Pedagogy of Engagement: Exploring Three Methods in an Engineering Ethics and Professionalism Course
- 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/47836
Paper Authors
Jessica Wolf University of British Columbia
Jessica Wolf is a PhD student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UBC. Her research focuses on equity issues in engineering education, particularly looking at the impacts of engineering outreach programs on historically marginalized groups in STEM.
Gayatri Gopalan University of British Columbia
Gayatri Gopalan is a PhD student in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests lie in exploring questions of critical pedagogical and educational responsibility within dominant neoliberal, increasingly neoconservative, and (post/de)colonial discourses that frame curriculum and teaching practices.
Christoph Johannes Sielmann P.Eng. University of British Columbia
Dr. Sielmann is an Assistant Professor of Teaching at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Mechanical Engineering supporting both Mechatronics and Manufacturing Engineering programs. His research interests including multi-campus instruction, decolonization in engineering, and engineering ethics.
Abstract
This paper explores the role of three pedagogical interventions in engineering students’ learning about ethical and professional conduct, with a particular focus on affective engagement. Many transformative efforts involving equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization are centered on ethics as a justifying principle, which further stresses the need to cultivate an ethical orientation in engineering practice, beyond specific knowledge. A new course on professionalism and ethics was introduced as a platform to explore scalable pedagogical approaches to enhance engagement and achieve affective learning outcomes in engineering ethics. The learning activities were designed to stimulate critical thinking about social aspects of engineering and to reframe the traditionally technical obligations of the engineer within sociopolitical and equity-oriented structures. Through a qualitative analysis of student experiences, assignments, and reflections as part of the course, this paper evaluates the impact of three pedagogical methods on student engagement with ethical questions surrounding their decision-making as both individuals and as future engineers. The three methods being studied are Virtue Points, a tool that encourages self-reflection by contrasting personal and professional virtues, an adapted ‘Spectrum Game’ based on concepts presented by Jubilee Media, and a modified Pisces Game used to explore Tragedy of the Commons. Early findings show positive engagement with both the Pisces Game and Spectrum Game, with many students describing these two as particularly impactful and enjoyable. Virtue Points yielded results that surprised many students, and there are indications that the redesign of the scoring system for the game may promote better understanding of how it can support self-reflection on virtues.
Wolf, J., & Gopalan, G., & Sielmann, C. J. (2024, June), Pedagogy of Engagement: Exploring Three Methods in an Engineering Ethics and Professionalism Course Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47836
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