IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 64

overcome teaching barriers in the
ethics classroom as well as in the
larger workplace. These adaptations
might culminate in any manner of
ways; however, a few examples are
illuminated by Answati and Craig,
such as the simple task of removing language barriers. The use of
colloquialisms and uncommon
metaphors is one example of how
a curriculum which has not considered the diverse student population
creates unintended cultural boundaries [17]. Student feedback enables
the researcher to focus on many
variables such as those revealing
concept mislabeling, metaphorical
problems, and emotional associations [18]. These are elements which
impede the learner from understanding ethical situations. removal
or correction of these elements,
through iterative processes, is just
the beginning of incorporating a
user-centered design.
As students move through the
curriculum offered in the experimental ethics course, as shown in
Fig. 6, Proposed Iterative userCentered Course, they are asked
to assess the course in situ. Their
assessments reveal gaps and
deficiencies in the curriculum.
By incorporating a user-centered
approach into engineering ethics
courses, a void in the treatment of

engineering ethics can be filled.
The students contribute to filling
this current void by offering their
personal iterative feedback regarding the course. The feedback will
be considered and implemented
into the next short course curriculum for re-evaluation. The course
can then be offered online and the
process continued. The content of
the short course will remain flexible, a component of iteration which
Hughes and Hayhoe [19] explain
"...is a legitimate practice ... to
change scenarios or even modify
the prototype being tested to validate a finding" [19]. This lays the
preliminary groundwork for the
continual development of a publicly accessible diversity-inclusive
engineering ethics curricula.
User-Centered Curriculum
and Student Self-Agency
The user-centered approach allows
the student to contribute a personal
perspective to the learning process.
This user's perspective gives the
instructor insight into the varied
ethical opinions in the classroom
and the possible limitations of
the course pedagogy, such as the
inability of the student to identify
with concepts, ethical frameworks,
or vocabulary. For example, 23%
of participating students pointed

Core Ethics
Instruction

Map of Ethical
Judgements

Case Studies

Initial User
Survey

Iterative Course
Content

Exit Survey

out that the term "ethics" was very
confusing to them or that they were
unsure what the term meant (Fig. 2).
Five students tried to explain "ethics" in their language of origin followed by question marks. As they
tried to situate the word in their
own language, they were unable to
translate the meaning into English.
This problem could be addressed
using an iterative design structure
where students assess the course
in-situ. Assessments by the user
are not only valuable to curriculum
development and understanding
student perceptions, but they also
allow the student to evaluate and
take direct responsibility for defining concepts and determining what
is important to the engineering
ethics curriculum. As the student
assesses the course, evaluations can
be implemented and applied back
in to the classroom experience,
thereby encouraging the engagement of more students and the
development of a fully inclusive,
diverse, user-centered, ethics curriculum. Johnson [20] asserts that
students become active implementers and agents of ethical standards
and "...learn how to act with a sense
of responsibility with an awareness
of the ethical dimension of their
actions ... a central issue in curriculum development." Self-agency
and the realization that the student
is in control of this process creates
a better understanding of the relationship between ethical decision
making and the engineering process. By valuing the student's input,
instructors emphasize the human
element and acknowledge, according to Dombrowski [21], "...that
technological progress is ultimately
a human endeavor in which reflection and judgment is as important
as measurement and observation."

Proposed Ethics Curricula
Course Content
Assessment
Fig. 6. Proposed iterative user-centered course.
64

Iteration

Ethical theory does not exist outside
of culture and, as Bucciarelli [22]
points out, the ethical obligation of
engineers to protect the public has
no national borders. It is therefore
IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

SuMMEr 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013