Lesson Plan | Active Learning | Ethics and Will

Assumptions: This Active Lesson Plan assumes: a 100-minute class, prior student study with both the Book and the start of Project development, and that only one activity (among the three suggested) will be chosen to be conducted during the class, as each activity is designed to take up a significant portion of the available time.

Objectives

Duration: (5 - 10 minutes)

The stage of defining objectives is crucial to guide both the teacher and the students on the focus of the lesson. By clearly establishing what is expected to be achieved, students can better direct their efforts in prior study and participation in class, while the teacher can adapt activities to ensure that objectives are effectively met. In this plan, the objectives are formulated to encourage a deep and critical understanding of ethics and will, stimulating the application of these concepts in real and theoretical contexts.

Main Objectives:

1. Develop students' ability to analyze and discuss behavioral ethics as an inalienable duty of mankind that transcends personal will.

2. Empower students to identify practical situations where ethics may conflict with individual will and apply philosophical methods to resolve these dilemmas.

Side Objectives:

1. Encourage critical thinking and argumentation based on ethical principles.

Introduction

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

The introduction serves to engage students and connect the content studied at home with practical and relevant situations, encouraging critical reflection from the outset. The proposed problem situations aim to stimulate ethical thinking and prepare students for classroom discussions. The contextualization seeks to show the real and historical applicability of the concepts of ethics and will, increasing students' interest and understanding of the importance of these themes.

Problem-Based Situations

1. Imagine that a close friend is going through financial difficulties and asks you to lie to your teacher, saying that he submitted a late assignment on purpose, to get a second chance. How would you handle this situation, considering ethics and your personal will?

2. You work in a company where your colleagues often cheat to achieve goals more quickly, and the manager seems to ignore such practices. Even though you feel uncomfortable with this, you know that if you don't follow the same path, you might be hurt. How do ethics and the will to do the right thing balance in this scenario?

Contextualization

Ethics and will are present in various spheres of life, from everyday situations to major moral and political dilemmas. For example, the French Resistance during World War II is a striking example of how ethics and the will to act for the common good prevailed over personal interests or even personal safety. Moreover, many organizations today face ethical challenges regarding environmental sustainability and social responsibility, showing how individual decisions can collectively affect the world around us.

Development

Duration: (65 - 75 minutes)

The development stage is designed to allow students to apply and deepen their knowledge of ethics and will in practical and interactive scenarios. By working in groups, they can explore different perspectives and solutions to ethical dilemmas, promoting critical thinking and informed decision-making. Each proposed activity aims to simulate real or theoretical situations that challenge personal and collective ethics, preparing students to face these dilemmas consciously and informed.

Activity Suggestions

It is recommended to carry out only one of the suggested activities

Activity 1 - The Decision Machine Dilemma

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Develop ethical decision-making skills in complex situations and understand the application of ethics in programming artificial intelligence.

- Description: Students are divided into groups of up to 5 people. Each group receives the scenario: they are engineers responsible for programming an AI machine to make ethical decisions in difficult situations, such as saving a patient or a pedestrian in a car accident. The machine only has two options, and each results in distinct ethical consequences.

- Instructions:

• Discuss in the group the possible consequences of the machine's decisions in each scenario.

• Program the machine (using cards or dice), choosing between the two options in each scenario.

• Present to the class the machine's programming, justifying the ethical choices made.

Activity 2 - The Conference of Ethics

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Practice argumentation and negotiation skills in ethical contexts and understand the complexity of ethical decisions at a global level.

- Description: In this activity, students participate in a simulation of an international ethics conference. Each group represents a different country and must negotiate and debate around a global ethical dilemma (for example, resource distribution in a world crisis).

- Instructions:

• Research and prepare arguments based on different ethical theories to defend the country's position.

• Participate in negotiation rounds with other 'countries' (groups), trying to reach a global ethical agreement.

• Draft a final declaration summarizing the agreement reached and justifying the decisions made.

Activity 3 - The Ethical Race

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Understand the dynamics of ethical decisions in competitive contexts and appreciate the importance of maintaining moral integrity under pressure.

- Description: Students, in groups, participate in an obstacle course where each obstacle represents a different ethical dilemma. They must decide which direction to follow, and their choices affect the total time of the race. Some paths may be shorter but morally questionable.

- Instructions:

• Run the course, making ethical decisions at each obstacle.

• Record the decisions and times of each group.

• Debate the choices made and how they reflect on personal and collective ethics.

Feedback

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

This feedback session is crucial for consolidating students' learning, allowing them to share insights and perspectives gained during the activities. Through group discussion, students can confront their ideas with those of others, enriching their understanding of the topic and promoting a deeper reflection on the interaction between ethics and personal will. Additionally, the key questions help to recap the essential points discussed and evaluate the impact of the activities on students' ethical formation.

Group Discussion

Start the discussion by asking each group to share their main findings and challenges encountered during the activities. Encourage students to reflect on how ethics and personal will influenced their decisions and those of their peers. Suggest that each group present a brief summary of the ethical solutions they proposed and discuss the impact of such decisions in real contexts.

Key Questions

1. What were the biggest ethical dilemmas your group faced and how were they resolved?

2. How did personal will influence the ethical decisions made during the activities?

3. In what way did the ethical theories studied help guide your group's decision-making?

Conclusion

Duration: (5 - 10 minutes)

The purpose of this conclusion stage is to ensure that students have a clear understanding of what was learned and how theoretical concepts were applied in practices during the lesson. Summarizing helps reinforce the knowledge acquired, while the discussion about the connection between theory and practice highlights the importance of studying ethics in everyday life. This closure also aims to reinforce the relevance of the topic, encouraging students to continue reflecting on ethics and will in their lives.

Summary

In this lesson, we explored the intersection of ethics and will, analyzing how behavioral ethics transcends personal will. We revisited classical and contemporary ethical theories, applying them in practical situations through interactive activities and group discussions.

Theory Connection

Today's lesson served as a bridge between the theory studied at home and practice in class, using methods such as the simulation of conferences and ethical dilemmas to demonstrate the applicability of ethical concepts in everyday life and in broader contexts, such as in programming artificial intelligence.

Closing

Understanding ethics and will is essential for the development of conscious and responsible citizens, capable of making informed and ethical decisions in various situations. Throughout the lesson, we realized how ethics is not just a set of rules but a guide to action that can transform our interactions and the world around us.