In each of the units of the course with assigned readings, class members post discussion of three “key ideas,” one from each of the assigned readings. The key ideas assignment is intended to encourage reflective reading and demonstrate application of the idea within the public sector.

A key idea addresses what the student finds to be an important or useful concept. Each key idea entry assesses its importance, strengths and/or weaknesses, practical application, or points of interest or confusion. Key ideas should be briefly linked to news events, societal conditions, or personal experience.

Key ideas are about specific concepts from a portion of a reading, though sometimes they are central to an entire reading. Key ideas entries do not summarize entire assigned readings or the posted course notes for the unit.

Posting and Format

Key ideas for the unit are typed or pasted (not attached) as a single message into a discussion thread, no later than 11:59 p.m. Central on Sunday. Each key idea should be discussed in approximately 200-250 words of narrative (not including quotations, citations, references, or lists), separated into paragraphs where appropriate.

Each key idea is labeled with the name of the key idea, the author of the source reading, and the page number(s) of the key idea. For sources from outside of our classroom readings, parenthetic citations with author and date as well as a reference list should be included with the key ideas entries. Excessive quotation and lists should be avoided; concepts should generally be summarized in the student’s words.

• Textbook
  • The Ethics Primer, Chapter 2, “Administrative Ethics: Ideas, Sources, and Development”
  • The Ethics Primer, Chapter 3, “Refining the Sense of Duty: Responsibilities of Public Administrators and the Issue of Agency”
  • The Ethics Primer, Chapter 4, “Reinforcing and Enlarging Duty: Philosophical Bases of Ethical Behavior and the Ethics Triangle”