Category: Resources

Inspired by a recent Case Summary Matrix post, Vancouver, Washington HSEB coach and regular EthicsBowl.org contributor Michael Andersen reached out to share two very nice related tools: a Case Analysis Form and a Team Organization Form.

The Case Analysis form has three columns on each of three pages, with three of the below categories on each:

• Central moral dimensions in this case  / values or principles in conflict–as related in the case description, or reasonably inferred from it
• Who cares? / Different viewpoints, worldviews engaged with this case (i.e., stakeholders)
• How do these parties appear to evaluate the moral problem(s) of the case? (and from what ethical framework, using what key language?)
• What exactly does each stakeholder argue? List underlying premises (their reasons, assumptions) and their conclusion.  Check for valid / sound reasoning.
• Most relevant fact claims that we need to research in each party’s argument.  Is their supporting evidence from reliable sources?
• Most likely counter-arguments (include supporting evidence &  reasoning)
• What exactly will we argue? List underlying premises (our reason and assumptions) and our conclusion.  Check for valid / sound reasoning.
• Most relevant fact claims that we need to research to support our argument. Are our sources for this evidence reliable?
• Most likely counter-arguments we will encounter + our responses

Page 1, for example, looks like this:

Engaging prompts, inspiring the critical thought and identification of key details that make for a quality analysis. A smart approach for sure.

The idea behind the second resource, the Team Organization Form, is to proactively assign team members various responsibilities so a) they know how to concentrate during prep, and b) they can confidently operate within their realm of expertise and comfort during the bowl.

As Michael explains it, “You’ll notice that for each team member there is a split column under their name. The first side of the column is to record the role code (key at bottom) if they are the Presenting Team on a given case; the second side is to record the role code if they are the Commentary Team on a given case. Using this form, students can see on one page what their particular roles are across the array of cases assigned for the Ethics Bowl.”

“I intended this as a stress-reducer tool, as team members have fewer roles for which they are ‘on point’ for the cases (as opposed to feeling that they have to master all of the responsibilities for every case). Of course, this tool is only useful for teams that decide to divide their responsibilities such that every team member (roughly) has a role to play for all the cases encountered–as opposed to teams who split responsibilities by assigning whole cases to particular team members.” Looks like this:

Two very thoughtful and sophisticated resources — if you’d like an editable version of either, just email (matt (at) mattdeaton.com). And thanks again, Michael, for the valuable contributions! Sharing reusable tools such as these is definitely consistent with the collaborative, cooperative spirit of ethics bowl. I suspect ethics bowl creator Bob Ladenson would give you two enthusiastic thumbs up 🙂

“The cases that the students are discussing present moral issues as they are in real life… complex, ambiguous, controversial, difficult,  and ultimately quite messy. There are often no easy answers.”

Courtesy Dr. Stephen Michelman of the South Carolina High School Ethics Bowl at Wofford College, above and on the Resources page you’ll find a brand new judge training video featuring Parr Center Director of Outreach, UNC teaching assistant professor, longtime ethics bowl enthusiast, and all-around swell guy, Steven Swartzer.

Steve knows his stuff, is especially eloquent in this vid, and the overview he provides and questions he answers would be useful for anyone interested in ethics bowl. So check it out — invaluable info for an aspiring judge, coach, moderator or competitor.

Many thanks to Dr. Michelman  and company for recording, producing and sharing this with the ethics bowl community.

And coaches, if you’re having a hard time getting your team on the same page, take heart. As Steve concedes, “We try to write cases that are designed to elicit disagreement.” 

Oh, and another gem from the Q&A section (especially useful if you’re a new ethics coach with experience in debate), a judge asks how to score teams that change their position after commentary from the opposing team (or during the judges interaction period, for that matter). Steve’s response: “In debate, if you change your mind, I guess you lose… That’s not what happens here, necessarily. It’s actually sometimes a sign of mature moral thinking to say, ‘Oh, you know what? I think that that point was really excellent and I think that it does… seriously call into question at least some part of [our initial view]. So changing their mind is not necessarily a bad thing… Or, on the other side, are they moving too easily to accommodate something that might not be [a quality objection].”

An October, 2018 revision to my classic primer for ethics bowlers — now updated with video lectures on each of the chapters — is available in PDF on our Resources page and and via direct link here. Used by ethics bowl teams from coast to coast, it’s accessible, concise (only 60 pages), and contains all the philosophical ethics essentials: differences between morality and psychology/legality, how to build and analyze arguments by analogy, the four dominant ethics theories, the (legit, essential) role of our moral intuitions, and much more.

For class and other non-ethics bowl purposes, find the revised and expanded paperback edition at Amazon for less than $10 here. It’s similar to this 3rd ethics bowler edition, with several sections rewritten for clarity and impact, formatted for fewer words per page, lecture notes on each chapter at the end, and with a beautiful cover by ethics bowl supporter and artist, Ashley Addair.

But for ethics bowl-related purposes, the PDF version hosted here at EthicsBowl.org is completely free – my gift to the ethics bowl community. Print it, email it, host it on your team’s website – whatever you like.

Visit EthicsinaNutshell.org for the vids, sample reflection questions, sample syllabi and other resources.

Hoping you and your team find Nutshell useful, and special thanks to all the volunteers who helped improve editions 1 and 2,
Matt