Commitment to encouraging ethics and lifelong learning in Higher Education

Just like every year, thousands of new students will begin their higher education this July. Universities and colleges plan elaborate orientation activities to induct students into the social and academic culture of the campus. In most of these sessions colleges and universities often seek to transmit ethical values to new students through orientation speeches, publications, convocations, and other public statements. Since post-inductions, most students spend maximum time with course teams these values must trickle down right to the classroom to become an integral part of the learning environment. Ethical values such as respect for others, academic honesty, self-discipline, hard work, love of learning, and appreciation of diversity are extremely important even beyond classrooms and form an integral part of professional practice. These need to be seeded, enhanced and made a part of the lifelong learning of an individual.

 

Creating a climate of ethical behavior begins when instructors truly design courses to improve students’ knowledge, skills, and abilities. We as instructors have an ethical responsibility to respect the learners’ time, effort, and money.  Additionally, to encourage ethical behavior and building professionalism, we need to set standards towards workload and ethical expectations within the course structure. The PGIDS course has an interesting learning outcome that aligns with the student's engagement in the course/ module. The course learning outcome is defined as “Study, learn and practice work ethics and values associated with a creative professional in the industry, while working cooperatively and collaboratively in a team or independently in all situations.” (Pearl Academy, 2020). This supports the module team to create assignments within the structure of the course that encourages learning and requires students to demonstrate work ethics and professional values.  My discussions with students have validated the fact that anything which is a part of the submission requirement gets better attends and students work on it actively.

 

Practicing ethical values in classroom and professional life.

A good teacher should lead by example and maintain professionalism in all areas—from personal appearance to organizational skills and preparedness for each day. I always make it a point to reach the class before time and be fully ready with the course content. Seeing me on time, students are naturally encouraged to behave in the same manner.  Additionally, how a tutor conducts her classes and sets the course content helps set professional standards. I am very conscious of the content I present to the students and how it is laid out (visually and verbally). Presenting limited course content, using preset data that does not reflect the actual coursework, or assigning routine assignments shows poor standards of an instructor. This may lead students to see no benefit in going beyond the instructors’ demands and engaging in the honest and difficult work of learning. This also sets the tone for poor work quality and can lead to academic dishonesty

 

Additionally, With the growing integration of technology in today's education, academic dishonesty/ plagiarism has become a key concern. Students have access to easy information combined with easy distractions, like social media and other net-based apps. These at times lead to learners not spending enough time with the said assignments, which potentially may lead to the last minute and work and increases the possibility of academic dishonesty.  Hence the classroom should have a positive climate that encourages students to take a keen interest in their work, be proud of it, and take full ownership. Consequences of academic dishonestly. should be backed by the institute's honor codes and other programs. These should highlight potential threats of plagiarism on a professional platform.  If students lead by a faculty are rightly sensitized to imbibe ethical behavior, it becomes a part of life and paves the way to lifelong learning.

 

Further,  we as educators work towards sensitizing our students with the current social and political scenarios and its impact on their professional life and vice versa. I try and create opportunities to discuss social problems and look towards developing design solutions. Students have always taken a keen interest in understanding the functioning of their selected professions. We encourage students to develop empathy towards the user group and the skilled laborers.  A successful designer always puts people first to help build a stronger future.

 

In conclusion, I strongly believe, instructors can, do, and will affect the ethical climate in their classrooms.  And they need to keep evolving their classroom practices to encourage and support ethical learning. This is lifelong learning and adapting process because, in the end, We’re All Learners for Life

 

24th July 2021

Mumbai

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References

Pearl Academy, 2020. PG Certificate in Academic Practice- Program Handbook. Delhi: Pearl Academy