Philosophy 2625, Introduction to Professional Ethics
22/01/08 22:36
Philosophy 2625, Introduction to Professional
Ethics
Students normally encounter three primary challenges when taking a course in professional ethics. The first is the language or jargon barrier that accompanies any discipline. Since professional ethics does not have any prerequisites, for many students professional ethics is both their first and last exposure
Students normally encounter three primary challenges when taking a course in professional ethics. The first is the language or jargon barrier that accompanies any discipline. Since professional ethics does not have any prerequisites, for many students professional ethics is both their first and last exposure
Philosophy 2625, Introduction to Professional
Ethics
Students normally encounter three primary challenges when taking a course in professional ethics. The first is the language or jargon barrier that accompanies any discipline. Since professional ethics does not have any prerequisites, for many students professional ethics is both their first and last exposure to philosophical writing. Consequently, it takes students time to become accustomed to the way in which philosophers present their arguments, and the often unfamiliar ways they use various terms or phrases. A second difficulty (related to the first) is the challenge of giving the student enough of the theoretical background to fully appreciate the applied material they will be studying. Finally, there is the constant struggle to make a course consisting of a diverse number of topics relevant to the individual student. Professional ethics covers topics in business, education, medicine, nursing, advertising, and law. Not all of the topics covered will be of interest to all the students. In addition to the aforementioned challenges, there are additional challenges that accompany teaching an online section of professional ethics. Online students lack the benefit of the personal interaction with the instructor and other members of the class.
In examining and comparing (semester to semester) student answers on professional ethics exams, we are very pleased with the consistent improvement in the answers. Most students, regardless of major, can appreciate issues that affect the recipients of professional service. So while they may not be able to relate to the moral issues facing medical professionals, there is some interest in how the professional’s decisions may affect the patient. Also, students seem generally receptive and interested in issues that directly affect their lives, such as privacy issues, safety, rights, etc.
In critical thinking exercises, students are also showing improvement, though perhaps not at the level of improvement evidenced in their essay exam questions. Many of the faculty teaching this course discussed among ourselves ways of improving student critical thinking abilities, and we have tried and compared notes on various pedagogical techniques and their effects on student critical thinking. Using more open ended questions and pushing students to think carefully and precisely about the specific conclusion or conclusions in the arguments they are evaluating seem to have a positive effect on the development of students’ critical thinking capacities, but this is an area we continue to experiment with.
Over the last 4 years several substantive changes have been made to the professional ethics course, and the most striking changes have been made to the online sections of professional ethics (though these have also had an impact on the on-campus sections). To begin with, audio and video lectures have been created to accompany the readings found in the text. Rather than students reading the text, and then reading a commentary or lecture notes on the text, audio and video lectures have been created to help approximate the classroom experience. Additionally, video clips from movies, documentaries, and television programs have been created to both illustrate various points and to show the relevance or importance of various issues in professional ethics. Along the same lines, tutorials on writing position papers, audio course updates and online office hours help keep the students more informed about their progress in the course. Also, the audio and video lectures are offered in portable formats (specifically as a free download from the iTunes store) which allow students to review material when and where they find it most convenient. Making this material available outside of WebCT also allows the on-campus students to take advantage of the podcasts to make up for missed classes or to more easily review material. While student performance in online courses generally correlates with the work of students taking classes in the more traditional format (and some of the same assessment programs work effectively, particularly the use of embedded questions), we are also working on the development of assessment programs that will be more online specific. One trend that we have noted, and were very pleased to note, is that the percentage of students dropping out of the online courses has greatly decreased (four years ago the dropout rate was sometimes as high as 1/2; now it is comparable to the dropout rates in standard courses.) Furthermore, the number of questions and frustrations that online students experienced at the beginning of the course have dropped dramatically: from better than half the students calling with problems and complaints during the first week (during the first year of online teaching) to our experience this fall when only two students encountered problems, and those were easily solved. A major improvement which has had a very positive effect on students’ satisfaction with the course – especially in the initial stages of the online courses – has been development of a detailed, step by step, incredibly simple, hands on online guide to every element of getting a good start in the course. While it is not a formal element of our assessment program, the assessment results on this – both from student comments and from successful student starts in the course – have been extremely positive. While the improvements to the online professional ethics course have been substantial, there are still more things planned. For example, interactive podcasts that allow students to both listen to a lecture and click on links for additional information are currently in the planning stage. Also, implementation of the new department electronic text is in the works to allow the students to carry the entire course (text, lectures, handouts etc.) with them wherever they go. We are currently considering ways of assessing the effectiveness of these new additions, and are leaning toward surveys of what students like and do not like about the new developments: surveys which will be discussed by all those teaching online courses, followed by appropriate revisions in the new elements, and further surveys to gauge the response of students to those further revisions.
In the course of our assessment process (and particularly in the course of our discussion of what pedagogical techniques work and which ones do not), we have noted a common problem that students have in their oral presentations (which form an integral part of many of the sections). Students have become very practiced and adept at the use of technology in their presentations, but the technology use sometimes has a negative effect: the technological resources can sometimes become the central theme and dictate the content of the presentation, rather than being effectively employed to enhance interest and comprehension. Like network newscasts, presentations are sometimes organized in terms of what elements of the story have the best visual values, rather than in terms of what issues are of greatest significance. How to teach students to make better use of technological resources, without allowing the technology to be a substitute for genuine substance, is an issue that has been extensively discussed in the department, and we are currently exploring better pedagogical methods for improving the use of technology in classroom presentations.
Students normally encounter three primary challenges when taking a course in professional ethics. The first is the language or jargon barrier that accompanies any discipline. Since professional ethics does not have any prerequisites, for many students professional ethics is both their first and last exposure to philosophical writing. Consequently, it takes students time to become accustomed to the way in which philosophers present their arguments, and the often unfamiliar ways they use various terms or phrases. A second difficulty (related to the first) is the challenge of giving the student enough of the theoretical background to fully appreciate the applied material they will be studying. Finally, there is the constant struggle to make a course consisting of a diverse number of topics relevant to the individual student. Professional ethics covers topics in business, education, medicine, nursing, advertising, and law. Not all of the topics covered will be of interest to all the students. In addition to the aforementioned challenges, there are additional challenges that accompany teaching an online section of professional ethics. Online students lack the benefit of the personal interaction with the instructor and other members of the class.
In examining and comparing (semester to semester) student answers on professional ethics exams, we are very pleased with the consistent improvement in the answers. Most students, regardless of major, can appreciate issues that affect the recipients of professional service. So while they may not be able to relate to the moral issues facing medical professionals, there is some interest in how the professional’s decisions may affect the patient. Also, students seem generally receptive and interested in issues that directly affect their lives, such as privacy issues, safety, rights, etc.
In critical thinking exercises, students are also showing improvement, though perhaps not at the level of improvement evidenced in their essay exam questions. Many of the faculty teaching this course discussed among ourselves ways of improving student critical thinking abilities, and we have tried and compared notes on various pedagogical techniques and their effects on student critical thinking. Using more open ended questions and pushing students to think carefully and precisely about the specific conclusion or conclusions in the arguments they are evaluating seem to have a positive effect on the development of students’ critical thinking capacities, but this is an area we continue to experiment with.
Over the last 4 years several substantive changes have been made to the professional ethics course, and the most striking changes have been made to the online sections of professional ethics (though these have also had an impact on the on-campus sections). To begin with, audio and video lectures have been created to accompany the readings found in the text. Rather than students reading the text, and then reading a commentary or lecture notes on the text, audio and video lectures have been created to help approximate the classroom experience. Additionally, video clips from movies, documentaries, and television programs have been created to both illustrate various points and to show the relevance or importance of various issues in professional ethics. Along the same lines, tutorials on writing position papers, audio course updates and online office hours help keep the students more informed about their progress in the course. Also, the audio and video lectures are offered in portable formats (specifically as a free download from the iTunes store) which allow students to review material when and where they find it most convenient. Making this material available outside of WebCT also allows the on-campus students to take advantage of the podcasts to make up for missed classes or to more easily review material. While student performance in online courses generally correlates with the work of students taking classes in the more traditional format (and some of the same assessment programs work effectively, particularly the use of embedded questions), we are also working on the development of assessment programs that will be more online specific. One trend that we have noted, and were very pleased to note, is that the percentage of students dropping out of the online courses has greatly decreased (four years ago the dropout rate was sometimes as high as 1/2; now it is comparable to the dropout rates in standard courses.) Furthermore, the number of questions and frustrations that online students experienced at the beginning of the course have dropped dramatically: from better than half the students calling with problems and complaints during the first week (during the first year of online teaching) to our experience this fall when only two students encountered problems, and those were easily solved. A major improvement which has had a very positive effect on students’ satisfaction with the course – especially in the initial stages of the online courses – has been development of a detailed, step by step, incredibly simple, hands on online guide to every element of getting a good start in the course. While it is not a formal element of our assessment program, the assessment results on this – both from student comments and from successful student starts in the course – have been extremely positive. While the improvements to the online professional ethics course have been substantial, there are still more things planned. For example, interactive podcasts that allow students to both listen to a lecture and click on links for additional information are currently in the planning stage. Also, implementation of the new department electronic text is in the works to allow the students to carry the entire course (text, lectures, handouts etc.) with them wherever they go. We are currently considering ways of assessing the effectiveness of these new additions, and are leaning toward surveys of what students like and do not like about the new developments: surveys which will be discussed by all those teaching online courses, followed by appropriate revisions in the new elements, and further surveys to gauge the response of students to those further revisions.
In the course of our assessment process (and particularly in the course of our discussion of what pedagogical techniques work and which ones do not), we have noted a common problem that students have in their oral presentations (which form an integral part of many of the sections). Students have become very practiced and adept at the use of technology in their presentations, but the technology use sometimes has a negative effect: the technological resources can sometimes become the central theme and dictate the content of the presentation, rather than being effectively employed to enhance interest and comprehension. Like network newscasts, presentations are sometimes organized in terms of what elements of the story have the best visual values, rather than in terms of what issues are of greatest significance. How to teach students to make better use of technological resources, without allowing the technology to be a substitute for genuine substance, is an issue that has been extensively discussed in the department, and we are currently exploring better pedagogical methods for improving the use of technology in classroom presentations.
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