Respectful & Ethical Mind Project

"Today’s students face a future where boundaries are abstract and global learning is critical. Tomorrow’s citizens must be global communicators, must be able to participate successfully in project-based activities, and must have collaborative skills" (2007, Reed).

In Howard Gardner's book, Five Minds for the Future (2006), he recommends 5 ways of living and thinking to be successful and productive in our 21st century globalized world. This post will discuss a classroom project that can be used to develop 2 of Gardner's proposed minds - the respectful and ethical minds.

Gardner defines a respectful person as one who "accepts the differences of others, learns to live [and/or work] with them, and value those who belong to other [groups]" (2006, p.107). By and large, my students do this pretty well, but it is easy to form a special or exclusive group because it provides them with some friendship security. As a teacher and Christian, it is always my goal to teach my students to follow the golden rule, found in Matthew 7:12, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (2011, NIV Bible). I think that describes a respectful person just as well as Gardner's. I always want my students to be inclusive of others, value everyone's unique contributions to life, and as Gardner recommends, "search for common ground" (2006, p. 125).

For Gardner, an ethical person is one who "is responsible - meaning they take into account the implications of their actions for the wider community that is affected by them, they have a set of principles and values which they themselves abide by no matter what, and ultimately embrace the virtues of truthfulness, integrity, loyalty and fairness" (2006, p.128, 136). As a Christian who believes in a loving Creator God that sees and knows everything, my ethics stem from what the Apostle Paul says in Colossians 3:23,24 - "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (2011, NIV Bible).

So, to help develop these two minds in my students, I need to model them as best I can as an example to them. If I cut corners here and there, there's no way I can expect my students to be respectful and ethical.

One project I could do in the classroom would be to have my students do a "Flat Classroom Digitween Project." This is a great way to not only connect my students with other students around the globe, but to have them collaborate on a specific task! In other words, students will do individual and collective research for a humanitarian purpose. They will listen to and value one another's work, they will learn to be responsible digital citizens and learners, and they will work toward the betterment of humanity! In the process they will learn how to use great collaborative tools such as Edmodo and Wikispaces. I hope to try it soon.


References

Gardner, H. (2006). Five Minds for the Future. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Holy Bible, New International Version. (2011) Biblica, Inc.

Reed, J. (2007, September 28). Global Collaboration and Learning. EdTech Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2007/09/global-collaboration-and-learning