Field Response Journal #4

*4. At which of Kohlberg's levels of moral development are the students in your class functioning? Cite specific evidence and explain your reasoning for selecting these levels. What might be done to help the students advance to higher levels?

Most of my students will be at the conventional morality stage. These students will care much more about following the rules or pleasing authority figures than being ethically correct. I see this will many students who will lie about whether they have completed an assignment rather than admit they missed a deadline. I have had many students claim they turned something in, but it disappeared or that they emailed it, but it just mysteriously didn’t arrive and that was why I don’t have the assignment. Often they are proved wrong when they can’t produce the original document, or their work isn’t in the appropriate folder. It does create real problems because there is such a cost to accusing them of lying, it just isn’t worth it, but I don’t want to reward their stretching the truth. I also have students who are still in the preconventional obedience and punishment stage. They have no interest following the rules unless there is a very tangible and immediate consequence. It the negative consequences are long-term, they just aren’t motivated. I have several students who don’t care about grades unless their parents have taken something away and they can’t get it back until they do their work.

I can best help these students by making the assignments authentic activities so they see the purpose for completing it. If I can make them care, they will be more engaged and want to finish it because it is fun or seems important. I also need to help the kids stay organized. If a student falsely claims an assignment has disappeared, I can take that as an opportunity to work with them on keeping track of their work and organizing their time. No matter what, that is a real problem in their lives and needs to be addressed.

It also helps if I clarify that the assignments build on each other, so if they miss one, they will have to struggle even harder on the subsequent homework.

To combat the nice girl/good boy syndrome, I need to treat each student equally, no matter how behind he or she is or what grade he or she has earned. It they feel that my affection for them isn’t dependent on output, they will start to focus on their own learning process and personal pride.