Overview For Teachers

ADHERENCE TO POLICY: The ability to follow company rules, regulations, procedures, and directions especially those related to safety; display good workplace habits; keep assigned area neat and orderly; the ability to maintain equipment to ensure longevity and efficiency; determine causes of operating errors or equipment issues and decide what to do about it; take proactive measures to address unsafe practices or behaviors.

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PURPOSE: Upon completion of this module, the student will understand the importance of following all rules and regulations in the workplace.

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OBJECTIVES:

 Ability to recognize the importance of rules and procedures

 Ability to follow all rules and procedures

 Ability to take proactive measures to address unsafe practices or behaviors

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OVERVIEW:

This module focuses on teaching students the importance of adherence to policy in the workplace. Students will work to improve these skills through activities and guided discussions with their class. They will discuss aspects of adherence to policy such as the importance of rules and procedures, why following directions is important, how the presentation of rules and procedures can make a difference, and what to do when they see someone else violating policies.

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TEACHERS: WHAT ARE YOU OBSERVING?

What does Adherence to Policy look like in the classroom or in school in general? A great way to answer this and get things going is through engagement with the students. Ask your students these questions:

1. What does adherence to policy look like in school?

2. How does following the rules affect people around you? Example: teachers, classmates, etc.

3. What does adherence to policy look like within your learning?

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RELEVANCY OF ADHERENCE TO POLICY:

Policies and procedures are an essential part of any organization; they provide a roadmap for day -to -day operations. They ensure compliance with laws and regulations, give guidance for decision -making, and streamline internal processes. They are put in place to keep employees safe as well as provide a better work environment.

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LESSON:

How to Report Unethical Behavior
Time Allocation: 20  minutes
Materials/Resources: paper, pens/ pencils, computers / tablets/ smartphones (students - optional), computer/ projector (teacher)

ANTICIPATORY SET IDEA:

 Ask students the following questions for a short opening discussion:

     o What does it mean when someone is called a “tattle -tale”?

     o Is being a tattle -tale a good or bad thing?

     o Are there certain situations where it’s good and certain situations where it’s bad?

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WATCH THE VIDEO:

DIRECT INSTRUCTION:

Tell students: it’s important to realize that once you start working and enter the workforce full time, you will most likely be witness to some unethical behavior. Hopefully, you will know better than to involve yourself in such behavior but just avoiding the situation and not reporting it, doesn’t help anything. It’s helpful to know when and how to report unethical behavior that you witness in the workplace.

GUIDED ACTIVITY:

 Put students into paired groups and give each pair a piece of paper and a pen/ pencil.

 Project the following scenario on the screen and have students read it to themselves.

     o “You just started working at this company six months ago, so you are still learning the ropes of how things are done. You are in

         charge of writing up contracts for any new customer and each contract requires a signature from you, the customer , and your

         supervisor. The contract you just finished need s to be signed and ready to go by 3PM today but your supervisor is not in the

         office. You ask your co -worker, Eddie, what you should do . He says to forge your supervisor’s signature and he assures you that

         it’s not a big deal – he does it all the time.”

 After students have read the scenario, have them discuss it with their partner and write down how they believe they should respond to this situation.

 After a few minutes, ask for volunteers to share their thoughts and what they wrote . Discuss each answer you are given from the groups and talk about the pros and cons.

 Inform students of the correct way they should handle this situation:

     o If they feel there is unethical behavior going on, they should first review the company handbook and see what it says about such

         behavior.

     o Next, they may want to submit an anonymous report or a signed written report about the unethical behavior.

 What may be some downsides to submitting an anonymous report?

     o Instead of submitting a report, you may request a private meeting with your supervisor to inform them of what is going on.

 Have a class discussion about the pros and cons to each method of reporting (anonymous, written or in -person) and which one may have the greatest effect.

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:

 Technology Use: Create a survey, poll, or questionnaire to send to the students that will give you immediate feedback about the student’s level of understanding (Survey Monkey, Google Forms, Edmodo, etc.).

 Non-Technology: Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down: Students will demonstrate their level of understanding by giving a thumbs up or thumbs down. Students with thumbs down will need more clarification.

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ETHICAL SCENARIO--Optional (if not using, skip  to "review and closing")

The Ethical Choice Scenarios have been developed to provide teachers with the ability to make the material applicable to real-life and relevant to the students. Within this guide, directions and prompts for the teacher will be in BLUE for ease of facilitation.

 

READ THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO OUT LOUD TO THE STUDENTS: 

TROUBLE IN SCIENCE CLASS

You are a Teacher’s Assistant during 4th period for your Science teacher. Science is your favorite subject so you love being able to help him and the other students with experiments they do in class. Your best friend also has the same Science teacher during 7 th period but Science is her worst subject. There are only a few weeks left of school before Winter Break and so there’s not much for you to do as a Teacher’s Assistant. You feel your phone vibrate in your back pocket and you pull it out to see that your best friend has texted you. She asked if you could do her a HUGE favor and change her grade in the gradebook for Science class. She knows that the Science teacher has complete trust in you so he never worries about you being sneaky or having to lock the grade book in the computer when he leaves the room. She tells you that if she doesn’t get at least a “C” in the class, she’s going to be ineligible for the spring softball season. What do you do? You know that accessing the gradebook, as well as changing grades, is completely against the rules but you don’t want your best friend to fail. Her heart is set on playing softball in college and this could ruin those chances for her, as well as your friendship.

ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: (display them to the class if necessary)

1. How many of you have already been faced with this scenario in real life?

2. What are the possible courses of action you could take?

3. What are possible positive or negative consequences for your best friend?

4. What are possible positive or negative consequences for you, depending on your decision?

GUIDED DISCUSSION: ASK STUDENTS TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE SITUATION AND HOW THEY ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS.

NOTE 1 : To help facilitate discussion, share any personal experiences you may have encountered with this same sort of issue

NOTE 2 : Another option to foster further critical thinking is to then ask students , “ What values do you think are in tension here, why is it an ethical dilemma?”

CLOSING DISCUSSION: ASK THE STUDENTS, “IS BREAKING THE RULES OK IF NO ONE FINDS OUT ?”

REVIEW AND CLOSING:

 To end the lesson, share the following quote with the class:

     o “Ethical behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching – even when doing the wrong thing is legal.” – Aldo Leopold

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CORRELATION TO OBSERVATION TOOL: The Frequency Observation Tool (FOT) has a category where students will be observed and rated on their ability to address unsafe and unethical behaviors in the workplace. This lesson will give students the knowledge to be able to appropriately report any unsafe and unethical behavior that they witness in the workplace.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IDEAS:

-Visual: Visual learners will benefit from having the scenario projected as well as having any important information written on the white board.

-Auditory: Auditory learners will benefit from the partner and the class discussions.

-Kinesthetic: Kinesthetic learners could benefit by writing down any important information.

-ESL: ESL students would benefit from having a partner to assist them in the writing activity in case they have questions or need clarification.

-At-risk: At -risk students will benefit from the interaction they have with their group to help keep them focused and on task.

-Advanced: Advanced learners could benefit from helping other students write down their schedules, or by assisting ESL or At -risk students who may need additional help .