Level 2 Talking Ethics
Course Description
Teacher in Charge: Dr C. Gavin.
Are you looking for a course where you think about and discuss issues relevant to your life with your peers? This class will enhance wellbeing and engagement, providing a space where you have a voice and you can hear others ideas too. All opinions are respected. Lessons will have many different interactive and fun activities, providing a high interest and low stress way to gain valuable communication and argumentation skills. It will give you tools to help navigate the tricky world you are in, by using current ethical topics that have real world meaning.
This course will equip 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 about ethical issues. This new course provides opportunities and skills that can help students to:
- Gain credits in Psychology and a 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 12 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, develop scientific knowledge and skills, and gain NCEA credits.
Students in the Religious studies standard will explore the key beliefs and ethical principles of a religious tradition, and explain how they link to a current social action.
Course Overview
Term 1
Gender studies: historical changes, feminism, inequality, transgender issues, male views & moral progress.
Term 2
Psychology: How we treat other people, social psychology & cognitive biases.
Psychology NCEA internal - Run a psychology experiment with guidance.
Term 3
Religious studies NCEA internal - ethical principles of a religious tradition applied to a contemporary social action.
Term 4
Modern issues: disinformation, fake news, advertising and artificial intelligence.
Recommended Prior Learning
They are no pre-requisites to this course.
Course Costs and Equipment/ Stationery requirements
Students need a device to do their work.
Pathway
This course provides highly transferrable skills in critical thinking and argumentation that are useful in students other subjects and in their own ethical development. Students are explicitly taught social and communication skills, ethical thinking, analytical and evaluative tools. These assist with careers in both the arts and the sciences. Skills gained would help those in careers that involve working with or for others, problem solving, or team work. This course provides valuable practice in the 'soft skills' that employers are looking.
Credit Information
You will be assessed in this course through all or a selection of the standards listed below.
External
NZQA Info
Religious Studies 2.3 - Explain how a contemporary social action derives from the ethical principles of a religious tradition
NZQA Info
Psychology 2.3 - Conduct psychological research with guidance
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.