Promoting Moral Literacy Teaching Competency

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Promoting Moral Literacy Teaching Competency

• Workshop Facilitators
• Pauline Leonard
• Dawn Basinger
• Deborah Hollimom
• Rebecca Smith

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What is moral literacy?

• Independently or collaboratively
• Define it with words
• Write a poem
• Create a metaphor
• Illustrate it through a diagram or picture

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Moral Literacy Defined

• Moral literacy is the ability to recognize and
  address complex moral problems
• Requires training and practice throughout our
  lives

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Why moral literacy?

• Major Influences
• Values and educational leadership (Hodgkinson,
  1991)
• Authentic leadership (Begley, 2007)
• Ethical leadership (Starratt, 2004)
• Structured self-reflection (Branson, 2007)
• Moral literacy (Tuana, 2007)

• Impact
• Understanding value-laden decision making
• Promoting holistic teaching and teacher education
• Integrating values and reflection in teacher
  education
• Developing a moral literacy course

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Moral Literacy Course

• Three Modules
• Module I Moral Literacy and the TeacherThe
  Power of One
• Module II Moral Literacy and the StudentThe
  Exponential Power of Teaching
• Module III Moral Literacy and the CommunityThe
  Infinite Power of Community

• Each Module
• Theoretical basis
• Module focus
• Objectives
• Content and activities

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Course Conceptual Framework

• Basic Components of Moral Literacy
• Ethics sensitivity
• Ethical reasoning skills
• Moral imagination

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Module I Moral Literacy and the TeacherThe
Power of One

• Focus
• Teacher Self-Knowledge
• Objectives
• To acknowledge the importance of moral literacy
  development in teachers and adolescents
• To recognize the teachers responsibility as a
  moral role model for adolescents and,
• To consider and reflect on the teachers
  influence as an active moral mentor of
  adolescents.
• Content and activities
• ReadingsMoral literacy, self-refection, holistic
  teaching
• Structured self-reflection (Branson, 2007
  Leonard Basinger, 2008)

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Structured Self-Reflection Activity
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Structured Self-Reflection Activity

• Think Use the visual display chart provided to
  critically reflect upon a morally-laden critical
  incident
• Pair Work with a partner to discuss your chart
• Share Whole-group discussion

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Module II Moral Literacy and the Student The
Exponential Power of Teaching

• Focus
• Adolescent students moral literacy
• Objectives
• Critically examine assigned reading materials
  that will cultivate moral literacy in
  adolescents and,
• Evaluate appropriate reading materials from
  multiple perspectives.
• Content and Activities
• Readings Moral Literacy (e.g., The Bully)
• Discussion Questions and Components of Moral
  Literacy (Tuana, 2007).

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The Bluford Series

• Collection of fifteen young adult novels
• Set in contemporary urban America...
• Feature male and female characters
• Short and written in a highly readable style
• Relevant topics for middle and high school
  students

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EDCI 435 Current Issues and Trends in
EducationSummer 2009 Project

• Session 6 Moral Literacy
• Read assigned articles to become familiar with
  moral literacy
• Read assigned book
• Collaboratively develop discussion questions and
  culminating activity that will promote moral
  literacy awareness in adolescents.
• Examples of some discussion questions.
• Examples of culminating activities.

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The Bully

• Darrell Mercer, a 9th grader at Bluford, is at
  the center of this story. Darrell and his mother
  move to the Bluford area in the middle of the
  school year. Physically smaller than his peers,
  Darrell quickly becomes a target for Tyray Hobbs,
  the freshman class bully.

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Provocative, Emotional, Relevant Reading Engages
Students
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All Eyes were on The Bully
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Coaches read The Bully with Boys in PE
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Girls Enjoyed The Bully too
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The Bully Made us Think and Gave Us Much to Talk
about
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Students need Literacy and Moral Literacy Role
Models
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Literacy and moral literacy-the exponential power
of teaching

• Find Relevant Texts to Read with Students
• Foster Student Responses in Class
• Facilitate Personal Reflection, for example
  through discussion or journal writing
• Formulate Collaborative Resolutions to Build
  Community

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Reflections from Teacher Candidates

• I can honestly say that I found the book an
  enjoyable read even though the book was written
  for middle and high-school students in mind.
• --Ryan

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Reflections from Teacher Candidates

• I would highly recommend this book and the
  entire series and actually did recommend it to
  the Curriculum Supervisor in the Richland Parish
  School System. The way in which this book is
  written allows the reader to put themselves in
  the shoes of Darrel. --Deidre

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Reflections from Teacher Candidates

• Bullying probably occurs at every school
  regardless of grade or environment. Kids who deal
  with bullies can use this resource to gain
  knowledge on how to deal with a bully. It can
  also be useful to teachers who are approached by
  students who encounter bullies.
• --Marcus

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Reflections from Teacher Candidates

• The bully concept and moral literacy are
  both handles in ways in which your parents and
  peers have mostly influenced, but also is up the
  individual and his personality in how they react
  in the moment when they are being exposed to it.
• --Katrina

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Reflections from Teacher Candidates

• I can say teachers need to be more aware of
  the need of moral literacy. I as a teacher need
  to be more informed on how to train students in
  ethics sensitivity because Tuana says if our
  students are not able to determine if a situation
  involves an ethical issue or weigh the moral
  intensity of an issue, they will not be able to
  react responsibly.
• --Gwendolyn

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Components of Moral Literacy Activity

• Think Read a passage from The Bully and use the
  diagram provided to respond to the ethical
  situation at hand
• Pair Work with a partner to discuss your
  responses
• Share Whole-group discussion
• Reflect How effective was this activity in
  activating and facilitating moral literacy
  instruction and personal understanding?

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Components of Moral Literacy Activity
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Module Three

• Moral Literacy and The Community The infinite
  power of the community

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Focus Service Learning

• Developing the ethic of community in action
• Objectives
• Analyze case studies
• Develop rational for an action plan
• Identify a service learning activity to implement
• Examine student reflections and evaluate the
  utility and success of the project

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Content and Activities

• Readings Furmans Ethic of Community
• Four ethics critique, justice, caring, and
  community (Shapiro Stefkavich,2001, Starratt,
  2004), three cases studies of exemplary middle
  schools
• School-wide action planning
• Teacher-facilitated community service project
• Collaborative development of an assessment tool
• Reflection reports
• Addition of Tech Honduras

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Definition of Service Learning

• Any project that connects, applies, and extends
  the classroom learning within and for the benefit
  of the community (Basinger, Holliman, Leonard,
  Smith, 2008).
• Rationale The Learning Pyramid
• Second Stage Gathering data and refining the
  course

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Course-embedded Service Learning

• Objective three Identifying service learning
  project to implement in the community
• Other options (six)
• Before implementation Communication tips
• Researching ways to serve in the community (after
  readings and analysis of cases)
• Brainstorming activity (see handout 3.1, an
  example and space to write)
• Reflection exploring and sharing moral issues
  and service needs
• Seeing things from another perspective

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Service Learning is Preparation for Citizenship

• Definitions Group speak
• Shaping the hidden curriculum
• Ethics in the community, and becoming a moral
  agent (Tuana, 2001)
• Reflection activity (see handout 3.2)
• Rationale the sense of community is based on
  relationships. (Furman, 2003)

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School-wide action plans to develop Moral Literacy

• Developing specific Academic, Cognitive, and
  interpersonal abilities Service learning brings
  module two to life
• Three case studies and 12 guiding principles,
  service learning as the foundation of the
  curriculum
• Service Learning prepares students for the world
  of work
• See handout 3.3, 16 EFF standards (Coplin, 2003)
  and activity (four columns)

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Assessment

• Developing a measurement tool for Moral Literacy
• Analyzing reflective journals
• Four column activity (review)
• Brainstorming

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An Example!

• Continuation of research and refinement of this
  course
• Tech Honduras, a collaborative partnership
• Course-embedded (EDCI 434, FOR 430,431)
• International learning/service learning in a
  diverse culture
• Outcomes (reflective journals)

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Summary and Inspiration

• Service Learning is.
• The value of service to a community
• Lauras story

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Conclusion

• Challenges
• Goals
• Suggestions and Comments