Design, development, and evaluation of an interactive simulator for engineering ethics education (SEEE)

Area of Science:

• Engineering Education
• Ethics Education

Background:

• Growing emphasis on ethics in engineering curricula from societal, accreditation, and licensing bodies.
• Traditional ethics education methods (dogma, heuristics, case studies) and internet-based resources show limitations in practical application.
• Need for advanced pedagogical tools to develop students' ethical reasoning and response capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and develop an internet-based interactive simulator for engineering ethics education.
• To enhance students' practical skills in identifying, analyzing, and responding to ethical situations.
• To provide an effective tool for fulfilling accreditation requirements, such as those from ABET.

Main Methods:

• Development of a first-person perspective, interactive simulator presenting diverse ethical scenarios.
• Students actively engage by gathering data, assessing situations, and making critical decisions within the simulation.
• Utilizing an internet-based platform for accessibility and widespread application.

Main Results:

• The interactive simulator was statistically shown to be 32% more effective than conventional web-based instruction.
• Students using the simulator develop a stronger capacity for independent ethical problem-solving.
• The simulator is actively employed at the University of Houston for ethics education.

Conclusions:

• Interactive simulation is a highly effective method for engineering ethics education.
• The developed simulator significantly improves instructional effectiveness and practical skill development.
• This approach offers a robust solution for meeting the evolving demands of engineering ethics training.