Values Education: Defining, Components, and Strategies for Teaching Values in Schools, Study notes of Teaching method

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Values Education

By Andy Lopez & Debbie Williams How is this topic defined? Values education provides guiding principles and tools for the development of the whole person, recognizing that the individual is comprised of physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual dimensions http://www.livingvalues.net. What are its components? There are 12 Living Values: Cooperation Freedom Happiness Honesty Humility Love Peace Respect Responsibility Simplicity Tolerance Unity What is the difference between learning topics/skills and teaching these topics/skills? Values need not be taught directly through character education curriculum. In order to teach values, one needs to understand more deeply the role values play in their own life and to learn skills to create a values-based atmosphere. Teachers need to attend workshops in the areas of values awareness, creating a values-based atmosphere, and skills for creating such an atmosphere. They need to explore the development of values, the emotional needs of children, cooperative collaboration and communication in the classroom, using values activities with children, positively building behaviors, and establishing a balance where there is both law and love. In order to learn about values, students need to participate in age-appropriate activities that promote self-esteem, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and creative expression—the necessary wellspring of skills that will enable children to respond positively to an ever-changing and diverse society. Are there strategies and/or models for these topics?

Recommendations to Teachers for the Teaching of Values in Secondary Schools http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/taku77/refer/titus.htm

• Educate the whole person by focusing on student knowledge, behavior, and feeling
• Choose content which honors and rewards virtue in exemplars, and encourage reflection on values content
• Use quotes, pledges, codes, and guidelines
• Communicate clear, consistent, sincere, high expectations for students
• Develop students' skills in resisting peer pressure, maintaining self-respect, and resolving conflicts in nonviolent ways
• Be a good role model through positive personal example
• Use and require respectful language
• Use the creation of and even-handed enforcement of just classroom rules to teach core values (compassion, courage, courtesy, fairness, honesty, kindness, loyalty, perseverance, respect, and responsibility)
• Reinforce the diligent work and virtuous behavior of students with praise and appreciation
• Correct unethical, immoral, and disrespectful behavior; or become an enabler
• Have students work together cooperatively in heterogeneous groups
• Involve peers, parents, and community
• Encourage student involvement in community service
• Teach, don't preach. From the Social Family of teaching models, teachers may use role playing (dialogues using conflict resolution and stories) and partners in learning strategies. From the Information Processing Models, teachers may use mind mapping (graphic organizer), reflecting, guided imagery, writing, artistic expression and discussion. From the Personal Family of models, teachers may use non-directive teaching to personalize the values curriculum for the student. What makes a model a model? What phases should be included? Are these "single" models or "meta" or "mega" models? What is the syntax, social system, principles of reaction and support system?

A model of teaching is a description of a learning environment. It provides learning tools to the students. A model for teaching values would include a combination of some of the other models. Phase I: Awareness of values; creating a values-based atmosphere. Phase II: Values activities (role playing-conflict resolution & stories, mind mapping, reflecting, guided imagery, writing, artistic expression, discussion). Phase III : Sharing values and living a values-based life. Syntax Social System Principles of Reaction Why are some of these not included in Joyce and Weil? (What rationale might we provide to persuade them to include these models in future editions?) In order to teach values, one would have to use a combination of several strategies from different families of models. Joyce and Weil could have a chapter in the Personal Family models section that shows how the different models/strategies can be used in combination with each other.