Engineering Ethics Education for Social Justice: Implementation and Preliminary Data

This work-in-progress paper describes a new course in engineering ethics focused on social justice and preliminary data we have collected as part of a quantitative study on its effectiveness. This course was designed using the Understanding by Design approach. Unlike traditional engineering ethics classes, it has a strong focus on social justice. It asks students to reconsider what it means to be an ethical engineer, with particular attention to listening as a core engineering skill. The course has been implemented at two institutions, the University of Florida and New Jersey Institute of Technology. We are in the beginning stages of collecting data on its effectiveness, using measures of perspective taking and moral efficacy.