ABC 2022 Workshop
Assignments and Activities
for Teaching
Ethics, Values, and Character
These sample assignments accompany the ABC 2022 workshop, “Assignments for Teaching Ethics, Values, and Character,” delivered by Christy McDowell (Cornell), Amy Newman (Cornell), Ashley Patriarca (West Chester University), and Jana Seijts (Ivey Business School). You may revise and use freely!
Authentic Self: Part of an eCornell professional development course, this tool walks students through exploring their outer expressions, internal motivations, etc., based on Bill George’s work.
Behavioral Interview Questions: Students practice answering questions about their character. This handout provides a structure for students to prepare a response to any question.
CAM Communication Model: Students walk through a process of checking their character, analyzing their audience, and determining their message and medium.
Communication Ethics “Topic of the Week”: Students explore a current ethics topic and design and deliver a creative, interactive presentation.
Core Values: Students identify their core values within 30 minutes.
Current Business Communication Examples: Find recent news for class discussion, response papers, or recommendation reports.
Giving Voice to Values: Explore a trove of teaching resources and assignments, for example, A Tale of Two Stories and Apologizing at Community Hospital.
Individual Performance Assessment: Students evaluate their own development at the end of the semester by answering these questions.
Introductory Email: Students write a professional email to the professor to introduce themselves, propose goals for the semester, and assesses current communication strengths and weaknesses.
Personal Leadership Vision: Students identify their strengths and write a script that someone might deliver about them in the future.
Team Assessment and Reflection: Students use an expanded rubric to assess team process and outcomes and to reflect on an early misjudgment. This rubric may be used for this or any reflection paper.
Values in the Hiring Process: As members of a hiring committee, students decide how to handle a fabricated resume.
Vision and Values Voice Thread: In a voice recording, students define their vision and 2-to-3 central values that guide their life.
