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- Brainstorm 4
- Civics 9
- Concluding 7
- Debate 3
- Dilemma 27
- Discussion 16
- Drawing 3
- Engagement 32
- Ethics 25
- Excellence 24
- Game 2
- Goal-setting 6
- Good Work 4
- Group-work 9
- Interview 4
- Introduction 25
- Mentor 10
- Mission 5
- Performance 5
- Project 4
- Reflection 28
- Responsibility 3
- Role Models 2
- Values 9
- Writing 34
- see-think-wonder 5
Asks individuals to complete a See-Think-Wonder Thinking Routine when considering another person’s dilemma or any dilemma from the news, our dilemma database, etc.
Activity which asks an individual to consider a character’s situation three different time and to reflect on whether the situation is a dilemma and why as the situation becomes more and more complex. Three different characters are offered for reflection.
Activity which asks individual to write their own dilemma based on the 3 outlined elements of a dilemma.
Activity that walks students through a “See-Think-Wonder” Thinking Routine. To be used with “The Meaning of Grades” Dilemma accessible here: https://www.thegoodproject.org/dilemma-database-blog/2020/8/27/the-meaning-of-grades.
Directions for an activity in which students write two stories— one about a “good worker” and one about someone who “just works". Students then give feedback to one another using an “I wish, I wonder, What if” format.
Allows students to create an imaginary interaction between a “good worker” and someone who “just works.”
Students describe three people who they believe are “good workers” and why. They then look for commonalities and differences between these individuals and talk about what they admire about these people.
Participants consider what qualifies as good work in three different professions.
Participants choose a profession and brainstorm a list of the criteria for good work in this profession, and criteria for what is not good work in this profession.
In this long-term project, participants interview professionals about what their work entails on a daily basis.
Participants sort a set of values in order of relative importance to their personal and professional lives, and compare their processes and results with others.
Participants write a letter of resignation as if they are professionals leaving positions because of disagreements over standards of excellence.
Using the provided “Good Worker Profile” examples, students will create their own worker profile using a template. Students will be asked to research a variety of workers and to find a person whose life or career interests them and is well-documented enough for them to complete the exercise. Students are encouraged to consider examples of both good work and compromised work from the person’s life. Students are told to keep the 3Es in mind when choosing what to write regarding their worker’s biography and to try to highlight when their worker may or may not have lived up to the good work concepts of excellence, ethics, and engagement. Students are reminded to be careful when choosing sources.
Using concepts from The Good Project, participants choose three and delineate how to put the ideas into practice in their own lives.
Using the rings of responsibility framework, analyze the way that your own sense of responsibility manifests at various levels and in different ways in your life.
Participants pick a community they are a part of and analyze the values and meanings of good work in that community.
Participants learn about how particular professions began, and how the missions and purposes of those professions may have evolved over time. This is a long-term project.
Participants look at various formalized codes of ethics, and evaluate whether these codes are effective in particular situations. Note: This reflective activity is to be used with the narratives “Serving a Cause vs. Serving a Client” and “A Tale of Two Lawyers.”
In this long-term project, students work in groups to create the script for an in-depth television program and then perform their program. Note: This reflective activity is to be used with the narrative “Divided Loyalties.”
Participants imagine what it might be like to pursue a variety of professions, and evaluate which professions are the best fit for their skills and interests.
Participants reflect on their own work by “looking in a mirror,” and then by writing about how they understand and identify themselves.
Participants write essays that explore where they hope to go with their work, drawing upon the major themes of the Toolkit.
Participants write and present a variety of perspectives on whether a journalist should print a story. Note: This reflective activity is to be used with the narrative “To Print or Not to Print.”
Choose one of the dilemmas from our database and use the 4 Cs to analyze it, looking for connections, challenge, concept, and changes.
Think about a dilemma you have faced and relate your thought process and decision to your sense of responsibility.
Read about the dilemma faced by a young gymnast in “Tough Love” and think about the values of the characters involved and their sense of engagement in their work.
Read a dilemma about William and how his decisions are influenced by winning prize money from science competitions. Then, write your own reflections about connections to your own life.
Participants read a dilemma narrative about a high school actor and dissect the obstacles and opportunities for him to do “good work.”
Participants pick someone who they consider a “good work” exemplar and write a reflection about this individual.
Participants write about a time when they felt torn between conflicting responsibilities and how a response to the situation might embody or eschew the 3 Es.
Participants articulate and describe their own beliefs and values in relation to their work, and identify some of the tensions within their value systems.
Participants evaluate how values and beliefs can be used to navigate challenges in work. Note: This reflective activity is to be used with the narrative “Valuable Investments: Ethical Values in Business.”
Participants are asked to stage a debate about how a school’s football program contributes (or doesn’t contribute) to the excellence of the school. Note: This reflective activity is to be used with the narrative “In Pursuit of Excellence.”
Participants will draw a grouping of objects from a variety of perspectives and discuss how changing perspectives can factor into short and long-term decision-making.
Participants read about the goals of three different young professionals, and are then asked to evaluate their own short and long-term goals.
Participants interview professionals about what they see as the overarching goals in their work.
Participants divide into groups, and debate the importance of enjoyment to the process of producing excellent work.
In this long-term project, participants draft the script of a dialogue between an individual and a mentor in the midst of a challenging situation. Participants perform their scene for a group. Note: This reflective activity is specific to the narratives “Acting Out,” “Tough Love,” and “What’s a Mentor?”.
Participants take on the role of a teacher or of a student and, from these different perspectives, discuss what changes they would like to see in their schools.
Participants draw pictures of their ideal working spaces and, with partners, reflect on the significance of each element in their pictures.
Participants are asked to bring in and talk about an example of work that they consider excellent and to discuss the meaning of excellence in various fields.
In this game, participants fill a bowl with the names of exemplary individuals, and then take turns guessing the names of exemplary individuals from others’ descriptions; participants are then asked to discuss what makes these individuals exemplary.
Participants develop arguments for and against a lawyer taking on a case. Note: This reflective activity is to be used with the narrative “Firm about ‘Flim Flam.’”
Participants are asked to conduct their own self-reflection “mirror test” where they answer questions such as “What are my beliefs?,” “How would others describe me?,” “What do I want to change?” and so on, in efforts to form a personal mission statement.
For individuals who complete the Value Sort using one of our online versions (https://www.thegoodproject.org/value-sort), this handout provides a series of questions to use for reflection.
Write a personal mission statement and explain what it means to you.
Choose an individual who you consider a “good worker” and interview them with a series of reflection questions about their job, their influences, and their decision-making.
Participants choose three individuals who they believe embody good work and analyze the similarities and differences between them, as well as what they admire.
Participants will write a different ending for a dilemma. Note: This reflective activity is to be used with the narrative “Drama Drama.”
Participants think about the challenges of navigating difficult ethical situations. Note: This reflective activity is to be used with the narratives “Beyond the Science Club” and “Money Troubles.”
Participants think about situations in which they have found themselves in conflict with another person, and evaluate how they handled those situations.
Participants write letters to people who have inspired them in their personal and work lives.
Participants dream up their ideal jobs, and compare and contrast these jobs with other existing jobs.
Participants take turns interviewing each other about people they admire who may have influenced their work.
In this long-term project, participants write essays about famous people they admire using news articles about these individuals.
Participants evaluate a list of goals to determine which ones apply to their personal and work lives.
Students consider the type of work they would like to do, the tasks involved in that role, as well as what “good work” might look like in that profession.