Lesson 5: Moral Dilemmas

Q4:Upon receiving the class test Kelvin overheard that Sam copied his assignments from his seniors. When he heard that he felt sad and unsure if he should report to his teacher regarding the situation or maintain his friendship with him.

If I was Kelvin , I would find a time to talk to Sam about being honest . If the teacher finds out he might get 0 for his assignments but he went to talk to the teacher regarding the situation maybe he might get another chance to do his assignments once more. I would also let him know that it is not fair for those who studied hard as well . And lastly let him know it happened once but it might become a habit for him to cheat which is not a good thing to do .

VENNIA

Comment: Interesting scenario which depicts a dilemma & conflict of integrity & honesty principle. However, how would you as an educator facilitate Kelvin on the dilemma he is facing, rather than you being Kelvin. For example, introduce the STEPS problem solving strategy or redefine the correct values and moral involved. Open communication would be encouraged as well. Need to set specific class rules and shared norms on non-plagiarism as well.

Norazlina

Activity 4

While having a group activity a girl not sure if she wants to mix with her peers or to sit alone.

How i guide her?

I advise her it's fun to do activity together with peers then doing it all alone and at the same time i sit together with her and her peers to make her feel comfortable in the group to do the activity

Comment: Facilitation style is effective. Other guidance could involve enforce class rules to do group activities and shared norm of importance of collaboration across the class.

Scenario:

Unfaithful friend

Guide:

Ask her to be honest and encourage her to think about her actions.

Yumni

Comment: Any details of the above scenario? Facilitation strategy is good. Other strategy could involve redefining her values or even discuss real life moral and ethical dilemmas with her or introducing the STEPs problem-solving process to her.

Activity 4

I have discussed with my student about a dilemma she faced and that was she heard her best friend talking about another student. What the best friend said was lies and really mean, it was also related to her family. She was confused to confront her about it or let the teacher know as it happened in class.

I asked her who she was more comfortable talking to. I also asked her if she feels what her best friend did was right or wrong. I also asked her how she would feel if the student her best friend was talking about found out about it.

-Sakira

Comment: Good facilitation questions asked. You could also teach her the STEPS problem-solving process, getting her to verbalize the steps taken during problem-solving, and helping her to evaluate and reflect on her decision made should she decide to speak to her best friend.

Activity 4:

Peer pressure. Students may encounter situations where they are compelled to conform to negative behaviors or even engage in activities against their will and values. This dilemma involves decision making, personal identity, and the courage to say no.

-Phyllis

Comment: Any specific scenario which you can think of?

Activity 4: Tom and Jerry found a wallet in the boys toilet and gave it to teacher. There was an ezlink card inside belonging to Bobby. Teacher asked Bobby if the wallet was his and Bobby said it belongs to him. Bobby told teacher that the money inside his wallet is gone and started crying. Tom went to teacher and said that Jerry was the one who took the money and said not to tell anyone.

Teacher thanked Tom for his honesty and called for Jerry. Teacher ran through STEPS with Jerry by asking him to name the problem; which was stealing. Think about the solution; to return Bobby his money. The consequence; school and parents will be informed. Best solution; apologise and do a reflection. Follow-up with Jerry to see if he has learnt and understood his mistake.

Comment: Good application of the STEPS problem solving process into your scenario. Well done! Other facilitation strategy could be redefining the value of honesty and integrity to Jerry as well as enforcing class rules and shared norms across the students on not to steal.

Scenario :

A student, Joylyn told me that the bookshop auntie gave her extra $2 change. She told me that she is unsure about what to do.

Guide Joylyn in making the right choice :

I will encourage Joylyn to return the extra $2 change as the auntie might have been too busy & given her the wrong change.

Comment: You could also define values on honesty and integrity with her or discuss real-life moral and ethical situations, in helping her to make a better choice.

Activity 4

Emily and Laura are best friends. Emily struggle with Maths homework during school hours and requested Laura to help, but Laura reveals their schoolteacher's instructions for individual work instead of copying the answers from their peers. It’s understandable that Emily was upset when she found out that copying answers from peers is not allowed.

It’s important to help students make good choices and learn from their mistakes. One way to do this is by incorporating student choice in the learning process. When students are given the power to choose what they learn and how they demonstrate their learning and become more engaged.

In Emily’s case, I could have a one-on-one conversation with her to understand why she felt the need to copy answers from her peers. I could then offer her alternative ways to learn and practice math, such as online resources or pay extra attention/focus during lesson time. She could also ask her schoolteacher to go slow, or she take notes when explaining. By doing so, I can help Emily make the right choice and learn from her mistake.

Comment: Well discussed on the best facilitation strategies you could have guided Emily. Other involvement could be redefining her values and discuss real-life moral and ethical situations. Enforcing class rules and shared norms on plagiarism is important too.

Scenario:

A student witnesses cyberbullying on social media directed at a classmate.

Solution:

I will encourage him/her to speak up against it and report the incident. I will also explain to him/her that their actions can make a significant difference.

-Dianah

Comment: Fair guidance. You could also develop and enforce class rules and shared norms on cyberbullying.

Activity 4

A student caught one of their friends cheating on a test but did not bring it up to the teacher. After, their friend that cheated got a high score and was rewarded by the teacher.

Now, they feel that it is unfair that they got praised for it but is scared of how their friend might react after.

Once the student is comfortable enough to share, I would ask them how they want to help their friend. If the student is scared of going straight to the teacher, I would ask if they will be okay having a talk with that friend. Perhaps, they could then together confess what they have done and saw to the teacher so that the friend could have some company throughout.

Comment: Well thought scenario with lots of moral & ethical complexities involved.

You could perhaps also define values, morals, and ethics, discuss with them real-life moral and ethical situations, and encourage open discussions.

You could also develop and enforce class rules and shared norms.

Activity 4

Students A, B and C are best friends. Student A invited student B to her house for PSLE revision without student C know. Student B was puzzled in the beginning but went ahead for the revision. Student B started to feel bad/guilty towards Student C.

I told student B to consider her values if her decision is aligned with them. Told her to put herself in student C’s shoes.

-Sylvia

Comment: Good to redefine her values and alignment to her learning objectives. Well thought scenario.

Activity 4: John found out that his friend has been cheating in examinations but was told to not tell anyone about it.

- Slow talk to him and ask him to be honest about his wrongdoings. Let him know that it is not a right thing to do and that as a good friend i'll report to the teacher for his own good.

-Diyana

Comment: To facilitate learning, you could define values, morals, and ethics, discuss real-life moral and ethical situations, and encourage open discussions. You could also develop and enforce class rules and shared norms.

Activity 4: We are going to create a repository of scenarios where students face moral dilemmas.

1.You can discuss with your students or with the help of anyone to come up with 1 scenario whereby your student faces a moral dilemma.

2. How would you guide him/her in making the right choice?

* Please type in 1 scenario and how you would guide your student in making the right choice.