Students taking action on engineering ethics

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to develop a classroom project module that supported students in developing an action plan for ethics. The module connects ABET criteria related to ethics and evolving research in ethics in other disciplines. The module was implemented in the context of a larger project in a junior level heat transfer course. A student survey was developed and measured student perceptions of learning objectives. Students reported they found the activities helpful for building the skill of ethics action planning, particularly the ability to explore multiple solution paths. The results indicate this type of action planning module may play an important role in character development for engineers that goes beyond case studies.