21st Century Skill: Moral Literacy

Students nowadays need to be properly educated on moral decision so that they can grow into ethical adult and make the world and better place. 

What exactly is moral literacy? What do students learn in school?
- Moral literacy is the corresponding set of      skills that unite to inform an ethical decision (Bajovic, & Elliott, 2011). A successful comprehension of moral education enables an individual to exercise their civic responsibility to recognize power structures and instead promote equity (Bajovic, & Elliott, 2011). 

When teaching moral literacy, teacher will provide students with a safe space to explore, improve, and analyze these abilities through dialogue as they cognitively develop in young children (Bajovic, & Elliott, 2011). Moral literacy is also highly related to social as it  encourage students to combat social justice conflicts, actively encourages diversity, identifies right from wrong, and endorses compassion in all contexts. ethics sensitivity, moral creativity, and ethical analysis skills are the three core skills that students must fully understand and master in moral education (Tuana, 2007). Moral imagination is also an essential skill which students need to be equipped when learning moral literacy. Moral imagination provides an individual with the ability to creatively consider the assorted potential outcomes in a circumstance and reflect on the elements involved that help/harm the situation (Tuana, 2007). 

Parable of the Polygons is a very interesting flash-based game that address the issue of inclusion and isolation based on appearance (in the case can be imply to race) in a community. This game use a very cute and harmless way to address such sensitive issue. During the game, players has the chance to active make judgment of how to place different polygon.  Players are making moral judgment and decision during the game. This game can be a excellent resource for teachers to address such sensitive issue in social justice. The game is suitable for primary level to high school level.   

Here is the link of the website: http://ncase.me/polygons/ 

Here is more video games/ flash-based games that address moral development:

http://www.gamesforchange.org/game_categories/art-and-empathy/

https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/04/18/inventive-games-that-teach-kids-about-empathy and-social-skills/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/empathy-apps-games-and-websites

http://www.thatdragoncancer.com/#home

http://store.steampowered.com/app/220780/

http://playspent.org/

References:

Bajovic, M. & Elliott, A. (2011). The intersection of critical literacy and moral literacy: Implications for practice. Critical Literacy: Theories and Practices, 5(1), 27-37.

Tuana, N. (2007). Conceptualizing Moral Literacy. Journal Of Educational Administration, 45(4), 364-378.