Language Resident Name:

JING XU

 

Day and Date:

09/27/2017

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):

Chinese, Advanced

 

Class theme/topics discussed:

 Trolley problem

 

Goal of the class:

To Practice their oral Chinese skills and understand ethics ect…

 

How did you structure the class?

  1. Discuss with students about the trolley problem with the following points:
  • There is a runaway trolleybarreling down the railway tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one person on the side track. You have two options:
  • (1) Do nothing, and the trolley kills the five people on the main track.
  • (2)Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person. Which is the most ethical choice? Let students work in pairs and share their views and then share with classmates.
  • As before, a trolley is hurtling down a track towards five people. You are on a bridge under which it will pass, and you can stop it by putting something very heavy in front of it. As it happens, there is a very fat man next to you – your only way to stop the trolley is to push him over the bridge and onto the track, killing him to save five. Should you proceed? Let students work in pairs and share their views and then share with classmates.
  • A brilliant transplant surgeon has five patients, each in need of a different organ, each of whom will die without that organ. Unfortunately, there are no organs available to perform any of these five transplant operations. A healthy young traveler, just passing through the city the doctor works in, comes in for a routine checkup. In the course of doing the checkup, the doctor discovers that his organs are compatible with all five of his dying patients. Suppose further that if the young man were to disappear, no one would suspect the doctor. Do you support the morality of the doctor to kill that tourist and provide his healthy organs to those five dying persons and save their lives? Let students work in pairs and share their views and then share with classmates.

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

PowerPoint

  

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

    Everyone in class argued very well, do not even want to leave after class . Students really enjoyed the class, practiced their spoken Chinese and explanatory abilities. Learned new words. Everyone was involved and had fun. Thought about philosophical questions.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

No

 

 

 

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.