Advancing Engineering Ethics Education Using Active Learning
- Conference
- Location
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Portland, Oregon
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2024
- Start Date
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June 23, 2024
- End Date
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July 12, 2024
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)
- Tagged Topic
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Diversity
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/46526
Paper Authors
Rajani Muraleedharan Saginaw Valley State University
Dr. Rajani Muraleedharan is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), and the faculty advisor for IEEE Student chapter, Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU), Michigan. Dr. Muraleedharan obtained her Ph.D. at Syracuse University. Her research interest includes wireless communications and networking, computational intelligence, robotics, behavioral science for autistic children, mobile-cloud computing, information and network security in autonomous heterogeneous networks.
Rajani is a strong advocate of diversity and women representation in STEM education, and is being recognized for her contribution at the 12th Annual Ruby Award for upward, bright and young from Great Lakes Bay Region and ‘Young Professional Achievement Recognition Award’ from NAACP Saginaw Branch in 2017. She volunteers towards making lives better for special needs children and adults using assistive technology.
Thomas Wedge Saginaw Valley State University
Erik Trump Saginaw Valley State University
Abstract
In this paper, active learning strategies (role-playing) are employed to teach ethics to electrical engineering students for a holistic understanding of ethics violation and the moral responsibilities associated with seeking justice. An unconventional teaching method is explored that bridges the gap in applying ethical theory to case studies by enacting them. This approach enables students to understand the ethical dilemmas encountered in the profession and encourages them to seek support from authorized personnel rather than remaining bystanders. The research aims to empower students across various engineering programs to positively contribute to ethical responsibility by reevaluating their individual perceptions and embracing new perspectives for making moral judgements. The research outcome is evaluated based on a student survey collected over an academic year, which compares traditional teaching methods with active learning methods in terms of ethical understanding and team collaboration. The survey indicates that 92% of students strongly agree that learning ethics through role-playing leads to a better understanding of ethical responsibility, the impact of biased perceptions and social upbringing. Additionally, the survey suggests that to enhance students’ ethical awareness, a student-centered active learning workshop focusing on the NSPE and IEEE code of ethics would be more effective than quizzes or case studies assignments.
Muraleedharan, R., & Wedge, T., & Trump, E. (2024, June), Advancing Engineering Ethics Education Using Active Learning Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46526
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