Rafaela de Loera

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Rafaela de Loera Course Ethics in the Workpla
ce Unit Who killed the mockingbird? Length
of Learning Experience 8 hours
Target Audience Adult Probation Employees
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Unit Contents

• Rationale Goals and values of learning
  experience
  
• Introduction Words of advice, caution and
  encouragement for facilitator
  
• Facet Chart Six Facets of Understanding by
  Wiggins McTighe
  
• Circles of Priority Layers of understanding in
  graphic form
  
• Priority Performance Tasks What learners will
  know and be able to do
  
• Enduring Understandings The lasting knowledge
  of unit
  
• Essential Questions Foundational inquiries
  for enduring understanding
  
• Evidence of Learning How you will know that
  learning is occurring
  
• Assessment Charts Methods for assessing the
  learning experience
  
• Course Units Listing of other units,
  including links to slide shows
  
• Concept Map Visual representation of unit,
  including links to other units,
  
• Socratic seminar and debating sites
  for instructional materials and resources
  
• Teaching/Learning Strategies - Approaches to
  discovery learning
  
• Misconception Alerts Clarifications on
  stereotyping and teaching of ethics
  

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Rationale

• As employees of the Arizona Supreme Court, Adult
  Probation staff are mandated to complete an
  ethics course as part of the 16 hours of training
  acquired annually. With that mandate comes the
  need for a variety of offerings for staff.
  Employees hold positions of power over those in
  the community who have been adjudicated as guilty
  of a felony and often times of misdemeanors.
  Additionally, our staff interact with the victims
  of crime and other criminal justice personnel.
  Having power over another human being carries an
  awesome responsibility. The focus of the ethics
  classes considers the ramifications of that
  power, and the resulting responsibility and
  accountability for using it.
• Given the recent media coverage on alleged
  negative behaviors by probation officers in Pima
  County, it is crucial that ethical workshops
  address the abuse of power, discrimination, and
  responsibility and accountability issues related
  to the work of probation. The core values and
  goals of this course on ethical behavior speak to
  the employees enduring understanding of why it
  is crucial to exhibit ethical behaviors at the
  work place and in daily life. Beyond the idea of
  just being ethical to keep their jobs, employees
  are guided to an understanding on how their
  behavior impacts the family of probation, their
  own family, our community and ultimately society.
  
• Subsequently, the behaviors of employees of the
  department are considered the standard. The
  public deserves the highest degree of ethical
  behavior from state employees as society screams
  for fairness and justice from those in power.
  This unit on ethical behavior provides an
  opportunity for employees to be introspective and
  assess their behaviors as they interact with
  probationers, victims, their families, the
  community and society at large. Opportunities to
  dialogue and debate moral issues based on a
  variety of sources launches the learning
  experience. As you journey through this unit, you
  are challenged to assess and evaluate your
  ethical behavior in the context of your work,
  personal, and societal lifes.

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Introduction

• The successful learning experience for employees
  taking this unit on ethics at the workplace
  hinges on the facilitators understanding of the
  values and goals of the learning experience. As
  stated in the rationale, it is imperative that
  employees walk away from this course with an
  enduring understanding of the significance of
  exhibiting ethical behavior. While on the
  surface this may seem simplistic, challenging
  individuals to be introspective about their
  ethical values and how they are or are not
  applied is difficult. It is worth mentioning
  that as a facilitator, you are tasked with
  uncovering the subtleties that lie beneath the
  surface when discussing discrimination, the abuse
  of power, while holding others responsible and
  accountable for their behaviors.
• The opening activity of viewing clips of the
  movie To Kill a Mockingbird serves as the hook
  to engage their participation and provides the
  focus for discussing, debating and eventually
  assessing their perspectives on overarching
  questions like Who killed the mocking bird?
  How was the killing justified? From there the
  employees are asked to consider essential
  questions which reoccur throughout the workshop.
  Next, the facilitator leads the group through a
  debate of two sides of a moral issue from the
  movie. Rules for conducting the debate are
  provide in a later slide through a link to a
  website. It is crucial the group reach agreement
  about ground rules for the debate, including
  roles of the moderator and other role players.
• Other activities include conducting a Socratic
  seminar. You will find a link to a site that
  provides basic information on how to do this type
  of dialogue. Provide participants with some
  background information and modeling. Asking
  questions is essential to this type of
  discussion, be sure to include the essential
  questions as the opportunity allows. An activity
  that will extend beyond the unit involves the
  employees keeping a private journal. Getting
  adults to do these kinds of activities can be
  difficult so, provide a challenge and encourage
  their participation, assuring them that no one,
  NO ONE, will ever view their journals. It is for
  self assessment and introspection. Perhaps the
  most significant activity encompasses the
  employees creating guidelines for dealing with
  probationers, victims, peers, other criminal
  justice personnel, and family, friends,
  community, and society at large. Again, adults
  need to be encouraged and sometimes cajoled into
  doing these types of activities. Making it clear
  that these guidelines will be included in their
  job performance evaluation may be just the carrot
  you will need. Remember to be kind. A variety
  of teaching activities along with numerous other
  learning activities are provide in the
  strategies section of this unit. Resource
  materials will also be made available.
• Finally, it is important for you, as the
  facilitator to remember that adults learn in a
  variety of ways the lesson provides different
  means for the participants to acquire a lasting
  understanding of the main concepts. Since the
  unit covers an eight hour day, a 10 minute break
  should be provided every hour with an hour for
  lunch. Take into consideration the environment
  where these adult learners will be experiencing
  this unit lighting, type of chairs, and seating
  arrangements. These are crucial for a conducive
  learning experience.
• Together, you can make this learning discovery so
  memorable that many will be talking about for
  months later in the halls of your environment.
  Whether your audience is adults or children,
  components of this unit are applicable with some
  appropriate adaptations. If you are interested
  in making those adaptations, please contact me at
  (name_at_email address). Heres to reaching your
  goals.

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Facet Chart
   
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Circles of Priority
In this unit for understanding the importance of
ethics in the work of probation, staff will come
to know and understand at three levels of
priority First, they will become familiar with
various schools of ethical theory. At the next
level, staff will be exposed to the departments
expectations of ethical conduct. Finally, at the
level of enduring understanding, employees will
evaluate and consider how their personal ethics
relate to the work ethics.
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Priority Performance Tasks
  At the end of the workshop on Ethical Behaviors
at the Workplace, participants will be able to
apply the knowledge presented through the course
work in the performance of their job duties.  
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Enduring Understandings

• Awareness of personal prejudices and limitations

• Importance of resisting the negative stereotyping
  others
  

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Enduring Understandings

• Importance
• of exhibiting
• ethical behaviors
• at work and daily life

• Impact of unethical behaviors on self and others

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Essential Questions

• Overarching Questions
• Who killed the mockingbird?
• Who was the mockingbird?
• How was the killing justified?

• Essential Questions
• What are the connections between characters in
  movie and the work of probation?
  
• How would you re-write the ending of the movie?
• How do we as employees of the court discriminate
  against probationers based on their race,
  socio-economic status, criminal offense, or age?

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Essential Questions

• Overarching Questions
• Who killed the mockingbird?
• Who was the mockingbird?
• How was the killing justified?

• Essential Questions
• What is situational ethics? Do you agree with
  the concept? Defend your response.
  
• How does this learning experience apply to you
  dealing with probationers?
  
• How does any of this apply to your other life
  away from work? Or does it?
  

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EVIDENCE OF LEARNING Description of Performance
Tasks, Projects

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ASSESSMENT CHARTS Evidence that learners unders
tand the significance of exhibiting ethical beha
viors

Performance Tasks, Projects
Quizzes, Tests, Academic Prompts
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ASSESSMENT CHARTS
Other Evidence Learners Self-Assessment Pl
ace your rating in the boxes 1(least) to 10(m
ost)

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Course Units

• This unit is a part of the course on Ethics in
  the Workplace. Employees are introduced to the
  concept of ethics upon employment, and are
  automatically enrolled in the course Ethical Use
  of Authority. During their early years on the
  job, they will experience two courses, Ethical
  Reasoning I and Ethical Reasoning II which uses
  critical thinking skill cards for launching the
  ethical learning experience. Additionally,
  employees are required to complete a course on
  diversity the course Ethics of Diversity exposes
  employees to the issues of ethics and cultural
  diversity as they impact the work of probation.
  Who killed the mockingbird? adds a new
  dimension to employees learning.

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Why exhibit ethical behaviors
at the workplace
and in daily life?
Post Test on Perspective Of Ethical Behavior
Pretest on Perspective of Ethical Behavior
Explain significance of behaving ethically at t
he workplace
and in daily life
Socratic Seminar on ethical theories, codes an
d policy
procedures
What is ethics?
Main Concepts Ethical Theories Codes of
Ethics Policy/Procedure Of the Adult Probat
ion
Department
Who killed the mocking bird? Why? How was it jus
tified?
How do ethical theories apply to the work of pr
obation?
Debate two sides of a moral message of movie
View movie To Kill A Mocking Bird
Develop personal guidelines of ethical behavior
when dealing with probationers and others

• CONCEPT MAP

Ethical Reasoning III
Ethical use Of Power
Ethics of Diversity
Ethical Reasoning II
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Enduring Understandings
Teaching/Learning Strategies

• Awareness of personal prejudices and limitations

• Have students view clips of To Kill a
  Mockingbird and develop new endings,
  illustrating an awareness of personal prejudices
  
• Conduct a Socratic Seminar
• Have students walk in the shoes of probationers
  by riding bus to the office from an unknown
  neighborhood
  
• Have students complete a workshop on how to
  change

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Teaching/Learning Strategies
Enduring Understandings

• Importance of resisting the stereotyping of others

• Have students complete the Ethics of Diversity
  workshops labeling exercise which deals with
  stereotyping
  
• Have students research the impact of stereotyping
  others and complete an interactive telling of
  what they discovered through role playing,
  telling a story, etc.
• Challenge students to keep a detailed journal of
  when they stereotype others for a month and then
  have them share their observations
  

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Enduring Understandings
Teaching/Learning Strategies

• Importance
• of exhibiting
• ethical behaviors
• at work and daily life

• Have students review departmental codes of
  ethics, policy and procedures and attend Ethical
  Use of Authority workshop
  
• Have students compare those documents with the
  ethics of society and religions, situational
  ethics, the Principle of Utility and Kant
  deontological ethics
• Have students develop their own code of ethics
  and guidelines for dealing with probationers and
  society

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Enduring Understandings
Teaching/Learning Strategies

• Impact of unethical behaviors on self and others

• After viewing video have students debate two
  sides of a moral message with emphasis on the
  negative impact on various characters
  
• Have students reflect and discuss the impact of
  their stereotyping based on entries from
  journals
  
• Have students create an exhibition, showing the
  impact of unethical and ethical behavior

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Misconception Alert

• Beware! Stereotyping was first used in 1949 by
  Walter Lippman in his book, Public Opinion, to
  mean a kind of oversimplification and
  generalization. Lippman addressed the idea of
  stereotyping racial and ethnic groups, concluding
  that it was irrational and inaccurate since the
  behaviors or attitudes of a large group of people
  could not be simply classified.
• However, there is a natural tendency in human
  beings to put things in simple groups as part of
  the thinking process. This helps explain why it
  is difficult for people to move beyond racial and
  ethnic stereotyping. Educated people see the
  absurdity in classifying the behaviors and
  attitudes of large groups of people. Yet, the
  use of stereotyping people by race or ethnicity
  (and other characteristics) continues especially
  when there is sometimes a kernel of truth to the
  stereotype.
• People do not believe that certain
  characteristics are true of all within the
  identified group. Those behaviors/attitudes
  might be typically true for some. This idea also
  helps to make negative stereotyping difficult to
  eradicate. Can stereotyping be negative? If so,
  what are positive stereotypes called?
• Source Multicultural Relations on Campus A
  Personal Growth Approach by Parker, Archer and
  Scott. (1992)

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Misconception Alert

• Traditionally, as teachers, we are seen as the
  experts in a particular topic. When teaching
  ethics, this expectation can be deadly. Do you
  know of any experts in the area of teaching
  ethics, short of highly respected religious
  figures (some of whom are known to have fallen
  from grace)? Even the deep thinkers of the
  past, like Aristotle and Socrates, dialogued
  with their contemporaries on this topic, and they
  never preached to know it all. The purpose here
  is to advise teachers and students alike that
  teaching and learning about ethics should be a
  discovery exercise for both. Teachers are the
  facilitators in the process.
• Source Commonsense and Rafaelas past
  experiences