Hay EthicsinTeachLearn

Ethics in Learning and Teaching.: 

Ethics in Learning and Teaching. Principles of ethical conduct. Normative and deontological approaches to ethics. Some cases to work through.

At the end of this session …: 

At the end of this session … We will have: Discussed reasons for considering ethical matters in our teaching. Discussed reasons for being ethical teachers. Examined principles that underlie ethical behaviour. Distinguished between deontological and teleological approaches to ethics. Reviewed steps to resolving an ethical dilemma through reference to issues confronted in real learning-and-teaching settings.

Questions for you to consider.: 

Questions for you to consider. Why should we be ethical teachers? Why should we include consideration of ethical matters in our teaching?

Slide4: 

Protect rights (e.g., confidentiality of results; eliminate discrimination). Preserve trust (e.g., personal disclosures by students). Encourage free pursuit of learning. Model good behaviour. Institutional ‘security’. More challenging social/scientific dilemmas for us and our students.

A question for you to consider.: 

A question for you to consider. What principles underpin ethical behaviour? What does it mean to be ethical?

Principles of ethical behaviour.: 

Principles of ethical behaviour. Justice. Beneficence/Non-maleficence. Respect for others. And from Svinicki (2002, p. 317) Fidelity? Upholding parts of a relationship. Overlap. Autonomy? Covered by respect for others. Acting consciously? (i.e., Reflexivity) Implied if thinking about the 3 principles above.

Principles of ethical behaviour … cntd.: 

Principles of ethical behaviour … cntd.

Deontological and teleological approaches to ethics.: 

Deontological and teleological approaches to ethics.

Contradictory normative positions underpin Western ethics.: 

Contradictory normative positions underpin Western ethics.

A problem with Jomkwan.: 

A problem with Jomkwan. Statements of Assessment Methods provided to all students at the beginning of the class GEOG1000 make it clear that no student may resubmit any assignment for second assessment. After some deliberation, you assign Jomkwan a marginal fail grade (say, 48%) for a major assignment. She is a diligent student but she has simply failed to grasp key concepts. You know from her overall record in the class that this single result means she cannot pass the class overall. Jomkwan approaches you to advise that this grade means that she cannot complete her degree before scholarship and visa terminate. She is distraught and makes it clear will have to return to Thailand with no degree, no job prospects with her sponsor, and considerable shame for her and her family.

Slide11: 

Deontologist – you made a promise to all class members. You cannot reassess Jomkwan’s work. No easy answer. That is why it is a dilemma. Consequentialist – relatively little harm will be done to other students if Jomkwan’s work is reassessed. Considerable harm to Jomkwan if she is not given the opportunity to resubmit her work.

Reading.: 

Reading. Hay, I. 1998, ‘Making moral imaginations. Research ethics, pedagogy and professional human geography’, Ethics, Place and Environment, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 55-76. Hay, I. & Foley, P. 1998, ‘Ethics, geography and responsible citizenship’, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 169-183. Mitchell, B. & Draper, D. 1982, Relevance and Ethics in Geography, Longman, London. Singer, P. (ed.) 1993, A Companion to Ethics, Blackwell, Oxford. Smith, M. (ed.) 2002, Environmental Responsibilities for Expeditions: A Guide to Good Practice, (online), Available: http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/articles/education/responsibilities/, (26 May 2003). Svinicki, M. 2002, ‘Ethics in College Teaching’, in W.J. McKeachie (ed.), Teaching Tips, 11th edn, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

Thinking about some real cases.: 

Thinking about some real cases. Write some notes setting out your opinion on two of the assigned cases. (15 minutes) Discuss your cases with two other people, outlining, justifying and possibly defending your views. (15 minutes) The class as a whole will then work through a small number of cases selected from the collection. (15 minutes) C:\work\GFDA\Ethics class for GFDA