Conference Session

Innovative Courses/Pedagogies in Liberal Education I

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Layton, DeVry University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

AC 2010-1737: USING THE COLLEGE SCIENCE FICTION CLASS TO TEACHTECHNOLOGY AND ETHICS: THEMES AND METHODSDavid Layton, DeVry University Page 15.1341.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010Using the College Science Fiction Class to Teach Technology and Ethics: Themes and MethodsAbstractThis paper proposes that one educational opportunity to enhance understanding of technologycomes from the liberal arts. This opportunity is the teaching of ethics related to technology,science, and technological change, using science fiction for these themes. The course is proposedas part of a general education program in colleges and universities, given

Conference Session

Normative Commitments and Public Engagement in Engineering

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Erin Cech, University of California, San Diego

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

for Engineering Education, 2010 Trained to Disengage? A Longitudinal Study of Social Consciousness and Public Engagement among Engineering StudentsAbstractMuch has been made of the importance of training ethical, socially conscious engineers, but isengineering education actually succeeding in this task? Does the professional socialization ofengineering students train them to take seriously their professional responsibility to publicwelfare? This paper examines this vital question by systematically testing whether programssuccessfully emphasize ethical, engaged engineering practice to their students, and whether suchprogrammatic emphasis actually cultivates in students a sense of social consciousness and abelief in the

Conference Session

Communication - Needs and Methods

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Warren Waggenspack, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Sarah Liggett, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Warren Hull, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; David Bowles, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Stephen Sears, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Daniel Thomas, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Paige Davis, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

instruction in visual communicationthrough three projects: senior design posters, engineering ethics videos, and CAD modeling and3-D prototyping. These assignments are intended to teach students ways to visuallycommunicate their innovative solutions to engineering problems.Building on the ProcessThrough self-assessment of the program, we realized that much of our past work centered oncommunication in written and oral modes, whereas graphical depiction of data is a means ofvisual communication that is ubiquitous throughout engineering. Likewise, the development ofmodels and drawings using computer-aided design software is considered to be a mainstay ofvisual communication in engineering curricula. Just how and why visual communication shouldbe taught

Conference Session

Normative Commitments and Public Engagement in Engineering

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

George Catalano, State University of New York, Binghamton; Caroline Baillie, Western Australia; Donna Riley, Smith College; Dean Nieusma, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Chris Byrne, Cascadia Community College; Margaret Bailey, Rochester Institute of Technology; Katy Haralampides, University of New Brunswick

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

anyethical responsibilities do they have both for citizens of the United States as well as other peoplethroughout the world. ≠ Course Module 2: Developing a Social Justice Index (SJI)Consider the issue of poverty in the world today. What are our responsibilities -if any towards -the underdeveloped world and/or those impoverished? If engineering has only lately addressedresponsibilities that we have as a profession towards the health of the Earth, even less attentionhas been paid to the question of our professional responsibilities towards the poor. Somehowuntil very recently that notion has been seen to be outside our ethical responsibilities. Todayhowever there is a growing belief that engineering does have such a responsibility. The

Conference Session

Liberal Education for 21st Century Engineering

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Grondin, Arizona State University; Chell Roberts, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

introduce Page 15.421.9 technology to rural African villages? • We require a course in critical inquiry for second semester students. The goal there is to have them develop a broad perspective on engineering and to begin the process of becoming a rational thinker instead of a rationalizer. • In the ethics area, we have a small module at the sophomore level that we are developing it in the context of a campus wide effort at having ethics education permeate the curriculum. Most of these students did not have an opportunity to take this module and it is not a formal degree requirement. • All of these would

Conference Session

Liberal Education for 21st Century Engineering

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Betty Harper, Pennsylvania State University; Lisa Lattuca, Pennsylvania State University; Alexander Yin, Penn State University; Patrick Terenzini, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

skills neededfor work and citizenship in a globalized society (e.g., AACU17). Educators are also increasinglycalling on colleges and universities to integrate students’ learning across general education andthe major, recognizing that the goals of liberal and professional education are not only similar,but often overlapping.18,19 These complementary goals include, among others, communicationcompetence, critical thinking, contextual competence, ethics, leadership capacity, and motivationfor continued learning.18Today’s calls to improve both the major and general education focus on the need to preparestudents for lives as members of communities in a diverse, global, technologically and sociallydynamic world. In engineering education, the press for

Conference Session

Innovative Courses/Pedagogies in Liberal Education II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Ross, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

. Oral presentation using PowerPoint summarizing accomplishment and significance of the completed project.#3 Academic Academic Argument Project Planning.Argument Formal Proposal for Argument Project. Continued development of relevant specialized second research tools.The space race Deliverable – a position paper: science, technology, and major social problems.“debates”#4 Group/team 1. Breadth of Knowledge – Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences, and Business.discussions 2. Best Practice and Ethics – focus on the NSPE Code of Ethics.Implications forspace explorationEnrichment Representative Lectures:Activities A Local Small

Conference Session

Normative Commitments and Public Engagement in Engineering

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Juan Lucena, Colorado School of Mines; Jen Schneider, Colorado School of Mines; Jon Leydens, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

and philosophical exploration of the term under a NSF grant on HumanitarianEngineering Ethics (HEE). We learned about humanitarian medics and relief workers emerged inthe 19th century, became organized under the International Red Cross, played significant roles inWW II, but until the 1960s included no engineers. In short, the history of humanitarianism andthe histories of engineering for most of the 19th and 20th centuries are not connected. In thishistorical journey, we came across Doctors without Borders (MSF), perhaps the oldest and mostcomprehensive approach to humanitarian work by a profession. It became clear that the veryrecent Engineers Without Borders (EWB), and other similar organizations, found inspiration inMSF yet were doing

Conference Session

Innovative Courses/Pedagogies in Liberal Education II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

George Catalano, State University of New York, Binghamton

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

visionary—that his ideas are as important today as when he wrote them; others say his views are outdated and no longer apply to 21st-century conditions. Where do you stand and on which ideas in particular? ≠ Most economists and politicians believe that our consumption-based society has created unprecedented wealth in the West and, therefore, justifies a degree of inequality. How does Schumacher view consumption-based economies? What kind of alternative system or reforms does he propose? ≠ Some of the book's insights are aimed at the scientific community, with Schumacher asserting that scientists are incapable of ethical decision-making regarding the direction of their research. Consider his arguments in

Conference Session

Innovative Courses/Pedagogies in Liberal Education I

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kyle Simmons, University of Utah; Susan Sample, University of Utah; April Kedrowicz, University of Utah

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

assessing and developing oral presentation skills.Susan Sample, University of Utah Susan Sample is a doctoral student in communication and rhetoric at the University of Utah. In the CLEAR Program, she is a writing consultant to the Department of Mechanical Engineering, where her responsibilities include providing instruction in and evaluation of written communication to students in introductory courses, in addition to consulting with teaching assistants in various lab courses. She served for many years as editor of the University's Health Sciences Report magazine and continues as a program associate in the Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Sample

Conference Session

Liberal Education for 21st Century Engineering

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Heywood, Trinity College Dublin

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

- “broadly educated, seethemselves as global citizens, can lead in public service, as well as in research,development and design, are ethical and inclusive of all segments of society. Theattributes include strong analytic skills, creativity, ingenuity, professionalism andleadership.” 8 For the committee that produced the report the issue was - “how can weensure that the engineering profession and engineering education adopt a collective visionincluding these aspirations and encouraging creation of an environment that promotesthose attribute and aspirations in the future.”9 Williams and others argue that this cannotbe accomplished without considerable curriculum reform

Conference Session

Liberal Education for 21st Century Engineering

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cherrice Traver, Union College; J. Douglas Klein, Union College

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

between engineers andnon-engineers. Carol Christ, President of Smith College, has noted that the rise of Area Studiesin the humanities and social sciences has arisen out of the growing awareness that for people tounderstand a region, like Asia, Latin America, or (especially during the Cold War), Russia, “theyneeded the tools of multiple disciplines – history, political science, economics, sociology.”6On a more dramatic note, authors ranging from Eric Drexler7 to Bill Joy8 to Braden Allenby9have noted the profound social and ethical challenges of a possible merging humanity withtechnology, and the need for dialog between technologists and humanists.Engineering education, guided by ABET’s Criteria 2000,10 increasingly stresses breadth in

Conference Session

Normative Commitments and Public Engagement in Engineering

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gary Downey, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

in. I found I had a better understanding of the infrastructures in urban Denver and their social ramification than those in remote tribal areas of India and other parts of the developing world. I also found myself relieved to be back in the realm of applied research in sustainable development, as the dynamics of donors, benefactors, beneficiaries and their varying agendas in international service projects had caused me to lose much sleep over their ethical ramifications. For Anu Ramaswami (University of Colorado Denver), coming to the United States wasnot the “dramatic culture shock” that leaving the country was for the American-born participants.The United States “in all its complexity” provided an opportunity to pursue

Conference Session

Innovative Courses/Pedagogies in Liberal Education II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Katherine Wikoff, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

thatcalligraphy class he was interested in? (As a first-semester freshman, Steve Jobs was nota computer science major, by the way.) We should hope so, but as engineering programsare under pressure to demonstrate that their students have knowledge of contemporaryissues, have an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility, have an ability towork within political/economic/social constraints, etc., the question that needs to beanswered is: Where does calligraphy fit into ABET’s Criterion 3(a-k) outcomes?Jobs ended his story by reiterating: Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in