Step 1: Describe an ethical issue that you want to focus on in this entry
Once my inquiry was well underway and children had now immersed themselves with the online platform of Classcraft, I found that the boys in the classroom were taking over and dominating their 'team'. The girls in the group were reluctantly withdrawing from team decisions and were becoming less likely to involve themselves when completing quests. also, some of the boys were displaying bullying tactics to some of their groups members in order to get them to give them some of their 'health'.
The ethical dilemma I was facing is based around our code of conduct. As a teacher, we all have a commitment to all our learners and to have inclusive programmes that benefit individual needs and abilities (Education Council, 2017).
From these observations, I had to think carefully of the action I was going to take. The dilemmas I was facing:
- do I suddenly stop Classcraft as it was causing gender fractions within the class, increase of bullying tactics and the girls feeling they can't have a voice in the classroom.
- do I break up the groups and start again, giving choice but in doing so creating competitive groups that might increase the tension with members.
- do I ban certain members of the class as they were creating tension in the classroom and weren't showing kindness or compassion.
Step 2: Reflection on the actions you have taken to address the ethical issues.
Considering these ethical issues, I have used the Ehrich, L. C., Kimber, M., Millwater, J. & Cranston, N. (2011) ethical decision-making framework.
My priority was to keep this online platform going as I had anecdotal notes on how well children were engaged and motivated to complete tasks. My target students were showing considerable engagement to their learning, so giving up was not an option.
Firstly, to address the issues I had several 'Circle Time' sessions. Circle Time is a teaching strategy which allows children to explore and address issues which are of concern. It provides a structured session/s for solving problems on an equal footing (Children Central, 2018). In these sessions we discussed group and individual behaviour that was creating tensions within the Classcraft teams.
Secondly, I approached individual children who were in charge of their teams and explained that they needed to involve all members of their team, giving them equal participation.
Finally, I had to involve parents to inform them that their child was not displaying the desired values and expectations of our school.
This course of action was taken promptly. Lessons and discussions were carried out so that these issues did not escalate and force me to end gamification in my classroom.
Step 3: Discuss the lesson learnt for future inquiry.
Several lessons were learnt. Gamification can lead to children being too competitive because they want to enhance their own gratification.
Before introducing these programmes into the classroom, several lessons need to be taught so that all children have equity, sound social skills to work with others, and team spirit.
For future inquiries, careful consideration needs to be planned for any ethical issues that may arise. Strategies need to be developed to try and mitigate these so that teachers, whanau and their children have successful and positive outcomes.
(550 words)
References:
Children Central, (2018). What is Circle Time and how it benefits your children. Retrieved from:
https://childrencentral.net/what-is-circle-time-and-how-it-benefits-your-children/
Education Council, (2017). Our Code Our Standards. Retrieved from:
https://childrencentral.net/what-is-circle-time-and-how-it-benefits-your-children/
Ehrich, L. C. , Kimber M., Millwater, J. & Cranston, N. (2011). Ethical dilemmas: a model to understand teacher practice, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 17:2, 173-185, DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2011.539794
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