Skip to main content
Log in

Leveraging Change by Learning to Work with the Wisdom in the Room: Educating for Responsibility as a Collaborative Learning Model

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

When I think of the single change that would most successfully transform our teaching practice and leverage truly significant benefits, it would be to bring much more of what learners already know into the classroom so that it can be shared, examined, refined and improved. At present, it would seem that the majority mode of teaching in the areas of ethics and social responsibility does a rather poor job of this, tending instead towards silencing the wisdom that is in the room in order that external perspectives can be more easily “instilled”. From many years of experimenting with a wide variety of approaches to teaching the subject, I find this to be deeply suboptimal and would seriously suggest that we ought to shift our practices in ways that make learners’ perspectives our primary material of interest.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arlow, E. (1991). Personal characteristics in college students’ evaluations of business ethics and social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 10(1), 65–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron, J. (1998). Thinking and deciding. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bean, J. C. (2011). Engaging ideas: The professor’s guide to integrating writing, critical thinking and active learning in the classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J. (1999). What the student does: Teaching for enhanced learning. Higher Education Research and Development, 18(1), 57–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boud, D., Cohen, R., & Sampson, J. (2001). Learning from and with each other. London: Kogan Page.

    Google Scholar 

  • Case, J. (2008). Alienation and engagement: Development of an alternative theoretical framework for understanding student learning. Higher Education, 55, 321–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clegg, S., & Ross-Smith, A. (2003). Revising the boundaries: Management education and learning in a post-positivist world. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 2(1), 85–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felton, E. L., & Sims, R. R. (2005). Teaching business ethics: Targeted outputs. Journal of Business Ethics, 60(4), 377–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Floyd, L. A., Xu, F., Atkins, R., & Caldwell, C. (2013). Ethical outcomes and business ethics: Towards improving business ethics education. Journal of Business Ethics, 117(4), 753–776.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furman, F. K. (1990). Teaching business ethics: Questioning the assumptions, seeking new directions. Journal of Business Ethics, 9(1), 31–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gentile, M. C. (2010). Giving voice to values: How to speak your mind when you know what’s right. Ann Arbor, MI: Sheridan Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, D. E. (2007). Facilitating management learning: Developing critical reflection through reflective tools. Management Learning, 38(5), 495–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrington, J., & Herrington, A. (2006). Authentic learning environments in higher education. London: Information Science Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kauchak, D., & Eggen, P. (2012). Learning and teaching: Research-based methods. Boston, MA: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laditska, S. B., & Houck, M. M. (2006). Student-developed case studies: An experiential approach for teaching ethics in management. Journal of Business Ethics, 64(2), 157–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leach, L., Neutze, G., & Zepke, N. (2014). Assessment and evaluation in higher education. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malcolm, J., & Zuckas, M. (2001). Bridging pedagogic gaps: Conceptual discontinuities in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 6(1), 33–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. (1993). An open letter to North American business ethicists. Journal of Business Ethics, 12(8), 661–662.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. (2013). A practical guide to educating for responsibility in business and management. New York, NY: Business Expert Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McWilliams, V., & Nahavandi, A. (2006). Using live cases to teach ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 67(4), 421–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menzel, D. C. (1997). Teaching ethics and values in public administration: Are we making a difference? Public Administration Review, 57(3), 224–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pintrich, P. R. (2004). A conceptual framework for assessing motivation and self-regulated learning in college students. Educational Psychology Review, 16(4), 385–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singer, P. (2010). The life you can save: How to do your part to end world poverty. New York, NY: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, K. A., Sheppard, S. D., Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2005). Pedagogies of engagement: Classroom-based practices. Journal of Engineering Education, 94(5), 87–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solberg, J., Strong, K. C., & McGuire, C. (1995). Living (not learning) ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 14(1), 71–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J. (2010). Freefall: America, free markets and the sinking of the global economy. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ulrich, P. (2008). Integrative economic ethics: Foundations of a civilized market economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Waples, E. P., Antes, A. L., Murphy, S. T., Connelly, S., & Mumford, M. D. (2009). A meta-analytic investigation of business ethics instruction. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(1), 133–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, S. D., & Dewett, T. (2005). Yes you can teach business ethics: A review and research agenda. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 12(2), 109–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ross McDonald.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

McDonald, R. Leveraging Change by Learning to Work with the Wisdom in the Room: Educating for Responsibility as a Collaborative Learning Model. J Bus Ethics 131, 511–518 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2477-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2477-0

Keywords

Navigation