University at Buffalo (UB)
Ethics Case Study and Instructional Guide (EAS330)
By authoring an original case study and accompanying instructional guide, students can use their engineering/computing ethics knowledge to contribute to a rich repository of teaching tools.
Project description
This class project entails writing an original case study in the area of ethics in engineering or computing. Along with the case study, students will create three artifacts that accompany it (data sets, emails, memos, texts, etc.). They will also write an analysis of options available to their character, grounding their reasoning in ethical theories and codes of ethics. To receive the badge, students will transform their analysis into an instructional guide to accompany their case study materials, contributing to a repository of teaching tools.
Engineers and computer scientists can impact thousands of lives and are often put in difficult situations, such as those involving internal pressures and constraints surrounding deadlines and budgets. This is why it’s essential for them to develop a habit of considering the ethical implications of their choices, as even seemingly small, everyday decisions can have unintended consequences. Students will demonstrate their ability to recognize ethically complex situations; describe and evaluate multiple solutions to an ethical problem; describe the ethical implications of an action; and practice moral imagination to understand multiple perspectives, including perspectives of non-engineers.
Project outcome
The project outcome is an original ethics in engineering/computing case study with additional artifacts and an accompanying instructional guide.
Project details
| Length of commitment | 0-2 months |
| Start time | Fall 2022 |
| In-person, remote, or hybrid? | Hybrid |
| Level of collaboration | Collaborative project with individual components |
| Benefits | Academic credit |
| Who is eligible | Students enrolled in EAS330 |
Project mentor
Amy Baird
Assistant Professor of Practice
Department of Engineering Education
Phone: (716) 645-1319
Email: amybaird@buffalo.edu
Start the project
- Ensure you are enrolled in the course for the correct semester.
- Click the button to start the digital badge below.
Preparation activities
Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase.
Preparation for this assignment includes everything you've done in our class up until this point (readings on various ethical issues in engineering/computer science and our class discussions of case studies). You should also read "A Template for Technology Ethics Case Studies" to help think through questions to consider for your case (found here: https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/technology-ethics/a-template-for-technology-ethics-case-studies/).
Keywords
engineering, computer science, philosophy, EAS330: Ethics in Engineering and Computing