A great teaching resource for morals is the WWYD series. What would you do (WWYD) is an American newsmagazine and situational hidden camera television programme that has been broadcast on ABC since February 26, 2008. It is hosted by news correspondent John Quiñones.
The program features actors acting out scenes of conflict or illegal activity in public settings while hidden cameras videotape the scene, and the focus is on whether or not bystanders intervene, and how. Variations are also usually included, such as changing the genders, the races or the clothing of the actors performing the scene, to see if bystanders react differently. Quiñones appears at the end of each scenario to interview bystanders and witnesses about their reactions.
As the experiment goes on, psychology professors, teachers, or club members watch and discuss the video with Quiñones, explaining and making inferences on the bystanders’ reactions.
How does this tie into Morals?
First of all look at the Definition of Morals: concerned with or relating to human behaviour, especially the distinction between good and bad or right and wrong behaviour: moral sense. 2. adhering to conventionally accepted standards of conduct. 3. based on a sense of right and wrong according to conscience: moral courage, moral law.
How does this relate to the Leaving Certificate Curriculum aims?
What would you do ties into these LC Religious Education aims:
- The general aim of education is to contribute towards the development of all aspects of the individual, including aesthetic, creative, critical, cultural, emotional, expressive, intellectual, for personal and home life, for working life, for living in the community and for leisure.
- Additionally, it also ties into All Leaving Certificate programmes, in contributing to a high quality education, emphasise the importance of : self-directed learning and independent thought, a spirit of inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving, self-reliance, initiative and enterprise, preparation for further education, for adult and working life and lifelong learning as it promotes students to become aware of the global world in which they are living in today and how they interact with the world around them is done through Morals.
Also, WWYD raises topical and current issues which are in the media which the students can relate to. This can promote critical thinking and engaging responses from students on topics which require personal language in an everyday situation. (Ties into to examine some understandings of ‘morality’ and the implication of these understandings for personal decision-making and to identify the elements and context of a moral decision.)
Why use WWYD in the classroom in regards to Technology (Web 2.0 Tool)
WWYD is a viewed by the students through a web 2.0 tool – YouTube. This is incorporating and expanding students minds as to how they view short clips online – social online awareness.
Additionally, it highlights critical thinking and moral judgement to students to never judge a book by its cover either – as it’s revealed that each scenario those in the video are witnesses to are set up so to speak.
Other resources to go with some WYYD videos.
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