As online programs in higher education gain popularity, the ethical considerations of educational practices become important to instruction. The unique character strengths of faculty enable them to act as ethical exemplars. An example study of Character strengths and ethical practices will be the focus of this interactive presentation. Join us!
Extended Abstract
Online higher education continues to grow due to its advantages. However, online education has its drawbacks too. Faculty cannot monitor students online the same way as in a traditional classroom setting. As a result, unethical behaviors are more likely to arise and go unnoticed. For example, some students may pay others to complete their work to meet degree requirements. For the educational community of online education faculty, the ability to handle ethical dilemmas and situations is important.
Imagine witnessing such unethicality. All of us should view this type of action as unacceptable. It is disruptive to learning. It is also unfair to the students who believe in academic integrity. So, what is the solution to tackling unethicality in the online higher education environment? One of the solutions starts with us. We must serve as ethical exemplars when shaping the ethical environment of the online classroom.
How can we serve as ethical exemplars? It sounds like a difficult question, but we may already have the answer. The most important task we have as faculty is to teach and pass on our knowledge to others. Through instructional development and delivery, we have cultivated some unique strengths. These strengths include interpersonal, intellectual, and emotional strengths. We exercise these strengths often when carrying out the most important task of our role, teaching.
Now, how do these strengths play into our service as ethical exemplars in the online higher education classroom? According to the virtue ethics theory proposed by the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, one can live a flourishing life by becoming a virtuous agent that practices virtues. Based on this model, modern psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman developed the Character Strengths model. They found six universal virtues and 24 character strengths that define the virtues. In the Character Strengths model, one can live a flourishing life by becoming a virtuous agent that possesses the character strengths.
Perhaps, our answer to tackling unethical practices in online higher education may be to consciously exercise the unique interpersonal, intellectual, and emotional strengths that we have already cultivated. To find out if this is our answer, we will conduct a quantitative correlational study. It will examine the relationships between intellectual, interpersonal, and emotional strengths and ethics in online higher education faculty.
The researchers will collect data from undergraduate and graduate online faculty of a four-year university in Arizona through surveys. Using research questions as a guide, we will examine the character strengths of faculty in relation to online ethical practices. The guiding questions are:
RQ1: To what extent is there a statistically significant relationship between intellectual character strengths (creativity, curiosity, love of learning, appreciation of beauty) and ethics in higher education faculty?
RQ2: To what extent is there a statistically significant relationship between interpersonal character strengths (kindness, love, leadership, teamwork, humor) and ethics in higher education faculty?
RQ3: To what extent is there a statistically significant relationship between emotional character strengths (bravery, hope, self-regulation, zest) and ethics in higher education faculty?
With such examination, the presenters will be able to discuss the unique character strengths of faculty members in terms of their predictability to ethics. The findings of this study will bring opportunities for continued collaborative exploration of the topic. For instance, possible discussions may examine if other types of character strengths (less dominant in the work nature of faculty members) produce ethical benefits in online higher education faculty members, as well.
In summary, this presentation will provide faculty and other university professionals with practical takeaways that will facilitate ethics among faculty members and the online classroom’s ethical environment. Through a combination of sharing, dialogue, and discussion, we hope to highlight the importance of character strengths to ethics in online higher education faculty and the benefits of integrating character strengths into ethics training among faculty members. Come prepared to learn and share!
Level of Participation:
In this interactive presentation, the presenters will utilize a screen projector and Kahoot!, a learning game platform, to engage audience participants and encourage meaningful discussions.
The presenters will provide audience members with instructions and invite them to connect to Kahoot! with their browser on their phone. Audience members will enter a game code and proceed to a game platform shared by all Kahoot! participants at the presentation. The audience will see questions and multiple-choice answers in Kahoot! on their phone. They will also be able to see everything on the projected screen.
As an opening to the presentation, the presenters will ask the audience a few questions regarding ethical behaviors in higher education. Audience members will select an answer from the multiple-choice possibilities in Kahoot!. The audience will be able to see the polls after the question is closed. Throughout the presentation, the presenters will continue to engage the audience by utilizing Kahoot! technology.
Each time an audience participant answers a question on Kahoot!, the presenters will invite a volunteer from the audience to share their experience related to the answer they selected. With some of the more important or interesting questions, the presenters will have the audience share their thoughts with their neighbors before inviting a volunteer to share their experience with the audience.
Session Goals:
Individuals attending this presentation will be able to discuss several faculty character strengths for developing high ethical standards in the online higher education environment. Participants will learn about key character strengths that are useful for online university teaching. In addition, participants will be able to identify personal character strengths in relation to ethical behaviors in online higher education that fit their own individual instructional design and student population.