Project Info
Understanding the Cultures of Ethics Education at Mines: Formal and Informal Mechanisms of Engineering Student Learning of Personal, Social, and Professional Responsibility
Dean Nieusma | nieusma@mines.edu and Qin Zhu | qzhu@mines.edu
The proposed project intersects with several dimensions of engineering ethics instruction and research, but shifts attention from assessing the relative effectiveness of different educational approaches and modalities (that most prevalent approaches to engineering ethics education focus on) to how students experience and navigate the broader educational cultures and contexts within which such initiatives are offered and made meaningful. The overarching objective of this project is to characterize how students experience the educational culture at Mines, across a variety of programs, as it shapes their perceptions and practices concerning engineering ethics broadly construed.
Elucidate the interdisciplinary nature of the project
This project calls for interdisciplinary expertise from a variety of fields such as ethics, cultural studies, engineering education, and STS (science and technology studies). This project is novel as it compares different dimensions (personal, societal, and professional) of students’ ethics education experiences and examines their experiences in specific institutional and educational cultures. Undergraduate researchers will receive interdisciplinary research experience under the mentorship of faculty members from two departments: Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences (HASS) and Engineering, Design and Society (EDS).
More Information
Nieusma, D., & Cieminski, M. (2018, June), Ethics Education as Enculturation: Student Learning of Personal, Social, and Professional Responsibility Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, Utah. https://peer.asee.org/30443
Nieusma, D., & Malazita, J. W. (2016, June), “Making” a Bridge: Critical Making as Synthesized Engineering/Humanistic Inquiry Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.26234
Zhu, Q., & Jesiek, B. (2017). A Pragmatic approach to ethical decision-making in engineering practice: Characteristics, evaluation criteria, and implications for instruction and assessment. Science and Engineering Ethics, 23(3), 663-679.
Grand Engineering Challenge: Advance personalized learning
Student Preparation
Qualifications
– basic knowledge of ethical and social scientific theories (e.g., completed NHV and Human Systems/Global Studies classes)
– critical thinking mindset/disposition in understanding the cultures of engineering education
– highly motivated and responsible
– (preferred but not required) some basic qualitative research skills including interview skills and coding techniques; research skills including literature search and review
Time Commitment
20 hours/month
Skills/Techniques Gained
– basic understanding of qualitative research skills including interviews, coding, theory-building;
– fundamental research skills that are transferable to other STEM fields such as choosing research questions, study
design, data collection and interpretation, etc.;
– some basic understanding of STEM education theories such as backward design, competence/outcome-based assessment, etc.;
– interdisciplinary collaboration knowledge and skills.
Mentoring Plan
The faculty mentors plan to hold (bi-)weekly meetings with the student researcher and guide the student researcher through the whole research project. Before the meeting, the faculty mentors will assign readings and specific tasks associated with the readings. The faculty mentors will also provide timely feedback on the performance of the student researcher. After the student researcher has become familiar with the goals of this project and the tools and methods used in this project, the faculty mentors will encourage the student researcher to conduct some relatively independent research and exploration. It is hoped that the student can develop research knowledge, skills, and leadership while the faculty mentors can achieve the expected goals of this project which will be the fundamental work for future NSF grant proposals.