I’m excited to share the agenda for this Saturday’s free online Ethics Bowl workshop. There’s also a brief pre-session Friday evening, but Saturday’s the main show. The opening and closing sessions are for everyone, but attendees can choose to follow three themes in between: Ethics Bowl in the Classroom (focused on direct usage for education), Producing the Ethics Bowl (for current or aspiring organizers) or Engaging the World (for those most interested in expanding Ethics Bowl, using it as an outreach vehicle for philosophical ethics and/or a counter to the increasingly debased and violent political culture).
You can see from the details that these will be hosted by Ethics Bowl ALL-STARS. I’ll be in the Engaging the World Zooms, but whichever of these tracks speak to you, definitely take advantage – open to Bowlers on both the high school and collegiate levels, and I’m sure the organizers wouldn’t turn away Ethics Olympiad enthusiasts (same thing) or folks working on the middle school or other levels. One of the sessions is on non-Ethics Bowl variants such as Bioethics Bowl, so I’m sure Ethics Slam enthusiasts and others are welcome as well. Register for free for the Zoom links!
Session 1: 11:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. (I assume all these times are EST, New York)
Opening Plenary Facilitated by: Rachel Robison-Greene
The APPE IEB Chair Elect briefly welcomes participants. We will also take a quick look at our webpage to help folks new to Ethics Bowl navigate their way around it.
Session 2: 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.
Getting Started with Coaching Facilitated by: Greg Wright
In this session we will discuss the most important elements a new coach will want to know such as how to go about preparing for competitions, structuring practices, basic strategies for success, getting team consensus on positions, etc.
Session 3: 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Advanced Coaching Facilitated by: Jeffrey Nielsen
In this session we continue the discussion from Session 1,but with an eye towards more nuanced issues, such as advanced coaching strategies, the distribution of responsibilities in case presentation, recent trends in presentation, ensuring that students aren’t entirely focused on winning, etc.
Session 4: 2:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
4A: Track 1 Session: Ethics Bowl as a Class Facilitated by: Mike Ashfield and Rachel Robison-Greene
It is increasingly common for schools to offer Ethics Bowl classes for credit. In this session, we will discuss ways of engaging in this practice. We will discuss syllabi, assignments, and common challenges associated with running Ethics Bowl as a class.
4B: Track 2 Session: Organizing Ethics Bowls Facilitated by: John Garcia
In this session we will discuss the various elements involved in organizing an ethics bowl such as recruiting and training judges and moderators, scheduling matches, planning for facilities and food, etc.
4C: Track 3 Session: Virtues of the Ethics Bowl Facilitated by: Mark Doorley, Deborah Mower, and Alex Richardson
In this session we ask our esteemed panelists to address questions such as “Why participate in Ethics Bowl?” and “What does Ethics Bowl do for our students?”
Break: 2:50 to 3:30 p.m.
Session 5: 3:30 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.
5A: Track 1 Session: Using Ethics Bowl in the Classroom Facilitated by: Jonathan Spelman and Rachel Robison-Greene
Some faculty members across the country use the Ethics Bowl as a component of their courses. For example, some might use it in a general education ethics class populated by students from a wide range of backgrounds and interest levels. This session will explore strategies one might use to implement Ethics Bowl in such a class.
5B: Track 2 Session: Getting Buy-in Facilitated by: Alan Tomhave
A successful Ethics Bowl program depends on having a lot of support. This session will focus on getting the relevant university administrators, community members, faculty members, and students to support your program.
5C: Track 3 Session: Bioethics Bowl/High School Ethics Bowl/Community Facilitated by: Richard Greene, Leo Kirby, and Jennifer Parks
In this session we hear from folks who have been involved in non-IEB Ethics Bowl and Ethics Bowl adjacent programs about how their programs work and how others can participate.
Session 6: 4:30 p.m. to 5:20 p.m.
6A: Track 1 Session: Community Engagement/Service Learning Facilitated by: Rachel Robison-Greene
There are a range of ways in which faculty across the country engage their students with their respective communities through the Ethics Bowl. In some cases, these methods can help students earn community engaged or service learning credit at their institution. This session will explore ways in which this can be done.
6B: Track 2 Session: Case Writing Facilitated by: James Day
In this session we hear from the chair of the IEB regional case writing committee about what successful case writing involves and ways that those who are interested can become involved in case writing.
6C: Track 3 Session: Ethics Bowl in Challenging Times Facilitated by: John Garcia and Richard Greene
The current political environment poses a variety of challenges for both those who compete in Ethics Bowl and those who organize ethics bowls. We will discuss some of the recent problematic issues and anticipate some worries to come.
Session 7: 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
What Did We Miss? Facilitated by: Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene
Continuing a tradition dating back to the very first Ethics Bowl workshop in 2014, we’ve set aside some time for participants to generate the discussion topics. We encourage folks to consider what they would like to know about the Ethics Bowl that wasn’t discussed in the preceding sessions, and raise those topics in this one.
