Conference Session

Research on Engineering Ethics Education and Practice

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Greg Rulifson P.E., U.S. Agency for International Development; Angela R. Bielefeldt, University of Colorado Boulder

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics

-learning community where students learned about and practice sustainability. Bielefeldt is also a licensed P.E. Professor Bielefeldt’s research interests in en- gineering education include service-learning, sustainable engineering, social responsibility, ethics, and diversity. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2020 Health Stress and Support System Narratives of Engineering StudentsAbstractAcross the country and the world, health of college students is gaining more deserved attention.In particular, mental and physical health shocks and stresses weigh heavily on engineeringstudents. This work highlights, in their own words, the ways that undergraduate engineeringstudents managed physical

Conference Session

New Media for Ethics Education

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Joshua Gargac, University of Mount Union

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Engineering Ethics

, approximately 170 are majoring in one ofthe engineering disciplines. Mechanical engineering students are required to take a two-semestercapstone sequence during their final academic year. Each week, students are required to meet fora lecture as a full cohort (105 min) and for progress meetings with their advisors as individualproject teams (60 min). Specific project-related questions are addressed during the team progressmeetings. The course lecture addresses a handful of topics related to engineering includingprofessional practice, designing for sustainability, entrepreneurship, and engineering ethics. Thecapstone sequence is used to evaluate all seven ABET student outcomes.ABET Student Outcome 4 has been addressed in the capstone course through a

Conference Session

New Media for Ethics Education

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Valerie H. Summet, Rollins College; Rebecca A. Bates, Minnesota State University, Mankato

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Engineering Ethics

Paper ID #29719Science Fiction as an Entry Point for Ethical Frameworks in Engineeringand Computer Science EducationDr. Valerie H. Summet, Rollins College Dr. Valerie Summet is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Rollins College, a liberal-arts school located in Winter Park, FL. Her research interests include human-computer interaction and CS education. She earned a BS in Computer Science from Duke University and an MS and PhD in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology.Prof. Rebecca A Bates, Minnesota State University, Mankato Rebecca A. Bates received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering

Conference Session

Ethical Design

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Scott A. Civjan, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Nicholas Tooker, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

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Engineering Ethics

courses ranging from Intro to Civil & Environmental Engineering for first year students to a seminar on Profes- sional Practices and Ethics to seniors. He is also heavily involved with the online graduate program. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2020 Integrating Ethics into the Curriculum through Design CoursesAbstractTo address shortcomings in traditional engineering ethics curriculum a series of assignmentswere integrated into a senior level steel design course. The goal of the ethics component beingintroduced in a steel design course was to improve student internalization of ethics curriculumthrough assignments that were relevant to the design class material and everyday

Conference Session

Ethical Design

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Amy Schroeder, University of Southern California

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics

, rather than that students must exhibit the ability toresolve ethical quandaries. [10] Can students, given the most common modes of education inethics, develop a sense of what Edmund Burke called the “moral imagination”? And how wouldwe know if they did?The lack of consensus about best practices in ethics education, coupled with a sense ofheightened need in current times, could reasonably seem like cause for potential concern, if notalarm. But it can also be argued that a lack of consensus offers an opportunity forexperimentation and exploration. This uncertainty presents an opportunity to try alternativeapproaches, particularly approaches that emphasize creativity and interdisciplinary study. It hasbeen argued that an interdisciplinary approach

Conference Session

New Areas of Ethical Inquiry

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Joseph Benin, U.S. Coast Guard Academy; William Randall, U.S. Coast Guard Academy

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Engineering Ethics

of moral conduct in both physical andvirtual realms include showing respect for others, being honest, etc. [24], and (c) drawing in real-world examples of ethical discussions in law enforcement currently occurring in the cyber-world.This goes well beyond “following the rules” to understanding morals and discussing theprinciples of right and wrong and how that is determined. Let us now explore the process thatwas utilized in the development of this cyber ethics course.2. MethodologyThe course was developed in two parts and was designed to give students a chance to both reflecton the social and professional impacts of computer technology by focusing on the rules and theethical issues faced in our evolving cyber world and to meet a portion of

Conference Session

New Areas of Ethical Inquiry

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Kenneth Stafford Sands II, Florida Gulf Coast University; Annie R. Pearce, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Denise Rutledge Simmons P.E., University of Florida; Min Jae Suh, Sam Houston State University; Christine Marie Fiori, Drexel University

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Engineering Ethics

sectors to implement sustainability as part of building plan- ning, design, construction, and operations. As a LEED Accredited Professional, Annie brings the latest in green building methods, technologies, and best practices to the classroom. Her specific areas of interest include metrics of sustainability for built facilities, green building materials and systems, cost modeling to support sustainability implementation, and in situ performance of sustainable facility technologies.Dr. Denise Rutledge Simmons P.E., University of Florida Denise R. Simmons, Ph.D., PE, LEED-AP, is an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida

Conference Session

Reimagining Engineering Ethics

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Luan Minh Nguyen, Iowa State University ; Cristina Poleacovschi, Iowa State University; Kasey M. Faust, University of Texas at Austin; Kate Padgett Walsh, Iowa State University; Scott Grant Feinstein; Cassandra Rutherford, Iowa State University

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics

Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. Her research focuses on ethics and the history of ethics, including the ethics of debt and finance, as well as the scholarship of teaching and learning.Dr. Scott Grant Feinstein Dr. Scott Feinstein is an expert in research design and comparative and identity politics.Dr. Cassandra Rutherford, Iowa State University Dr. Cassandra Rutherford is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Constructions and Envi- ronmental Engineering. Her research focuses on geotechnical engineering and engineering education. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2020Conceptualizing a Theory of Ethical Behavior in

Conference Session

Assessing Ethics Learning

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

David S. Greenburg, The Citadel; Robert J. Rabb P.E., The Citadel

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics

decision making as a core element of the engineeringcurriculum and the need for it to remain at the forefront of curriculum design. This study seeks toprovide insights into the research question of whether the use of an integrated leadership andethics training program can improve an engineering student’s ability to make ethical engineeringdecisions as measured by the National Society of Professional Engineers Code of ethics practiceexam. A group of five scenarios and 25 True/False questions based on the NSPE Code of Ethicswere used to measure the ability of students to identify and make decisions that adhere to a setstandard of ethical and professional conduct relating to the practice of engineering. Scenarioswere developed around situations that

Conference Session

Ethical Reasoning and Decision Making

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Rockwell Franklin Clancy III, University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics

reasoning between native- and non-native-English-speaking students arebetter explained by cultural than language differences 2. engineering ethics education canincrease ethical reasoning abilities, and 3. ethical reasoning is positively associated with anemphasis on care, and negatively associated with an emphasis on loyalty. Shortcomings of thecurrent study and directions for further research are also discussed.IntroductionThis paper presents the motivations for and results of a preliminary study exploring theinfluences of culture, education, and moral dispositions on ethical reasoning among engineeringstudents in China. Previous research has examined the effects of engineering ethics education onethical reasoning, but this work has tended to take

Conference Session

New Areas of Ethical Inquiry

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Minha R. Ha, York University; Joshua Racette, McMaster University; Shinya Nagasaki, McMaster University

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics

their work, thestudents can direct the focus of their research and what they will be learning through the IL process.The iterative nature of incorporating this feedback allows the instructor to provide a form ofguidance for the students towards understanding the socio-technological interactions in theirnuclear systems.ConclusionsOverall, we find that guided inquiry learning is an impactful approach to integrating engineeringethics education in a traditional, technical course. This study helped us identify important factorsthat supported our pedagogical design, which is specific to our local context. These include theinterest and knowledgeability of the instructional staff in the sociotechnical content (e.g.sustainability, policy, design ethics

Conference Session

Reimagining Engineering Ethics

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Yousef Jalali, Virginia Tech ; Scott A. Civjan, University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics

. ConclusionIn this paper, we provided theoretical foundations supporting the need for moral imagination andreconstruction of relational identities when making ethical decisions. The disconnect betweenthese concepts and ways that ethics is traditionally addressed in engineering curriculum wasnoted. We then explained instructional approaches that can be considered in ethics instruction toprepare students for the moral imagination required to make ethical decisions. Examples wereprovided of assignments that were introduced in a senior level design class in order tocomplement traditional instruction. In practice these descriptions are intended to promotediscussion on how imagination can be included in instruction and integrated throughout thecurriculum

Conference Session

Reimagining Engineering Ethics

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jessica Koehler, Wake Forest University; Olga Pierrakos, Wake Forest University ; Michael Lamb, Wake Forest University; Alana Demaske, Wake Forest University; Carlos Santos, Wake Forest University; Michael D. Gross, Wake Forest University; Dylan Franklin Brown, Wake Forest University

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics

report that the programpositively affected their motivation to continue in engineering [75, p. 737]. While many project-based and service-based learning initiatives target graduates or upper-level students, early EPICSparticipation leads to EPICS having greater impact on retention [75, p. 739].To engage potential future engineers, one university program has developed a course for first-year mechanical engineering undergraduates that includes a 10-week project where studentswork in teams of 4-5 to build dancing robots for a robot flash mob for local elementary schoolstudents [75]. The elementary students participate as customers, meeting with team members,providing design specifications, and practicing design by creating their own

Conference Session

Reimagining Engineering Ethics

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Grant A. Fore, Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis; Justin L. Hess, Purdue University; Andrew Katz, Virginia Tech

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics

motivated some of this paperoriginally. I would be remiss not to point out how Whitbeck [20] also made this point aboutethical decision-making as design as well.GF: First, thanks for bringing up the Whitbeck [20] article. I agree that there is overlap betweenengineering in ethics and “ethics as design,” inasmuch as both perspectives see ethical ends,judgments, and solutions as contingent upon the exigencies of a problem’s context, namely theconstraints, allowances, and specifications that delineate possibilities. While Whitbeck appearsto come to this conclusion through the experience of engineering design processes and practices,engineering in ethics was initially derived more from a Dewyian theory of experience and ethicalinquiry, as well as an

Conference Session

New Areas of Ethical Inquiry

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Karen C. Davis, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

Computing Machinery, respectively. We investigate ways to characterize theselected codes to help facilitate a choice of codes by an educator to include in his or her courses.We conclude with a brief discussion of our ongoing research and an approach to teaching andassessing student outcomes in data science ethics.2. The Role of Ethics in Curriculum ReportsIn this section, we review reports with curriculum recommendations for data science, focusingon their coverage of teaching ethics. The reports are authored by multi-disciplinary teams underthe auspices of one or more professional, education-oriented organizations. The focus is onundergraduate data science, but pre-college and graduate studies are also considered. The mainfocus of the reports is