What is it like to teach philosophy online? Experiences and satisfaction of lecturers at german universities in the first “Corona semester”

Abstract

In an online survey we conducted subsequently to the first so-called “Corona semester” we asked university lecturers in philosophy at German universities to share their experiences with digital teaching. In the questionnaire, the respondents were asked questions concerning the use of digital media in a specific course they taught and how satisfied they were with their course. We also asked them about the advantages and disadvantages of teaching philosophy online and about their assessment of whether the use of digital media is suitable for teaching philosophy. In our article, we present some of our findings based on the data and statements of 87 respondents. We identify the main factors influencing satisfaction with online teaching and point out some assumptions underlying the widespread fear that core elements might get lost by teaching philosophy online. In a second step we will discuss our findings and we will also derive recommendations from our results that may help to overcome key difficulties of teaching philosophy online.