 The Use of the Debate to Enhance Teaching and Learning in Ethics Marcel F. Beausoleil Ph. D. Fitchburg State University

Challenges of teaching applied ethics  How do you get students to think deeply about ethics  Getting the students to learn, and understand the concepts involved, and how to apply them  Students do not think that they need they need to study ethics, already ethical

Challenges  Often do not understand the concepts, lack of a basic philosophical background  How does this apply in the real world  Not appreciate the weight of the dilemmas  Not understand the power of Criminal Justice Professionals

 Why is study of ethics/integrity important  General consensus – lack of in society today  Issues:  Sports – Steroids – other cheating Football/Baseball  Politics – scandals abound : MA – RI  National – corruption Torture of terrorism prisoners Ongoing issues in state and local government: MA and RI –Fraud investigators committing fraud – no show jobs  Unethical practices and corruption in business  Unethical and illegal practices abound in policing and CJ

 Question – is there more unethical behavior in society today or do we just know about it more  High and low profile incidents are all around us  It has been argued that more Americans are cheating today in some fashion to get ahead with the attitude and thought that this is okay.  Callahan argues that this mindset is becoming pervasive throughout our society  It is even found in our students

 Derek Bok: Studies of undergraduate students: less altruistic, more concerned with self-serving goals Values: on rise- to be well off financially, to gain personal recognition On decline – to find a meaningful philosophy of life, to be involved in civic affairs Number who admit cheating on rise * Can Higher Education Foster Higher Morals” (2001)

 "I actually think cheating is good. A person who has an entirely honest life can't succeed these days.” (student quote from poll)  McCabe, Donald L., Linda Klebe Treviño, Kenneth D. Butterfield. “Cheating in Academic Institutions: A Decade of Research.” ETHICS & BEHAVIOR, 11(3), 219–232, 2001

 Why teach CJ Ethics  Important to properly prepare for work in the profession  Criminal justice professionals – power, authority, and discretion – will they be used properly, need a proper foundation to understand.  Nonis and Swift study: examine relationship between academic dishonesty and workplace dishonesty, found a correlation  research supports ethics education and development of students. Work of Kohlberg, Rest (James), Aristotle Nichomachean Ethics

Encouragement to examine situations from other points of view Exposure to individuals whose thinking is a stage higher than one’s own Exposure to conflicts in moral reasoning that challenge one’s present stage Engagement in logical thinking, such as reasoned argument and consideration of alternatives Responsibility for making moral decisions and acting on them Participation in creating and maintaining a just community

 Stimulate the "moral imagination" by posing difficult moral dilemmas.  Encourage the recognition of ethical issues beyond immediate goals.  Help to develop analytical skills and the tools of ethical analysis.  Elicit a sense of moral obligation and personal responsibility.  Explore the morality of coercion, which is intrinsic to criminal justice.  Help students recognize the difference between technical and moral competence.  Address the full range of moral issues in criminology and criminal justice.

The Case Study Method  Good, but often students only go through the motions  Not really think deeply:  Don’t really understand the issues  Choose a course of action, but cannot really say why they chose a particular action  Looking for easy answers  Do not fully appreciate the consequences of their actions

 Attended a session last year at NEFDC and got an idea on debates and decided to adapt to ethics class  Issue – How do I get more meaningful interaction from students in discussing and thinking about ethics o Need to design a debate that is student centered, not instructor centered.

 Why the debate  Need for student involvement  Help them to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the issues

 Choice of topic  Important  Encompass critical ethical issues in Criminal Justice  Controversial  Ongoing and difficult to resolve – good arguments on both sides  Will have to think through argument

 How set up  Pro team  Con team  Jury

 Strong component of the debate: out of class research and work  Preparation  Need to know and understand the topic so can take a reasoned argument

 Practice  Allow each side time to present argument  Questions from Jury  Each side allowed a rebuttal argument  Jury also allowed rebuttal questions  Jury “deliberate” present its findings

 Cover thoroughly in class – what is expected  How to prepare  How will be assessed/graded  Prior to debate - put time aside in class, meet with teams in class, assess progress, where they are at, offer advice/assistance where needed

 Results  Success, better than hoped  Evidence of research and thought  Students - into it  Good questions asked - evidence of depth of thought  Lively discussion  Ran over time

 Problems  Time  Self-assessment piece, honesty  Some students clearly work hard, small # not.

 Callahan, David. The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead. Mariner Books,  Kardasz, Frank. “Why Bother Teaching Ethics.” Ethics Education.  Nonis, Sarah and Cathy Swift. “An Examination of the Relationship Between Academic Dishonesty and Workplace Dishonesty: A Multicampus Investigation.” Journal of Education for Business. November/December  Sherman, Lawrence. Ethics in Criminal Justice Education. Hastings Center,  Velasquez, manuel, et. al. “Can Ethics be Taught.” Markula Center for Applied Ethics. /