Integrating Ethics into the Curriculum Through Design Courses

Abstract

To address shortcomings in traditional engineering ethics curriculum a series of assignments were integrated into a senior level steel design course. The goal of the ethics component being introduced in a steel design course was to improve student internalization of ethics curriculum through assignments that were relevant to the design class material and everyday practice. An end of semester survey was given to students only taking the design class, taking the class simultaneously with a capstone seminar course that included more traditional ethics curriculum, and only taking the capstone seminar course. Results indicate that integrating ethics assignments into design courses can complement traditional ethics instruction. Students enrolled in both classes responded with more consistent ethical decision outcomes, where students acknowledge other perspectives and were less likely to select decisions that avoid responsibility for their actions. Student responses also indicated a positive experience with the new content delivery method.

Embedding Engineering Ethics in Introductory Engineering Courses using Stand-Alone Learning Modules

“…[8] have designed a class that uses video clips containing re-enactments of published empirical studies that demonstrate why people act unethically. Another common approach of teaching engineering ethics is by embedding it into a design course in the engineering curriculum [9][10][11][12]. A service learning design project is also a great way to expose students to ethics [13].…”