Why purpose projects?

If you want to learn how to ride a bike, or play soccer, or chop an onion, you eventually have to hop on the bike, kick a ball, and hold a sharp knife in your hand. If you want to learn how to live a life of integrity and meaning, at some point you have to go out into the world and try. An ethics class is the first step. Purpose Projects are the next step. 

Applied ethics classes can help students learn about themselves. These classes can reveal the ethical tradeoffs students are making in their lives, and the ways that they are falling short of their values. But for a class to connect with a student's life in this way, she has to apply the principles and arguments in her own life. Purpose Projects offer a way for students to connect the arguments from the classroom to the decisions they make every day.  

Traditionally, students in ethics classes would demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the material by writing about it. Writing is still a valuable skill, but writing assessment is changing due to the widespread availability of AI. Purpose Projects offer an alternative means of reinforcement and assessment. Though they still involve some writing, they also include practical, embodied tasks that happen offline.