Making Ethics Explicit: Relocating Ethics to the Core of Engineering Education

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

MAKING ETHICS EXPLICIT: RELOCATING ETHICS TO THE CORE OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION This Ethics Education in Science and Engineering award supports an interdisciplinary effort to transform engineering ethics education by developing pedagogical approaches that engage students in innovative ways. Engineers and social scientists will work collaboratively to study problem-based learning as a strategy to incorporate cutting edge research into ethics curricula. The project incorporates two interrelated research and education components: 1) develop innovative pedagogical approaches to engage with students? emotions and existing value systems; and 2) explore how student-directed, problem-based learning can place ethics at the core of the curriculum. The research team includes the four PIs at University of California Berkeley and collaborators from the University of California, Los Angeles and from the 3TU Centre for Ethics and Technology at the three technical universities in the Netherlands. The project creates a diversity of research experiences for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, including opportunities to: 1) become involved in curriculum evaluation and development, 2) create new curriculum materials and resources, 3) participate in an advanced, intensive ethics summer program, 4) incorporate ethics components into their dissertations, and 5) contribute to the ethics research community. The broader impacts include an active program of dissemination via peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations, as well as substantial curriculum development, such as course modules, an advanced undergraduate course, an intensive summer graduate program, and a concise textbook-style resource. All course materials will be made available to other institutions through the NSF-funded online resource center, The National Professional and Research Ethics Portal (http://nationalethicsresourcecenter.net) as well as the Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Research (http://onlineethics.org). By involving students in research and curriculum development, our project enables new scholars to incorporate ethics into their research programs and teaching activities.