Ethical Dilemma Project

Ethical Dilemma Project  

Angel Scott

Carson Scott

Malaysia Wilson

Case Study 6:

Hint: See Owasso Independent School Dist. v. Falvo (2001).

The math teacher assigned homework the night before, and the next day, he decides to allow the students to “trade and grade” the assignment.  This process allows the students to trade papers with one another while the teacher calls out the answers. Some teachers believe this saves time as well as helps reinforce skills learned. However, a struggling student feels embarrassed because they continue to perform poorly on assignments and other students are making fun of the student because of it. That afternoon, a parent calls to complain.  The parent claims that a classmate grading his/her child’s work is a violation of their right to privacy of personal records. Did the teacher violate any laws? Does the parent have a valid point? Why or why not?

1. Identify the ethical dilemma that the teacher must resolve.

The dilemma that the teacher must encounter is whether or not he should compromise the confidentiality and privacy of his students.  

2. Specify a code of ethics in the NEA, NAEYC, or CEC to which this dilemma relates.

This dilemma aligns with the NEA Code of Ethics. Specifically, one of the National Educational Association codes of ethics explicitly states that an educator “shall not intentionally expose the student from embarrassment or disparagements.

3. Identify the ethically relevant issue(s) to which the ethical dilemma relates (for ex. religion in school, student’s rights, etc.).

This ethical dilemma directly correlates with grievances concerning violations of students' rights. 

4. Identify all persons or groups that need to be considered.

In this ethical dilemma, the student and parent should be considered. This is essential because the child and his or her parents were subjected to embarrassment. Specifically, educators are required to adhere to and abide by the code of ethics; failure to do so can lead to a physically and emotionally unstable classroom environment. Essentially, in this mere scenario that was a result of the teacher’s actions. Granted the intent was possibly to facilitate an easier grading process, but the teacher still caused a public breach of student-teacher confidentiality.

5. Identify what information – or additional information – you need to be fully informed.

Understand what problems the student did get wrong and assess if there could be a deeper issue or if it is just a misunderstanding of the concept. Have knowledge of if the child has a disability or any element that can contribute to embarrassment or low performance on assessments. 

6. Develop several (at least 2) possible courses of action or alternatives.

The teacher grades the papers 

Have the students grade their own papers 

Have the students work in groups on an assignment  

7. For each alternative, identify the following:

• Short-term consequences:

Teacher Grading the Papers: 

Positive Consequence - the grades will be accurate 

Negative Consequence - It may take longer for the teacher to get through all of the assignments and post the grades 

Have the Students Grade Their own Papers: 

Positive Consequence -  they may put more effort into their work so they can see if they’ve gotten a good grade.

Negative Consequence - Students may be dishonest about their true grades to score higher. 

Have the Students Work in a Group on an Assignment: 

Positive Consequence - Students may get work done faster together. 

Negative Consequence - Students may not effectively collaborate or may not reach mutual agreements on answers

• Long-term consequences:

Teacher Grading the Papers: 

Positive Consequence - The teacher can grade based on their discretion and possibly give partial credit.

Negative Consequence - Feedback on students' performance may be extremely delayed.

Have the Students Grade Their own Papers: 

Positive Consequence - They may feel a sense of pride when they see the automatic benefit of their work. 

Negative Consequence - If they do not score as well they can see their grade immediately and save themselves from possible embarrassment.

Have the Students Works in a Group on an Assignment: 

Positive Consequence - Everyone’s voice should be heard and they capitalize on one another ideas and different perspectives that they may have not thought of. New friendships can be made through this as well. 

Negative Consequence - Some students may put in more work on the assignment than others.

• Psychological costs:

Some psychological cost to this would be a hinder to the child’s self-esteem or confidence due to them being bullied for their bad grades. The student could already be feeling down about the fact that they are having trouble grasping the educational concepts and this bullying could definitely be making it worse. The child could fall into a world of depression or anxiety about assignments and around their peers as a consequence of this. 

• Social costs:

Social costs that can be resulted from this could be the student may become isolated from their classmates, and may not have any friends in the class. They may feel like an outsider due to the bullying. This could also hinder their social skills because they may develop a fear that this may occur again or they may have trouble making friends. 

• Economic costs:

An economic cost that could be a result of this action could be the teacher could lose their job. If the parent decides to take the issue to a higher authority to get justice for their child. Because this matter could be viewed as unethical. 

8. Name any Supreme Court cases and their rulings and/or legal terms that might apply to the given situation.

Owasso Independent School Dist. v. Falvo (2001) 

The ruling for this case was that peer grading does not violate Ferpa. 

9. Take action. Identify what action you would take.

Having the students work in a group to complete some assignments would be the best action to take. 

10. Evaluate the action of the decision you have made and identify how it conforms to the Texas Code of Ethics.

The decision that we made would work in the student’s and teacher’s favor because the student would have extra help from not only the teacher but their classmates by working in groups and the teacher would not have much work to grade in the end with less papers. The teacher could partner the student up with a peer who is not struggling as much on the assignments. This conforms with the Texas Code of Ethics because the teacher is not intentionally exposing the student or trying to embarrass them in any way or form.

11. Make a commitment statement that identifies how you will assume responsibility for the consequences of the action you have decided to take.

I will commit to staying within the Texas Code of Ethics by not intentionally embarrassing any of my students. I will take accountability for the negative/positive consequences that I may receive if the action was the wrong decision.

12. List what might be or could be the negative consequences of your action (if applicable).

The assigned group peers may still talk about the student’s grades, so the teacher would have to be mindful of that.

13, Develop a plan about how you will correct any negative consequences or wrong decisions you may make.

The plan would be to grade the papers on my own instead of continuing to do the group assignments so that the student would not feel embarrassed.