| | | SEFI Ethics Special Interest Group Newsletter
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| Coming up in this month’s newsletter: |
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| Motivation, activation and engagement of engineering students remains a challenge for us all as engineering ethics educators and researchers. This newsletter brings two stories of challenge-based learning. • Mandi Astola writes about what it was like as a PhD student to change the challenge-based learning course in a few weeks to a fully online course. She focusses on the (underlying pedagogical) discussion about online platforms for activating courses. • Jordi Segalas writes about their EU project on sustainable design in engineering education. You find freely available learning resources, so feel free to start experimenting yourself. • And, of course, as always, the open calls, news & initiatives, and the recent articles on engineering ethics education, including a including a special issue on Overcoming Challenges to Infusing Ethics into the Development of Engineers in Advances in Engineering Education.
Call: If you have something you want to share in this SEFI Engineering Ethics Education newsletter (great ideas, upcoming workshops, nice experiences, …), let us know.
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Fundamental disagreements about online tools |
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| By Mandi Astola (Eindhoven University of Technology)
My colleagues and me had a fantastic, freshly re-designed challenge-based learning, flip-the-classroom ethics course for 240 students ready, when the pandemic hit. It quickly became evident that the whole course would have to be taught online. This meant that we had to construct an entire online teaching method from scratch very quickly. The most interesting part of this process, to me, was everything we disagreed about. |
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| Some context: I am an ethics PhD student at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Much of my joy and confidence in teaching comes from being able to create a dynamic atmosphere in class. Last year we used activating methods such as coloured pens to make posters on ethical topics or made a demonstration of the trolley problem in class, using a box and glasses of water to represent people on the tracks. I was very sad to learn that we could not do any of that this year.
We had to decide on a teaching platform fast. A colleague and I were responsible for figuring out an online format. We proposed to the following: - Use Canvas for all “official things” like handing in assignments and for conference calls during class
- Use Slack for all asynchronous communication with students and handing in in-class work, with different channels and chats
- Use the online whiteboard “Miro” for students to work in class
Another colleague reacted to this: Why so many platforms? This will just be confusing. Why not just use one platform: Canvas, since you can do everything with it, and the students are already familiar with it. Online teaching is confusing enough, why not make it as simple as possible? I resisted because I find Canvas clunky, stuffy, old-fashioned and undynamic. Slack on the other hand feels smooth, fresh, fun, colourful and dynamic. Just compare the logos, and you can already see what I mean: |
We did it my way eventually and I was satisfied. However, evaluations showed that a few students agreed with my colleague. One said “Online format uses too many apps. I have a ridiculous number of tabs open during every class.” Our disagreement came down to a matter of taste in terms of communication. Is it easier to have one platform that everyone knows, and not waste time on learning to use new ones? Or is it better to risk some confusion for a “better vibe?” Another disagreement was about in-class assignments. Miro is an “online whiteboard” where people can be invited to draw on a board together. Colleagues and I discussed whether the students should be instructed to make their own Miro boards, or whether we should make the boards for them, so that we could also access them and see what they were working on in real-time. My colleague argued that we should have access to their boards, so that we can “jump-in,” observe and help them if needed. After all, this is what we were doing in class last year. I resisted this because I find it incredibly awkward to join a student-groups board randomly. I thought it would feel intrusive. Even though I had no problem walking up to a student group’s table in class. This disagreement came down to a difference in perceptions about privacy. While I felt that an online whiteboard was somehow a “private place” my colleague saw it as a class-activity like any other, and hence not private. The interesting thing about these disagreements is that they were very subjective and rooted in our different experiences with the way technology mediates our connection with the world. Our opinions were deep-rooted and sometimes hard to explain. The choice of platform, for instance, was not a trivial one. I remember feeling very strongly about Slack having a better “feel” than Canvas and this being crucial for our course. There was so much difference in these feelings between just the 5 of us. Hence, I can imagine that there is sometimes a huge gap between what a teacher finds an intuitive online format, and what the student prefers. Cultural and generation differences can probably have a huge impact. What I take away from this is that it is better to ask students or other colleagues about platforms, because their views can differ hugely from yours. I teach my students to approach engineering with intellectual humility, to reach out and listen to different stakeholders and understand their views. We should do the same when we engineer our digital courses. |
Freely Available Learning Resources For Sustainable Design in Engineering Education |
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| By Jordi Segalas (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya UPC-Barcelona Tech) There is an increased interest in education that levels co-creative processes in innovation as developed in challenge-based or design learning. Here you find freely available learning resources for sustainable design in Engineering Education in the field of Design for Sustainability. Feel free to experiment yourself!
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| The field of Design for Sustainability has broadened its theoretical and practical scope over the years. Initial approaches, mostly focused on product innovation, have evolved towards more holistic perspectives, promoting human-centred design. This evolution has been accompanied by an increased need for new knowledge and know-how, requiring designers to be provided with a different set of expertise related to the role of users; such as news ways of involving customers in design projects, and techniques to gather insights and co-design with them sustainable solutions. The “Circular Design Project – Learning for Innovative Design for Sustainability” (http://circulardesigneurope.eu/), an European Project funded by Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliance within the social business and the educational innovation field, aims at addressing the integration of innovative design for sustainability in Higher Education Institutions and design companies. Integrated by 12 European partners, and aligned with European Circular Economy policies, the Project was organised around four hubs in Ireland, The Netherlands, Catalonia and Sweden. Each of these hubs consisted of one university, one design company and one national design association. The main goal of the project was to promote the sustainable consumption and production of products and services in Europe. This has been achieved through the development of knowledge co-creation processes involving key actors of the design field and the development of training materials, through Open Educational Resources, in order to teach and train students, faculty and enterprise staff of the design sector in Design for Sustainability strategies. A number of training sessions and co-creation workshops were carried out along the duration of the project with the participation of companies, design students and design academics. Through the application of participatory action research, project outcomes were discussed and refined and, eventually, the results led to the development of open-source training materials, addressed to the different actors of the design field. All Circular Design training resources: - Best Practice Publication
- Open Educational Resources Database
- International Internships for students scheme
- Professional Development Course and handbook for capacity building
- Policy Brief in Circular Design Education
- Digital Fabrication Lab handbook for Circular Design
are freely available at the project website: http://circulardesigneurope.eu/ |
Open calls - Upcoming events |
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| Building Inclusive Ethical Cultures in STEM: A Virtual Practice-Based Workshop
23-24 April 2021, the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions, Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Texas San-Antonio (online) Call for proposals open (deadline 30 November 2020) |
Special Issue “Engineering Ethics: Bridging the Theory-Practice Gap”, International Journal of Technoethics
Call for papers open (deadline 1 December 2020) |
Australasian Association for Engineering Education Virtual 2020 Conference “Disrupting Business As Usual in Engineering Education”
Registration open |
Great Lakes Philosophy Conference “Ethics in Action” 9-11 April 2021 (online)
Call for abstracts open (deadline 1 February 2021)
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Special Issue Transformative learning for Urban Sustainability: futures of transdisciplinary educational models, structures and tools Call for papers open (deadline 31 March 2021)
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Forthcoming book by James Trevelyan on Learning Engineering
Practice, which is due for release in December. The book is
envisioned to help novice engineers, graduates, students and interns learn to practice engineering,
acquire capabilities that companies value highly, and advance their career
progression. According to Trevelyan, success in engineering depends on working
with technical, business and social factors. The book also provides supervisors
and mentors with a curriculum and language to describe the realities of
engineering practice for effective guidance. More
details about the book. |
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| Call for Papers for a Special Issue on “Transformative learning for Urban Sustainability: futures of transdisciplinary educational models, structures and tools” of the journal Environment, Development and Sustainability. This Special Issue is rooted in the research conducted in two H2020 projects: TrUST: Transdisciplinarity for Urban Sustainability Transition and SHAPE-ID: Shaping Interdisciplinary Practices in Europe. The aim of the publication is to explore how to trigger the process of integration of education institutions with other urban stakeholders in order to promote sustainable urban transformations. The guest editors are Giulia Sonetti (Politecnico di Torino and Università di Torino, Italy) and Bianca Vienni Baptista (ETH Zurich, Switzerland). More information about the call and the topics for consideration. |
ASEE is launching a free online course for the first cohort of the CDEI community-of-practice pilot program, focused on cultivating inclusive communities. The course is for those interested to Learn more about diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in engineering education and aims to build a community of like-minded professionals. More details about the course. |
Engineering ethics education has been present at this year’s virtual edition of the Forum on Philosophy, Engineering and Technology. Video recordings of the talks are available to watch at https://philosophyengineering.com/ , subject to a registration fee of 20$ |
Recent articles and publications |
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| Guest Editorial: Overcoming Challenges to Infusing Ethics into the Development of Engineers: Contributions of an NAE Workshop on Teaching Ethics - link
Author(s): BERNE, R.B. & PFATTEICHER, S.K.A.
ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION
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Overcoming Challenges to Enhance a First Year Engineering Ethics Curriculum - link Author(s): KATZ, A.; REID, K.; RILEY, D. & VAN TYNE, N. ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION |
Engineering Ethics as an Expert-Guided and Socially-Situated Activity - link Author(s): GROHMAN, M.G.; GANS, N.; LEE, E.A; TACCA, M. & BROWN, M.J. ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION |
An Academic – Industry Partnership for Preparing the Next Generation of Ethical Engineers for Professional Practice - link
Author(s): KIM, D.; JESIEK, B.K.; ZOLTOWSKI, C.B.; LOUI, M.C. & BRIGHTMAN, A.O.
ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION |
Integrating Ethics in Engineering Education through Multidisciplinary Synthesis, Collaboration, and Reflective Portfolios - link
Author(s): HITT, S.J.; HOLLES, C.E.P & LEFTON, T.
ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION
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Using the Web to Develop Global Ethical Engineering Students - link
Author(s): TARABAN, R.; MARCY, W.M.; LACOUR, M.S; KODURU, L.; PRASAD, S. & ZASIEKIN
ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION
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Infusing Ethics Across the Curriculum in Biological Engineering: Background, Process, and Initial Results - link Author(s): TANG, X; CATCHMARK, J.F.; MENDIETA, E. & LITZINGER, T.A.
ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION
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Ethics as an outcome of out-of-class engagement across diverse groups of engineering students - link
Author(s): Polmear, M; Chau, A.D. & Simmons, D.R.
AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION
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A qualitative study of how mental models impact engineering students’ engagement with empathic communication exercises - link
Author(s): Sochacka, N.R.; Youngblood, K.M.;Walther, J. & Miller, S.E.
AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION
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| The Ethics SIG Newsletter is issued 8 times per year and aims to share information on cutting edge engineering ethics research and practices. If you would like to join the mailing list please use the form on the SEFI Ethics SIG website.
If you would like to propose an item for the newsletter, please contact [email protected], or [email protected].
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