200 AIDAN KESTIGIAN Tcad1i11g Philo.mpl,y 40: 2, J1111c 20 I 7 DOI: I0.5840/teacl,pl,i/201771869 Aidan Kes1igiw1 is a PhD .wulc111 i11 lhe Dt:/1'lrlmclll of Philo.wphy,11 C,m,egie Md/rm U11frersi1y. Her 1'C.rel1rd1 mu/ lt•(lc/1i11g illlerc.Hs i11cl11dc democratic theory, resee1rcl1 cth· ics, mu/ mti11g theory. E-mail:
[email protected],/11 Reasoning, Science, and The Ghost Hunt W. JOHN KOOLAGE Ea,wcm Michig,111 Unil-crsity TIMOTHY HANSEL Edgewood Colle1fe Alwmct: This paperdelails how ghosl hunling. as a se1 of learning activities. can he used to enhance critical thinking and philo�ophy of science classes. We describe in some delail our own work with ghost hunting, and reflecton both intended and uninlcnded consequences of lhis pedagogical choice. This choice was partly molivatcd by s1uden1s· lack of familiaritywith science and philo�ophic questions ahout it. We offerreflections on our lhree different implcmenlalions of the ghosl hunting activities. In addition. we discuss the practical nuances of implementing these activities, as well the relation of ghost hunting lo our course content. including informal fallacies and some models for scientilic inference. We conclude that employing ghost hunting along-side tmdilional activities and contcnl of critical lhinking and philosophy of science offersa number of henelits, including being fun, increasing studenl altendance, enhancing sludent leaming, and providing a platform forcampus wide dialogues about philosophy. Introduction In pursuit of deep learning, it is helpful to ask what sludents can do, in order to get a better handle on sometimes foreign and abstract ideas.