Ethics in Teaching

1
Ethics in Teaching

• According to a study from the American
• Psychologist, which of the following did most
• faculty polled find unethical?
•  
• Ignoring a students cheating
• Teaching a class without being adequately
• prepared that day
• Privately tutoring students in your
• department for pay
• Teaching in classes so crowded that it
• affects your effectiveness
• (1991 by Tabachnick and colleagues)

2
Ethics in Teaching

• Of 482 faculty surveyed in the study, all
• of the previously mentioned situations
• were considered definitely to somewhat
• unethical.

3
Ethics in Teaching

• At the end of this module, you will
•  
• Know a working definition of ethics in
• teaching
• Understand guiding ethical questions used to
• make decisions in teaching
• Be able to identify ethical questions in tricky
• situations
• Know the three principles of ethical conduct
• put forth by the American Association of
• University Professors (AAUP).

4
A Definition of Ethics

• Murray and colleagues defined ethics as
• general guidelines, ideals, or
• expectations that need to be taken into
• account, along with other relevant
• conditions and circumstances, in the
• design and analysis of teaching.
• (From New Directions in Teaching and
  Learning,1997, Vol. 66.)

5
Another Definition of Ethics

• According to Marilla Svinicki at U.T.
• Austin, being ethical in the classroom
• means considering the responsibilities
• we have to students and colleagues. In
• other words, we can think about ethics
• in terms of the responsibilities we have
• and how we fulfill those obligations.

6
Example Situation

• Consider this situation You are a new
• faculty member at UTD. Your program
• head tells you that you WILL teach a
• class in an area that is only tangential to
• what you know.
• Ethically, can you teach it?
• What should you do?

7
Analyzing Ethical Dilemmas

• In analyzing these dilemmas, we can
• think about some ideas from Marillas
• Svinickis workshop at UT on ethics
•  
• Is the situation public or private?
• How much can you separate the
• relationship with a student or
• colleague from your evaluation of
• students?

8
Analyzing Ethical Dilemmas, contd

• Do institutional standards condone the
• action? Is it something other faculty
• do and accept?
• Is this an equitable situation for
• students? For you?

9
Consider Teaching Class in an Area You Dont Know

• It is a private matter that you dont know
• the content but it affects your public
• persona if you pretend to teach what you
• do not know.
• Will you be able to evaluate students
• learning and knowledge of an area you
• do not know yourself?

10
Consider Teaching Class in an Area You Dont
Know, contd

• Do other faculty at UTD teach in areas
• they do not know well or at all? Is it an
• accepted practice? Do the students
• know about it?
• Will the students gain the knowledge,
• skills, and ways of thinking from the
• course that they need to succeed in the
• future?

11
Another Ethical Example

• You have several international students
• taking your class. A few of these
• students bring you gifts near the end of
• the semester because that is what they
• do in their respective cultures. They do
• not understand the American idea of
• accepting such gifts as possibly
• bribing the teacher. What would you do
• or say?

12
Questions to Ask Before Accepting Gifts

• What would other students in the class think if
• they found out that you were given and
• accepted these gifts? Could you mention the
• gifts to other students without feeling
• uncomfortable?
•  
• How valuable are these gifts to the students?
• To you? Are they valuable enough to change
• your opinion of the students? Will a gift cause
• you to evaluate a student differently than you
• would have otherwise?
•  

13
Questions to Ask Before Accepting Gifts

• Do other faculty accept gifts from
• students? Do students at UTD recognize
• this practice as typical?
•  
• Would other students believe that
• giving you gifts could gain them favor?

14
AAUP Statement on Ethics

• In 1987, the American Association of
• University Professors (AAUP) published a
• Statement on Professional Ethics. From
• this statement, ethics in teaching are
• based on the following principles

15
AAUP Statement on Ethics, contd

• Developing and improving scholarly
• competence.
• Is it ethical to get behind in your field?
• Probably not.
• Is it ethical to think about your teaching and
  try
• to improve it?
• Definitely yes.

16
AAUP Statement on Ethics, contd

• Encourage the free pursuit of
• learning.demonstrate respect for
• students as individuals and adhere to
• their proper roles as intellectual guides
• and counselors.
• There are many questions you can ask
• yourself about this principle

17
AAUP Statement on Ethics, contd

• Do you give your students the opportunity
• to question and disagree?
• Do you put forth all views on a subject?
• Do you create an open environment in
• your classroom to allow students to ask
• questions?
• Do you have and keep your office hours to be
• available to students outside of class?
• Do you have set procedures for grading that all
  students know and understand?
• Do you follow your procedures for evaluating
• students without exceptions for favorites?

18
AAUP Statement on Ethics, contd

• Avoid any exploitation, harassment,
• or discriminatory treatment of
• studentsdo not discriminate against or
• harass colleagues.
• Do you give students appropriate credit for
• work theyve done on your research?
• Do you cut short appointments with students
• you dont like?
• Do you try to avoid students you do not
• understand, who do not speak English well?

19
Being an Ethical Faculty Member

• What is the most important way you can
• be ethical as a faculty member?
• Talk about ethics to your students. Tell
• them that everyone will make mistakes
• but that you are dedicated to upholding
• the highest ethical ideals of our
• profession. Have a conversation with
• them about how they can be ethical
• students and how you will be an ethical
• faculty member.

20
Summary

• You have learned
•  
• One of many definitions of ethics in teaching.
• That some guiding ethical questions used to
• make decisions in teaching center around
• how private or public the situation is as
  well as how equitable students perceive you to
  be.
• How to identify ethical questions in tricky
• situations
• Three principles of ethical conduct put forth
• by the AAUP.
• Click here to test what youve learned.

21
Which of the following is NOT an ethical issue
from Tabachnicks 1991 study?

• a) Ignoring a students cheating.
• b) Teaching a class without being
• adequately prepared that day.
• c) Teaching class when you are
• preoccupied by a personal issue.
• d) Teaching in classes so crowded that it
• affects your effectiveness.
• Check your answer

22
Which of the following is NOT an ethical issue
from Tabachnicks 1991 study?

• a) Ignoring a students cheating.
• b) Teaching a class without being
• adequately prepared that day.
• c) Teaching class when you are
• preoccupied by a personal issue.
• d) Teaching in classes so crowded that it
• affects your effectiveness.

23
Which of the following is NOT one of the AAUPs
ethical principles?

• a) Developing and improving scholarly
• competence
• b) Encouraging the free pursuit of
• learning
• c) Demonstrating respect for students as
• individuals
• d) Developing nurturing relationships
• with students
• Check your answer

24
Which of the following is NOT one of the AAUPs
ethical principles?

• a) Developing and improving scholarly
• competence
• b) Encouraging the free pursuit of
• learning
• c) Demonstrating respect for students as
• individuals
• d) Developing nurturing relationships
• with students
• Press the ltescgt key to exit this module.