TY - GEN
T1 - Case studies and online training used to enhance engineering ethics at the undergraduate and graduate level
AU - Vlcek, Brian L.
AU - Haynes, Eleanor
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - In a progressively materialistic and relativistic society, professional engineering ethics has become an increasingly important safeguard, but remains neglected in most formal engineering education. In response, at our university ethics content has been implemented and measured in both an undergraduate and graduate engineering course as a trial for further implementation across the university. In a senior-level seminar course, instructional emphasis was placed upon ethics in general, and engineering case studies readings reinforced with written responses were used to more effectively impart discipline specific knowledge. Other written activities such as current event articles and term papers with ethical content were implemented to promote higher level cognitive reasoning skills Students were surveyed at the end of the course and submitted work analyzed using a rubric to assess learning. On senior exit surveys, program graduates identified a 17.1 increase from 2009 to 2011 in their ability to understand professional, ethical and social responsibilities-this timeline was concurrent with the sited changes in the seminar course. For the graduates, emphasis was placed upon ethics with regards to research. An online series of training modules that meets the NSF minimum content as expressed by the COMPETES Act was used in the graduate course to supplement instructor lectures. In the case of the graduate learning experience, a pre and post training survey was conducted to determine changes in knowledge and understanding as a result of ethical training. On a pre-survey, fortyeight percent of the graduate students demonstrated a lack of understanding with regards to ethical issues relating to authorship. Fifty-two percent of graduate students pretested also incorrectly responded that a conflict of interest was always an issue of academic misconduct. These misconceptions were minimized by the end of the online training. Additionally, embedding profession ethics content into a senior-level seminar course has contributed significantly to satisfying our ABET learning outcomes and program objectives, while the graduate-level training has begun a fundamental change in the ethical culture of our graduate student researchers.
AB - In a progressively materialistic and relativistic society, professional engineering ethics has become an increasingly important safeguard, but remains neglected in most formal engineering education. In response, at our university ethics content has been implemented and measured in both an undergraduate and graduate engineering course as a trial for further implementation across the university. In a senior-level seminar course, instructional emphasis was placed upon ethics in general, and engineering case studies readings reinforced with written responses were used to more effectively impart discipline specific knowledge. Other written activities such as current event articles and term papers with ethical content were implemented to promote higher level cognitive reasoning skills Students were surveyed at the end of the course and submitted work analyzed using a rubric to assess learning. On senior exit surveys, program graduates identified a 17.1 increase from 2009 to 2011 in their ability to understand professional, ethical and social responsibilities-this timeline was concurrent with the sited changes in the seminar course. For the graduates, emphasis was placed upon ethics with regards to research. An online series of training modules that meets the NSF minimum content as expressed by the COMPETES Act was used in the graduate course to supplement instructor lectures. In the case of the graduate learning experience, a pre and post training survey was conducted to determine changes in knowledge and understanding as a result of ethical training. On a pre-survey, fortyeight percent of the graduate students demonstrated a lack of understanding with regards to ethical issues relating to authorship. Fifty-two percent of graduate students pretested also incorrectly responded that a conflict of interest was always an issue of academic misconduct. These misconceptions were minimized by the end of the online training. Additionally, embedding profession ethics content into a senior-level seminar course has contributed significantly to satisfying our ABET learning outcomes and program objectives, while the graduate-level training has begun a fundamental change in the ethical culture of our graduate student researchers.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84887273380&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1115/IMECE2012-87833
DO - 10.1115/IMECE2012-87833
M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:84887273380
SN - 9780791845219
T3 - ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Proceedings (IMECE)
SP - 475
EP - 492
BT - Education and Globalization; General Topics
PB - American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
T2 - ASME 2012 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, IMECE 2012
Y2 - 9 November 2012 through 15 November 2012
ER -