Conference Session

Understanding our Students & Ethical Development

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Natalie C.T. Van Tyne, Colorado School of Mines; Maria Brunhart-Lupo, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

Paper ID #9395Ethics for the ”Me” Generation - How ”Millennial” Engineering StudentsView Ethical Responsibility in the Engineering ProfessionMrs. Natalie CT Van Tyne P.E., Colorado School of Mines Natalie Van Tyne is a Teaching Associate Professor and Director of the Design EPICS Program at Col- orado School of Mines. Her background is in chemical and environmental engineering, and she is a registered professional engineer in Colorado. She has been teaching first year and second year funda- mental engineering design courses since 2002, and her research interests are in service learning, reflective learning, and

Conference Session

Evaluation of Ethical Development

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Qin Zhu, Purdue University; Carla B. Zoltowski, Purdue University; Megan Kenny Feister, Purdue University; Patrice Marie Buzzanell, Purdue University; William C. Oakes, Purdue University; Alan D. Mead, Illinois Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

, authority,and social rules). The third level, postconventional level, builds ethical reasoning on universalnorms and values (e.g., justice, human rights) that are concerned with and good for everyone inthe world. Individuals operating at postconventional phases hold a critical and reflective stanceon moral values and “authoritative” principles. Moral values and principles are notunquestionably accepted but subject to critique and reflection. Those who reason at this levelhave the highest level of moral development compared to people at the two earlier levels.As early as the late 1970s, Kohlberg’s theory was applied by engineering ethicists in assessingthe moral development of professional engineers. Most typically, Richard McCuen suggested

Conference Session

Graduate Ethics Education & Professional Codes

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yanna Lambrinidou, Virginia Tech; William Joseph Rhoads, Virginia Tech; Siddhartha Roy, Virginia Tech; Erin Heaney, Clean Air: Organizing for Health and Justice; Glenn Andrew Ratajczak, Clean Air Coalition of Western New York; Jennifer Holly Ratajczak, Clean Air Coalition of Western New York

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

critiques, however, the choice of selected challenges is narrowlytechnological; reflects some of the committee members’ own research or institutionalinterests; and places little emphasis on simple, low-tech solutions and problems ofequity and social justice.21,22,23 Moreover, it does not seem to represent “people’s” ownviews on what engineering challenges compromise their ability to “thrive” and howengineers can help address these challenges.In her discussion of the Grand Challenges, Cech aptly evokes the “god trick,” a termcoined by science and technology studies scholar Donna Haraway.11 The “god trick”refers to the mythic ability of officially sanctioned technical experts to see “everythingfrom nowhere” – that is, from a position of complete

Conference Session

Understanding our Students & Ethical Development

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth A. McBride-Pluskwik, Iron Range Engineering, a program of Minnesota State University, Mankato; Puteri S. Megat Hamari, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

integrated ethics instruction as part of their professionalismcompetency that they participate in every week. An ethical scenario is introduced by a facultymentor to the student group for discussion and reflection. This scenario is either a situationwhich they may encounter in their college or young adult lives, or an ethical situation arisingfrom the team’s semester-long project. The faculty believe that this method results in deeperlearning of the implications from decisions that affect real people and real projects.The students debate the moral reasoning of different viewpoints and try to arrive at a conclusionthat is agreed upon by all. However unanimity is not required, and students often draw differentconclusions about the ethical

Conference Session

Graduate Ethics Education & Professional Codes

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Craig Hanks, Texas State University, San Marcos; Dominick Esperanza Fazarro, The University of Texas at Tyler; Jitendra S. Tate, Texas State University, San Marcos; Walt Trybula, Texas State University & Trybula Foundation, Inc.; Robert J.C. McLean, Texas State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

-institutional.Our project starts with the notion that ethical and social responsibility (and here we includesafety, health, and environmental considerations, among others) is an integral part of the practiceof engineers and technologists. Shaping engineering education with this idea in mind is attentiveto the role of identity in what people do,30 and can serve to provide intellectual, conceptual, andnarrative resources to assist professionals as they navigate their work world. Engineering,similar to other professions, has a language,18 and that language frames how practitioners thinkof themselves and their work.27 As Korte notes in a 2013 study, “the developing professionalidentities of new engineers are reflected in the narratives they construct regarding

Conference Session

Evaluation of Ethical Development

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jill L. May, Illinois Institute of Technology; Alan Mead, Illinois Institute of Technology; James Kemp Ellington, Illinois Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

practical application. Moreover,most of the work on applied ethics has focused on individual level development.4 Little attentionhas been paid to how students think about ethics and make decisions at a team level. This lack of Page 24.537.2emphasis on different levels of ethical understanding may not be reflective of how applied ethicsare used in real life situations.Creating assessments for engineering ethics has presented a significant challenge. Assessmentsare often created for single interventions and cannot be applied consistently across thecurriculum.5 Little research has focused on how to effectively assess ethical interventions in

Conference Session

Teaching Approaches for Ethics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Raridon, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Rebecca A. Bates, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Deborah K. Nykanen P.E., Minnesota State University, Mankato; Marilyn C. Hart, Minnesota State University- Mankato; Winston Sealy, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

ethics in a disciplinary context and included anextensive discussion with a philosophy professor about ethical frameworks. The learningapproach was through ethical case studies, long used as an approach to teaching ethics (e.g.,Harris et al., 2013)11. Discipline-based teams discussed and critiqued ethical case studies andwrote reflections. The multidisciplinary context was examined through 1) class-wide discussionsand 2) multidisciplinary, small group discussions where students presented their discipline-basedcase to fellow scholars in other STEM disciplines. The second semester (fall 2013) usedmultidisciplinary projects to explore the broad topic of “garbage”. This is a topic important tosociety that STEM students, especially engineers, will

Conference Session

Understanding our Students & Ethical Development

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Denise Wilson, University of Washington; Mee Joo Kim, University of Washington-Seattle; Rebecca A. Bates, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Elizabeth Burpee

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

report an increasing writtencommunication workload over time.33 If supervised properly, Wheeler and McDonald reportthat writing allows students to develop and use critical thinking skills.34 While engineeringprograms typically incorporate ill-defined problems for capstone projects—another recognized Page 24.674.4tool for developing critical thinking, writing for reflection will also help develop skills forproblem identification, analysis, metacognition and the formation of value judgements.30,35Snyder & Snyder suggest essay questions rather than simple recall to encourage criticalthinking.25In addition to promoting the development of

Conference Session

Evaluation of Ethical Development

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edwin R. Schmeckpeper P.E., Ph.D, Norwich University; Ashley Ater-Kranov, Washington State University; Steven W. Beyerlein, University of Idaho, Moscow; Jay Patrick McCormack, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Patrick D. Pedrow P.E., Washington State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

it was a practice session 30 minutes was allotted. 5. Several students wrote about the process and exercise in their course journals. Overall those who discussed it were very positive about the experience.The following instructor concerns surfaced in reflecting on the exercise. A recommendation foraddress each concern is also proposed.Q: Do we need two practice sessions and two recording sessions or is that overkill?A: Do only one practice session and two record sections. Allocate some general class time after the session to exchange general feedback on the process, the outcomes, and the lessons learned.Q: The instructor assigned teams and additional duties. Should the process be done randomly?A: Yes, students should be

Conference Session

Ethical Behavior in Academia and Beyond

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adeel Khalid, Southern Polytechnic State University (ENG); Beth Stutzmann, RLC- Research Learning Community, Southern Polytechnic State University; Margaret Loraine Lowder, Southern Polytechnic State University; Mir M. Atiqullah, Kennesaw State University; Rajnish Singh, Southern Polytechnic State University; Craig A. Chin, Southern Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

manuals found inlibrary or online. A word cloud generated for responses placed under this category is shownbelow in Figure 3. Figure 3: Word cloud of all responses that were included in the “plagiarism” category was generated and highlights the frequency and types of responses obtained for this category. c. Collaboration: These were responses that reflected: a true collaboration, not just copyingoff each other, and included discussion, teamwork, ‘instructor said you can work in groups’,sharing, using each other’s work, asking friends for help in same class, and forming studygroups. It was difficult to gauge the differences and accurately categorize some responses

Conference Session

Ethical Behavior in Academia and Beyond

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marilyn A. Dyrud, Oregon Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

rather significant typographical error that any competent copy editor shouldhave corrected. Figure 3. Poor website advertisement for a publisher-based conference18Grammatical errors may also be found in the titles of certain journals, such as 66 of the 72journals published by Advance [sic] Research Publications that all begin with the phrase“Journal of Advance Research in. . . .”19 In addition, predatory journal sites tend to be “poorlymaintained,” with dead links, and may include purloined images reproduced without permission.9Explanatory sections on journal websites may exhibit language that reflects poorly on editorialstandards. International Journal of Latest Research in Engineering and Computing, forexample, identifies itself

Conference Session

Teaching Approaches for Ethics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory A. Rulifson, University of Colorado, Boulder; Angela R. Bielefeldt, University of Colorado, Boulder; Whitney Thomas, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics