Faith, Ethics, and APA Position Paper

Faith, Ethics, and APA Position Paper For this assignment, respond to each of the four prompts/rubrics below (each worth 2.5 points for a total of 10 points). You have only one content page plus a References page for a total of two pages in which to convey your thoughts and sources. 1.) What will you decide and why? Try to take an evaluative approach here, and feel free to propose a compromise if you would like. 2.) Analyze your decision in Part 1 utilizing the three basic approaches to ethics listed in the associated Johnson and Christensen (2017) clip in the Module 1 Assignments Section. Make sure to address all three approaches. Note that these approaches nicely generalize to many contexts beyond pure educational research. 3.) Very briefly describe how your faith influences your decision, or if it does not, why not? 4.) APA (7th ed.) style points: one content page (please do not exceed one content page double spaced); References page (you will have at least one reference - the three approaches to ethics as noted above, and the APA style reference can be derived from the book’s title page in the Johnson and Christensen (2017) clip); proper handling of the running head and page numbering; correct headings (if any used); repeat of title on first and only content page; proper form for any Biblical citations; proper form for any other citations; proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling; and proper handling of all other APA style and format standards. Note that you do not have a Title Page or Abstract. You may start your page numbering with the number 1 or the number 2. Having recently completed your terminal degree in education, you have recently taken a position with a major national consulting firm. At the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year you are accepted for a position on the United States Department of Education’s new “21st Century Technical Power Panel” (TPP) that will direct federal education policy according to the findings of science and the capabilities of technology, an area where you have achieved some reasonable level of recognition. Your consulting career and your family’s well-being depend upon your ability to perform well in this appointment. Over the last two decades, advances in human genetics, brain research, and applied technology have overturned many of the foundational understandings concerning learning processes, instruction, and target constituencies (both students and teachers) at all academic levels. Stemming from many research studies and articles, it appears that brain scans and genomics can divide learners at any level into three clearly delineated groups: scholars who are capable of high level academic achievement, moderately functioning learners who can accept lesser challenges, and those with low intellectual capacities who need early vocational training. This has been a seemingly successful model exercised in a number of European and Asian nations. Although the “Every Student Succeeds Act” (ESSA) replaced “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) in late 2015, there was little change in learning outcomes for K-12 student achievement overall or for the closing of achievement gaps. With the nation facing increasing (and seemingly unsustainable) budget deficits, the push to reduce spending for education now has a wide range of support across the political spectrum. The Khan Academy type approach involving “flipping the school day” engenders appeal because it is economical and reasonably effective for many students. It should be noted that the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021 had two major effects on American education. First, much of K-12 and Higher Education was re-directed from face-to-face on-campus teaching to online learning. Second, the associated recession severely weakened federal, state, and local funding for education. Money is simply not available to continue spending on education in a manner similar the pre-pandemic era. Another interesting evolution over the last 20 years has occurred for the means and media of instruction. Technological advances have successfully transformed the nature of learning and instruction such that learning can occur anywhere and anytime via all platforms including television, computer, tablets, smart phones, presentation walls, holographic image presentations, heads-up displays, and retinal projection devices (several generations beyond the ill-fated and cumbersome Google Glass). Systems now give immediate feedback and sense the emotional state and focus of a learner through almost any medium. Genetic algorithms and the Internet of Things make the instructional systems and the learners aware of changing conditions instantaneously. Deep learning and artificial intelligence have enabled Watson (the IBM computer that defeated humans in all board games and Jeopardy) clones to achieve unparalleled success in medicine, business, and education for selected populations including autistic children where Watson-directed robots have often replaced many special education instructors. MOOCs have re-emerged and evolved to the point that only a few super-star professors for both university and high school maintain content and make short video presentations that comprise a course (most courses include hundreds or even thousands of such short 1-3 minute presentations connected by a learning web that guides students through adaptive pathways continually customized and optimized for each individual). Grading is almost entirely done by computer systems, even for essay questions and research papers. Many institutions of higher learning have gone out of business, and over 80% of high school courses are available online eclipsing even Clayton Christensen’s (Disrupting Class) prognostications. Almost all course content for levels K-16 is available online for free or reasonably nominal cost, and “you can’t compete with free.” Generally, the TPP wants to drive federal policy toward what they believe to be the new positions that science supports including an overall three tier hierarchy in education from k-16 with maximal deployment of technology in an effort that comports with what is perceived to be the nation’s desire to radically reduce spending and produce budget surpluses. After about six months, the panel has agreed that the best approach to education is essentially what has been described above. You seem to be the lone dissenter, and the pressure from both the other panel members and your own consulting firm has been tremendous. You know that your future success hinges on how you respond to the will of the other TPP members and the obvious concern of your company. The CEO of your consulting firm has made it clear that your job is on the line because the company has a number of federal grants pending (ironically, no concern about federal budget deficits when your firm is receiving the money).