CIRTL Network

Classroom Ethics in Higher Education: Navigating Dilemmas with Intention
2026-07-15 10:00 - 11:15 (America/Chicago)
Educators at all levels and across content areas navigate daily challenges that emerge from the fraught context of classroom teaching. Apart from the obvious emotional, intellectual, and logistical challenges of providing quality instruction, instructors must also confront intractable dilemmas that pit their own values against the policies and practices of their academic unit or institution at large. This is particularly troubling for graduate and early career instructors who must navigate these spaces without the assurance of institutional protection. In this two-part workshop, instructors and future instructors in higher education are invited to participate in a classroom ethics “bootcamp” that will prepare them for exploring the inherent tensions that arise in the classroom, from issues of fair student assessment to facing controversial topics in discussion. Most instructors teach how they were taught – this workshop will take the first steps in breaking the pattern of status-quo instruction, preparing instructors to practice critical reflection and ethical deliberation. Participants should come prepared to discuss topics like end of semester grade rounding, student emotional disturbance, class attendance, and navigating controversial topics. By the end of this workshop, participants will be prepared to:

Apply ethical theories to resolve abstract dilemmas
Identify and prioritize at-stake values in various ethical case-studies in the context of teaching in the college or university setting
Articulate a reasoned defense of their decisions in resolving an ethical dilemma in the context of teaching in the college or university setting.

Instructors
Walker Ballard, The Ohio State University
Erin Mercurio, The Ohio State University
Workshop Schedule
This two-part online workshop meets in Zoom on Wednesday, July 15th and July 29th at 7-8:15pm Gulf / 11am-12:15pm Eastern / 10-11:15am Central / 8-9:15am Pacific/Arizona.
Audience
This session is for anyone interested in classroom ethics in higher education, though some experience in higher education classrooms as instructor of record might make the session more meaningful.
Registration and Enrollment
Interested in attending? Fill out this short form to get a reminder when registration opens.
Registration opens on Monday, June 29th at 10am CT. Cap: 30. Registration will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Registrants from CIRTL member institutions or alumni of CIRTL member institutions will receive priority. Once registration closes, all registrants will be notified of their enrollment status.
Accessibility
If you have access needs, please let us know what they are. Contact Zoe Zuleger (zmzuleger@wisc.edu) who is supporting this workshop, to let us know how we can help you have a successful experience. In addition to meeting individualized needs, we will also take measures throughout the workshop to support accessibility for all our students:

Sending pre-session reminders with upcoming assignments to all students
Sharing materials for synchronous sessions with students (slides, activity instructions, etc.)
Enabling live captioning in synchronous sessions
Incorporating multiple modes of interaction into synchronous sessions

About CIRTL Programming
CIRTL Network programming is designed to develop future faculty committed to implementing and advancing evidence-based teaching practices to create undergraduate educational experiences that are accessible to all learners. Participants can explore our programming in any order, and to whatever extent supports your own teaching development needs and interests. To help participants understand what they can expect across all our programming, all CIRTL programming aligns with four broad learning goals; within those goals, programming might provide participants with an introductory, intermediate, or advanced learning experience.
This course supports the following CIRTL learning goals at an introductory/intermediate level:

Goal 1: Develop evidence-based teaching knowledge. See more Goal 1 programming.
Goal 2: Connect with community to enhance teaching. See more Goal 2 programming.
Goal 3: Cultivate teaching skills through reflective improvement. See more Goal 3 programming.
Goal 4: Prepare for an impactful career. See more Goal 4 programming.
