Conference Session

Engineering Ethics - Courses and Curricula

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donald McEachron, Drexel University; Sheila Vaidya, Drexel University; Stacey Ake, Drexel University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

which all undergraduates are required to take at least three WI classes forgraduation. These classes are a standard part of their curricula but contain specific writingcomponents. Specially trained student-tutors work with their fellows to ensure writingskills are being developed.We propose a similar idea with ethics education.The critical part of our program is a three-phase tutor-training program for upper divisionand graduate students. In Phase I, students are introduced to the major ethical philosophiesby instructors playing the leading thinkers of those traditions. For example, an instructormight play Socrates or Confucius or Augustine or Kant, thus providing a more personal

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics: Using Case Studies

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Loendorf, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

engineers make, professional obligations, codes of ethicalconduct, and contemporary issues. This is followed by class discussions of real world casestudies applying this knowledge. Then two assessment methods are used to determine thestudents understanding of engineering ethics, an in-depth essay exploring two case studies and awritten examination evaluating four case studies. During the last academic year, over 200students from six classes have participated in this program. The results from the essays andexaminations indicate that students have a fundamental foundation, from which they can build abetter understanding, of how to handle real world ethical engineering challenges.IntroductionEngineers make numerous decisions every day that affect the