions, children's consent was obtained, and they were encouraged to freely express their own ideası.

Findings and Comments: In the first days of the workshops, we observed that children were unfamiliar with philosophy and the concepts might seem complex. However, by using simple and age-appropriate language, we eliminated confusion and made their adaptation easier.

As a result of the workshops, children:

• They developed their sense of self-worth.
• They gained the courage to express their own ideas freely.
• They developed their emotional and intellectual expression skills.
• They increased their empathy skills.
• They developed their critical and creative thinking skills.
• They gained scientific inquiry and analytical thinking skills.
• They improved their communication skills.
• They learned to respect different points of view.
• They developed their questioning, thinking and expression skills.
• They became aware of gender equality and gender identities.
• They increased their ability to think about moral values.
• They improved their cooperation and collective working skills.

Conclusion: The Philosophy and Science Experiment Workshops for Children have supported the cognitive, emotional, and social development of children. It was observed that these workshops helped children enhance their critical thinking, inquiry, and scientific thinking skills, contributing to their growth as individuals sensitive to various domains. We believe that such workshops should receive more support due to their positive effects on child development.