On Saturday, October 5, the Cincinnati Ethics Center hosted “Ethics in the Classroom,” a day-long professional development workshop designed to help area teachers integrate moral reasoning and ethics education into their curriculum. The workshop was led by Andy Cullison, Executive Director, and Christina Baulch, Director of K-12 Educational Programs. Teachers from nine local schools earned six continuing education hours through their participation.
The day began with participants playing On the Other Hand, a card game developed by the Cincinnati Ethics Center to help players explore different perspectives on challenging ethical issues. After lively rounds of gameplay, the teachers discussed how the game could be adapted to engage students in the classroom.
The morning continued with sessions on how to help students recognize ethical dilemmas, consider diverse perspectives, and develop reasoned arguments. Teachers were given practical strategies for guiding students to form arguments by analogy or using moral frameworks to support conclusions.
After lunch, the workshop focused on how Ethics Bowl cases can be adapted for classroom use. Since seven participants are current Ethics Bowl coaches, the activity also gave them a chance to practice what they teach! Three teachers volunteered to role-play as students, presenting a case on high school cellphone bans from the Regional Case Set of Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl. The rest of the participants acted as mock judges, providing feedback. The teachers found the exercise valuable, especially the chance to experience Ethics Bowl from a student’s perspective.
The workshop concluded with a presentation by Andy Cullison on the connection between moral reasoning and leadership development. He emphasized that strong moral reasoning is a key component of authentic, transformative leadership.
Feedback from the workshop was overwhelmingly positive. In response to the question, “What was the most useful part of the workshop?” one participant wrote, “Seeing a modified Ethics Bowl for the classroom in action and participating in activities that I can bring to my students. I also liked On the Other Hand and plan to use it in my classroom.” Another participant highlighted the value of practicing moral frameworks and working through an Ethics Bowl case.
The Cincinnati Ethics Center continues to offer on-going resources and classroom workshops to support teachers in developing students’ moral reasoning skills. The Center plans to offer future professional development opportunities to further enhance the skills covered in this workshop.
