scholarly journals An Action Research in Critical Thinking Concept Designed Curriculum Based on Collaborative Learning for Engineering Ethics Course

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2621
Author(s):  
Yi-Chu Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Engineering Ethics ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Peer Evaluation ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ethics Course

(1) Background: Critical thinking, CT, contributes to success in both career and higher education, and may be more important than professional content knowledge. Nevertheless, it is challenging to cultivate CT in a standalone course, especially for the engineering students who think less critically than those in other colleges. (2) Methods: This research incorporated CT concept into 18 weeks curriculum of Engineering·ethics and Society course, with the assistance of collaborative learning process for formative assessment and problem-based learning for summative assessment, in addition to 3 questionnaires to evaluate the progress in CT and collaboration. (3) Results: Both measurements in CT and collaboration improved significantly. In general, the participants enjoyed the course materials and thought these CT and values infused course activities were helpful to the learning. On the other hand, CT was also the most noticeable problem. About one over every five participants lacked the habit to think, while 17% of participants were afraid of complex questions to think. In addition, 10% doubted their CT skills. It concludes that total 46% participants thought CT is their most crucial shortage. (4) Conclusions: the pretest demonstrated the CT of the participants was below the college norm; fortunately, the assistance of the social interaction, including team work practices, peer evaluation, and pressure to push individuals work harder and think deeper, did promote their CT cognitive development.

Engineering Ethics: Improving Pedagogical Methods

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos E. Bertha
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Engineering Ethics ◽  
Philosophy Department ◽  
Ethics Course ◽  
Pedagogical Methods

Engineers like to solve problems. But they tend to like to solve problems that have discrete solutions. As long as they know which formulae apply, the rest is a matter of calculation. When philosophers teach ethics, they often take an approach that seems antithetical to the engineer's methods of solving problems: ethicists teach in terms of "ill-defined problems." For the purposes of this essay, I will assume that it has been fairly well established that engineering students should take an ethics course as part of their curriculum. Having said that, should engineers suffer through an ethics course taught by a philosopher? Or should engineers teach engineering ethics? Should engineering students get a tailored version of the course offered by the philosophy department?

A CONSTRUCTIVISM APPROACH TOWARDS INTEGRATION OF ICT FOR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (26) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharati Chand
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Active Participant ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Integration Of Ict

This paper highlights on constructivism approach by integrating ICT for collaborative learning. Constructivism transforms the learner from a passive recipient of information to an active participant in the learning process. The ICT integrated tools provides learning opportunities with which learners formulate and test their ideas, draw conclusions and inferences, and pool and convey their knowledge in a collaborative learning environment.Learners construct their knowledge actively rather than just mechanically ingesting knowledge from the teacher or the textbook. The ICT integrated collaborative learning techniques, help learners to promote content knowledge, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

scholarly journals Attitude towards Engineering Ethical Issues: A Comparative Study between Malaysian and Indonesian Engineering Undergraduates

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Balamuralithara Balakrishnan ◽  
Mohamed Nor Azhari Azman ◽  
Setyabudi Indartono
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Quantitative Method ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Ethics Education ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Engineering Ethics ◽  
Ethics Course ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches ◽  
Engineering Undergraduates

This investigation reports the outcomes of a comparative study on attitude towards engineering ethical issues between engineering undergraduates of Malaysia and Indonesia. The study was conducted involving 83 Malaysian and 135 Indonesian undergraduates who pursuing their study in engineering programmes. A quantitative method was used in which  a questionnaire was administrated to elicit relevant data. The results of the data analysis showed that the attitude towards engineering ethical issues among Indonesian engineering students was positive and significantly higher than Malaysian engineering students. These findings revealed that various pedagogical approaches for teaching engineering ethics course will have positive impact on students' attitude towards ethics. Therefore, the study findings opens up a new dimension in ethics education which highlighting the importance of teaching strategies in developing the attitude towards engineering ethical issues. This is vital in facilitating in the development of holistic and ethical engineers.

scholarly journals “In Our Own Little World”: Invisibility of the Social and Ethical Dimension of Engineering Among Undergraduate Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae Hoon Lim ◽  
Brittany D. Hunt ◽  
Nickcoy Findlater ◽  
Peter T. Tkacik ◽  
Jerry L. Dahlberg
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Spatial Distance ◽  
Ethical Dimension ◽  
Social Relevance ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
The Social

AbstractThis paper explores how undergraduate students understood the social relevance of their engineering course content knowledge and drew (or failed to draw) broader social and ethical implications from that knowledge. Based on a three-year qualitative study in a junior-level engineering class, we found that students had difficulty in acknowledging the social and ethical aspects of engineering as relevant topics in their coursework. Many students considered the immediate technical usability or improved efficiency of technical innovations as the noteworthy social and ethical implications of engineering. Findings suggest that highly-structured engineering programs leave little room for undergraduate students to explore the ethical dimension of engineering content knowledge and interact with other students/programs on campus to expand their “technically-minded” perspective. We discussed the issues of the “culture of disengagement” (Cech, Sci Technol Human Values 39(1):42–72, 2014) fueled by disciplinary elitism, spatial distance, and insulated curriculum prevalent in the current structure of engineering programs. We called for more conscious effort by engineering educators to offer meaningful interdisciplinary engagement opportunities and in-class conversations on ethics that support engineering students' holistic intellectual growth and well-rounded professional ethics.

Developing an Engaging Online Engineering Ethics Course for Future Engineers

2018 ◽  
pp. 241-265
Author(s):  
Julie M. Little ◽  
Patricia S. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Behavior ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Engineering Ethics ◽  
Whistle Blowing ◽  
Ethics Course ◽  
Online Methods

This chapter describes the process of developing both an engaging and motivating online ethics course for future engineers; and includes major concepts in engineering ethics beginning with why engineering students should study ethics at all. Next the various levels of ethics are examined, which include personal, organizational, and global ethics, and how each level then applies to the profession of engineering. Ethical behavior, ethical dilemmas and whistle-blowing are also defined and discussed. Ethical decision-making models, which are used to solve ethical dilemmas, are explained and examples are presented to engage students in the process. The significance of how engineers are held to higher standard and must adhere to both their professional code of ethics along with their organization's code of ethics is also emphasized. Understanding the role of ethical leadership and how it impacts an organization follows. Finally, engaging online methods for teaching ethics to engineering students will be explored throughout.

Developing Engineering Students’ Moral Reasoning Skills Using Problem-Based Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 123-143
Author(s):  
Maralee Harrell ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Engineering Ethics ◽  
Professional Career ◽  
Ethics Course ◽  
Reasoning Skills ◽  
Collaboration And Communication ◽  
Meta Analyses

Problem-Based Learning has become an increasingly popular instructional method for a variety of disciplines at all levels. Many studies and meta-analyses of these studies have shown the efficacy of this method for developing knowledge and skills. I adopted this method for teaching Engineering Ethics at Carnegie Mellon University, which has as its main course objectives the development of moral reasoning skills, as well as collaboration and communication skills, with special attention given to ethical dilemmas that may arise in the normal course of an engineer’s professional career. In the most recent iteration of the course, I used the Engineering and Science Issues Test as a pretest and posttest to test the development of my students’ moral reasoning skills over the course of the semester. Based on the results of these tests, I argue that the students in my Engineering Ethics course did in fact significantly develop their moral reasoning skills.

THE USE OF CRITICAL THINKING AGAINST FAKE NEWS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra-Niculina Babii
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Informal Logic ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
The Social ◽  
Legal Sanctions ◽  
The One

The digital era has determined a very easy creation and propagation of fake news. As a consequence, it has become harder for people to fight this malicious phenomenon. However, the only weapon that can have results in this informational war is critical thinking. But who should use it? The creators of fake news that do this for different reasons? The social platforms that allow the circulation of fake news with ease? Mass media which does not always verify with much attention and rigour the information they spread? The Governments that should apply legal sanctions? Or the consumer that receives all the fake news, him being the final target? Even if critical thinking would be useful for every actor on fake news’ stage, the one who needs it the most is the consumer. This comes together with the big responsibility placed on his shoulders. Even if others are creating and spreading disinformation, the consumer must be aware and be careful with the information he encounters on a daily basis. He should use his reasoning and he should not believe everything just because it is on the Internet. How can he do that? Critical thinking seems to be a quite difficult tool to use, especially for non-specialized individuals. This paper’s aim is to propose a simplified model of critical thinking that can contribute to detecting fake news with the help of people’s self judgement. The model is based on theories from Informal Logic considering the structure of arguments and on Critical Discourse Analysis theories concerning the patterns found in the content of the information.

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