Level 3 Talking Ethics
Course Description
Teacher in Charge: Dr C. Gavin.
This class will enhance wellbeing and engagement, providing a space where you have a voice and learn how to respectfully engage with the ideas and arguments of others too. Lessons have many different interactive and discussion based activities, providing a high interest and low stress way to gain valuable communication and argumentation knowledge and skills. It will give you tools to help navigate our tricky world, by using current ethical topics that have real world meaning.
This course equips students with the critical thinking and communication skills to engage with an ever changing world. Students will use a range of philosophy tools and ways of discussion to build their confidence to express their ideas and listen to others perspectives about ethical issues.
This course provides opportunities and skills that can help students to:
- Gain credits in Psychology and Religious studies standards.
- Build confidence in communication and critical thinking, this is an important component for future aspirations.
- Support gaining credits in other subjects eg literacy credits, research credits or oral presentation credits.
- Inquire into areas of high interest and relevance.
- Continue your Philosophy journey.
This course provides a Year 13 subject that does not have a heavy homework commitment. It is a skills based course and the capabilities gained are highly transferable. Skills that the course will focus on developing are: interpersonal collaboration, open mindedness, problem solving, decision making, and ethical reasoning. In addition, respectful argumentation, empathy and developing your own ideas; are important in becoming an adult in todays challenging world.
Students find this kind of Ethical inquiry challenging, fun, and mind-expanding. We explore the big questions and examine different world views. In the Psychology unit, students have the opportunity to run an experiment of their choosing, developing scientific and report writing kills. Students will also explore different religious views and analyse the response of one religious tradition to a contemporary ethical issue during the Religious studies standard. Both of these internals offer NCEA credits.
Course Overview
Term 1
The Morals in Fairy Tales - decision making, ethical dilemmas and values in Fairy Tales.
Ethics Olympiad - Applying ethics to modern real world cases and the chance to be on an Ethics Olympiad team.
Term 2
Psychology NCEA standard - design and run your own psychology experiment.
Term 3
Religious studies NCEA standard - analyze how a religious tradition responds to a contemporary ethical issue.
Term 4
Altruism and Global Citizenship
Pathway
This course provides development in transferrable skills and knowledge, useful in both University study and the workplace. Collaborative and communication skills, ethical thinking, analytical and evaluative tools are all explored in this course. These assist with careers in both the arts and the sciences. This course includes a psychology experiment standard which provides valuable experiences for tertiary study. This course provides valuable practice in the 'soft skills' that employers are looking for helping those in careers that involve working with or for others, problem solving and team work.
Credit Information
You will be assessed in this course through all or a selection of the standards listed below.
External
NZQA Info
Religious Studies 3.3 - Analyse the response of a religious tradition to a contemporary ethical issue
NZQA Info
Psychology 3.3 - Conduct independent psychological research with consultation
Disclaimer
We aim to enable every student to have the course that they prefer, however, some courses have limited places or pre-requisits that may restrict the student's choice.