This past weekend, I presented at the Educating for Peace and Justice conference at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. My workshop was entitled ‘Doing Good Better through Effective Altruism’, and provided attendees with an introduction to Effective Altruism, through a guided experience in reflecting on the impact that psychological biases may have on their intentions to do good in the world.
Note that in order to set the stage for effectively learning about effective altruism, I started with Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle. I feel it’s important to establish an intrinsic sense of motivation and purpose before learning something new, so the participants– mainly teacher’s college students–were able to link the presentation framework with their own ‘Why’. Once establishing our ‘Why’, we delved into 4 types of biases (in-group bias, scope-bias, deficit ideology and belief perseverance) and discussed the ways in which these biases influence our personal and professional decision-making. Finally, participants were introduced to the criterion/framework for helping choose effective causes (scope, tractability and neglectedness). It was a pleasure facilitating this workshop for a group of incredible educators.
Here are my slides. akila-epj-presentation-2017
1000 Ways to Help the World 