Strengthening Teacher Agency: Supporting the Orchestration of Ethical Dilemmas With EthicApp

Abstract

Developing ethical reasoning as a competence is gaining relevance in higher education settings influenced by the current demands of society. One approach to achieve this competence is to propose realistic ethical dilemmas to the students. Nevertheless, educators need help in integrating ethics education effectively in higher education due to curricular constraints and a lack of supportive structures. EthicApp is a social platform that aims to support teachers in designing and enacting learning scenarios to foster ethical reasoning. However, the introduction of a new tool such as EthicApp may have undesired consequences for teachers’ agency. The notion of teacher agency is complex and not sufficiently studied in Technology Enhanced Learning contexts. For this reason, we propose to study the implications of the use of EthicApp for teacher agency in the light of the metaphor of orchestration. The metaphor of orchestration in TEL offers a holistic approach to studying how teachers integrate technologies into their practice. This paper presents preliminary findings from a case study in which three higher education teachers orchestrated learning designs supported by EthicApp. Early findings indicate that, although managing the learning scenarios in real-time was perceived as demanding, EthicApp empowered the participant teachers to design innovative learning scenarios, raise awareness, and inform the adaptation of the learning scenarios.