Writing Ethics Across the Curriculum During the past several years, Doug Sweet, a business writing
specialist in SCU's English Department, identified a perplexing
trend among his students: "I'm in a position to have students
writing about various ethical issues in business-hiring and
firing, sexual harassment. What I've noticed is that even when
specifically asked to take a stand on a particular issue, students
tend to want to avoid it." With a grant from Leaders for a Just World, funded by the James Irvine Foundation, Sweet and Shanks designed Writing Ethics Across the Curriculum. Beginning this summer, Sweet and other interested faculty from all three of the University's undergraduate schools will design writing prompts that place students in hypothetical positions of authority and ask them to respond to ethical issues. "The prompt is geared to be reflective of an actual work environment," Sweet said. "It's not a test; students don't pass or fail. Really, it's a survey of a need. To what extent do we feel our students are aware of moral issues? We're confident they will leave Santa Clara knowing how to be engineers or chemists or musicians, but can they see themselves in positions where they may be forced to make tough ethical decisions?" And, adds Shanks, "Do they say they have the commitment and courage to follow through on their decisions, especially when that follow-through is hard?" In the fall quarter, students will write responses to the prompts in classes across the curriculum. During December, faculty will meet to develop criteria for assessing the students' work. "What may make participation in this project especially interesting for faculty is the opportunity to see whether colleagues from divergent disciplines can establish a common understanding of ways to judge moral sensitivity, judgment, commitment, and courage," Sweet observed. Once faculty have assessed the student responses, they can begin to consider how to meet the needs they have discovered. Sweet describes this Phase II as "a curriculum development project in the area of ethical moral sensitivity. "We're going to try to find faculty who are willing to look at the results and haven't ruled out the possibility that they could integrate what we learn into assignments and classroom activities," he said. |
Featured Materials
Issues in Ethics - V. 8, N. 2 Spring 1997 | ||||
issue abstract | ||||
Values in Conflict | ||||
thinking ethically | ||||
Beyond Professional Codes | ||||
Impartial Jurors, Impartial Juries | ||||
features | ||||
Who Gets Seen? | ||||
Ethics@E-Mail | ||||
Jumping the Gun | ||||
a case in point | ||||
The Case of Henry's Publick House | ||||
Comments on the Case of the Depressed Patient | ||||
letters to the editor | ||||
Dignity is Intrinsic | ||||
Family Obligations | ||||
scholars at work | ||||
Sarah Garcia | ||||
Philip Kain | ||||
news from the center | ||||
Writing Ethics Across the Curriculum | ||||
Student Reflection Leaders | ||||
Seminar on Civic Virtue Kicks Off Series | ||||
issues in ethics tools | ||||
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