Maximum Mentoring by Rudney Gwen L.;Guillaume Andrea M.;

Author:Rudney, Gwen L.;Guillaume, Andrea M.; [Rudney, Gwen L.; Guillaume, Andrea M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1691121
Publisher: Corwin Press
Published: 2003-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

To heighten new teachers’ sensitivity to the moral dimension of teaching, we can draw new teachers’ attention to aspects of practice that exemplify the need for moral deliberation. These include questions of what is right and just. Examples include selecting consequences for infractions of classroom rules, plans for building cooperative groups, and decisions on how to distribute limited resources among class members. New teachers should come to see such questions as not purely technical ones but as ones that hold moral implications. New teachers should observe their mentors and colleagues engaging in moral deliberation—that is, demonstrating empathy for the perspectives of others, considering conflicting interests, and deliberating to select a course of action.

Mentors and other teacher educators can teach specific skills that enhance new teachers’ ability to address moral dilemmas. These skills include, among others, interpersonal skills and reasoning skills. What about the standardized test example, given above? What about Kidder and Born’s (1998–1999) earlier example of the student who disrupts cooperative learning lessons? Allowing such a student to participate provides him or her with the opportunity to gain social skills. Removing the student allows his or her peers to focus on the content. What should the teacher do?

A tool that mentors and other teacher educators can model and teach to new teachers involves analyzing moral dilemmas in three ways, thus adopting a language of ethical decision making that can be broadly applied. The textbox gives three ways of deliberating courses of action (Kidder & Born, 1998–1999). If teachers engage in ends-based thinking, they consider the potential result of each decision to choose a course of action. If teachers engage in needs-based thinking, they weigh the various parties’ needs rather than potential results in making their decision. If, instead, teachers use care-based thinking, they operate out of a base of empathy and use “the golden rule” thinking to make a decision. By using the language of ethical deliberation, by modeling ethical practice, and by helping new teachers reason through classroom dilemmas, experienced teacher partners can support the growing competence of their new teacher partners across the moral dimension of teaching.

Three Ways to Think Through Dilemmas

1—ends-based thinking

2—needs-based thinking

3—care-based thinking

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