In this session of the Seminars for Excellence in Teaching (SET), Baylor University's Academy for Teaching and Learning (ATL) partners with the Office of the Core to highlight innovative ways instructors are integrating ethical development into the curriculum. This panel features winners of the Core Virtue Award, sharing practical strategies for teaching virtues like empathy, courage, and rigor across diverse disciplines.
Key Presentations:
1. Cultivating Empathy through Sociology
- Speaker: Dr. Kevin Dougherty (Sociology)
- The Concept: Facing the deep social divisions of 2020, Dr. Dougherty redesigned his "Introduction to Sociology" course around the theme of "Walking in Others' Shoes."
- Highlights:
- Using footwear as a sociological lens to discuss identity, class, and group affiliation.
- Immersive "Learning Projects" where students interview individuals from different cultures, religions, or political parties.
- The impact of reflective writing on student perspective-shifting.
2. Building Moral Courage in Professional Ethics
- Speaker: Dr. Marlene Neill (Journalism, PR & New Media)
- The Concept: Bridging the "knowledge-practice gap"—the distance between knowing what is right and actually doing it.
- Highlights:
- Strategies for "Giving Voice to Values" (GVV) and overcoming the fear of retaliation.
- Teaching "Moral Efficacy": building the confidence to speak truth to power.
- Rational vs. Relational persuasive approaches for ethical counseling in the workplace.
3. Encouraging Rigor through Student-Led Research
- Speaker: Dr. Ruth Oropeza (History)
- The Concept: Using the theme "The Pandemic State Made Us" to engage non-history majors in rigorous primary source analysis.
- Highlights:
- The "1300 Cafe" Research Menu: Allowing students to "choose their own adventure" by selecting specific diseases and regions to study.
- Guided research journals that treat academic writing as a journey of revision and growth.
- Collaborating with university librarians to empower freshmen as "experts" in their chosen topics.