Week 0 - review of syllabus, websites, and readings for the semester.
We will NOT meet online this week
Watch Intro to Class video
Read Pijanowski, The Role of Learning Theory - This article introduces many of the key princples that guide this class.
Watch the Pijanowski Ethics Workshop part 1 - This video is me and a group of students. I interact regularly with the audience.
For the Week 0 journal entry for today I would like you to write while you are watching the Ethics Workshop Part 1 video. When I ask the audience questions - write down your responses and throughout the video document your questions and reflections. If it is easier for you then you may want to use a word document for your notes and copy and paste them into the discussion board later. That would protect against losing your work during an internet outage, being timed out of the Blackboard journal feature, and also give you as chance to take notes in your own shorthand and clean it up a bit later if you like.
Week 1 - The link between learning theory and moral development & Exploring ethical dilemmas
Meet online via zoom at 6pm
For this Week 1 journal entry you will take the first step in what will become a throughline project for this course: Describe a difficult decision or dilemma you have had to deal with.
When and how did you know you would have to make a choice?
What options did you consider?
How did you choose which was the best course of action among the possible choices?
Was it difficult to follow through with your choice? If so what were the factors that made it difficult for you – both internal and external forces?
Did you modify your choice once you were faced with actually implementing it? If so, how and why?
Week 2 - Components of effective moral reasoning & Developing ethical self awareness as a leader
We will NOT meet online this week
Read pp 316-end starting with "step by step integrative ethics education" heading in Narvaez, D. (2008). Human flourishing and moral development: cognitive science and neurobiological perspectives on virtue development. In L. Nucci & D. Narvaez (Eds.), Handbook of Moral and Character Education
Watch Pijanowski Ethics Workshop part 2 - This video is of me and a group of students. I interact regularly with the audience.
For the Week 2 journal entry today I would like you to write while you are watching the video. When I ask the audience questions - write down your responses and throughout the video document your questions and reflections. If it is easier for you then you may want to use a word document for your notes and copy and paste them into the discussion board later. That would protect against losing your work during an internet outage, being timed out of the blackboard site, and also give you as chance to take notes in your own shorthand and clean it up a bit later for all of us to see if you like.
Week 3 - The role of normative ethics in thinking about moral development.
We will NOT meet online this week
Read Narvaez - The Neo-Kohlbergian Tradition and Beyond (2005), pp. 148-156. This article can be found by clicking on the link and logging into the class blackboard account.
Read Bolman, L., & Deal, T. (1999, May). 4 Steps to Keeping Change Efforts Heading In the Right Direction. Journal for Quality & Participation, 22(3), 6. - This article can be found by clicking on the link and logging into the class blackboard account.
Watch Pijanowski Ethics Workshop part 3. As before this video is of me and a group of students. I interact regularly with the audience.
For the Week 3 journal entry for today I would like you to write while you are watching the video. When I ask the audience questions - write down your responses and throughout the video document your questions and reflections. If it is easier for you then you may want to use a word document for your notes and copy and paste them into the discussion board later. That would protect against losing your work during an internet outage, being timed out of the Blackboard journal feature, and also give you as chance to take notes in your own shorthand and clean it up a bit later if you like.
Week 4 - Conditions of, and obstacles to, moral courage & the judgment-action gap
Meet online at 6pm
Read Bolman, L., & Deal, T. (1999, May). 4 Steps to Keeping Change Efforts Heading In the Right Direction. Journal for Quality & Participation, 22(3), 6. - This article can be found by clicking on the link and logging into the class blackboard account.
Read “Forsaking Honor” case study - This article can be found by clicking on the link and logging into the class blackboard account.
Reflect in Journal #4 on Blackboard - due before online class meeting
Reflect in Week 4 Journal by revisiting the throughline project: Think of 3 or more difficult decisions you made that you would change if you had to make it again - A moral failure where some part of you (if even a small part) knew a better path but you made another choice. Some thoughts on your journal which I will refer to later as your Personal Action Plan part 1. A moral failure is when some part of you (if even a small part) knew the right path, but you acted differently. The result of your actions is not what makes it a success or a failure for this discussion, simply that you knew that the right thing to do was one thing, and you did something else. For each of the moral failures you identified respond to the following::
How did you eventually resolve the dilemma?
What were the pressures and considerations that influenced your eventual action (e.g., social, cultural, cognitive).
Do you think you are susceptible to a similar failure now? Why or why not?
What strategies can you employ to be more aware of your barriers and effectively overcome them in the future?
Week 5 - Framing the context of moral problems and shaping a culture of ethics
Meet online at 6pm
Read F. Clark Power, Building Democratic Community
Watch my video blog, Lenses for thinking about moral dilemmas
Watch Amy Edmondson, Learning from Failure
Read Fab Five Case Study Narrative available in Blackboard. News coverage and supplemental materials are not required but available if interested.
We will discuss Fab Five case in class. As you read the case study there are a few possible lenses you may use to analyze the case:
a) The moral schemas used by the central characters in the case
b) The dominant frames
c) The stages of decision making and obstacles that made it difficult to successfully move from one stage to the next
You do not need to exhaust each of these three lenses and in fact I am leaving it to you to choose how to structure your thoughts. So that means that you should feel free to choose any of the approaches we have used in this class to think about the moral issues in this case. As always, try to consider the role of the leaders (broadly defined) on this campus and how you suggest they might have handled this situation more effectively.
In the Week 5 journal entry for today I want you to consider the learning from failure video. What are the barriers you see in learning from your personal failures (think of the 3 and others I had you think about last week) and how can leaders create organizational cultures that support a positive approach to processing failure, learning from it, and incorporating those lessons in to future behavior or decision making?
Week 6 - Mind the Gap
We will NOT meet online this week
Watch Pijanowski Ethics Workshop part 4. As before this video is of me and a group of students. I interact regularly with the audience. For the Week 4 journal entry for today I would like you to write while you are watching the video. When I ask the audience questions - write down your responses and throughout the video document your questions and reflections. Include your response to the "3 moral failures" prompt I give the audience at the end of the video. If it is easier for you then you may want to use a word document for your notes and copy and paste them into the discussion board later. That would protect against losing your work during an internet outage, being timed out of the Blackboard journal feature, and also give you as chance to take notes in your own shorthand and clean it up a bit later if you like.
Reflect in Week 6 Journal by revisiting the throughline project: Think back on all the difficult decisions or moral failures you have journaled about so far.
As you reflect on these decisions can you identify and common themes, experiences, pressures, emotions, or any other commonalties from that time
What were the pressures and considerations that influenced your choice (e.g., social, cultural, cognitive).
Do you think you are susceptible to a similar failure now? Why or why not?
Week 7 - Shaping a Culture of Ethics, Conformity and Obedience
We will NOT meet online - Thanksgiving Week
Read How to Design an Ethical Organization by Epley and Kumar found in Blackboard
Watch Deb Meier video
For your journal consider Deb Meier's call to search for the cracks in the structure of schools that can be widened to provide more opportunities for democratic discourse and a learning by doing approach to creating a shared community for students and teachers. For this post I would like you to consider where those cracks might be, how they may be widened, and what you think the benefits/challenges will be to infusing democratic principles in your school.
Week 8 - Building Towels and Raincoats
Meet online at 6pm
Watch my video blog, Building towels and raincoats
For your final journal reflection revisit the exercise of thinking of 3 or more difficult decision you made that you would change if you had to make it again - A moral failure where some part of you (if even a small part) knew a better path but you made another choice. What strategies can you employ to be more aware of your barriers and effectively overcome them in the future? These could be towels, raincoats, or ways of thinking through the issues. The goal here is to challenge yourself to think about how you can better position yourself if similar difficult decisions came your way in the future.
Finally, as you reflect on the way you responded to these prompts today vs a few weeks ago what is different about the way you approach this sort of reflection?