Collaborative Research: A Holistic Assessment of the Ethical Development of Engineering Undergraduates

本工程教育计画的pi建议使用电脑评估系统，对工程本科生的伦理发展进行全面评估，评估内容包括伦理决策、人口统计、大学经历等。具体而言，项目总监将开发和测试学生工程道德发展（SEED）调查，以使用道德发展的经验模型评估各种投入的影响。ppi将分析数据并确定那些对道德发展有最积极影响的投入。该项目的结果将是更好地了解课程努力对道德发展的影响，使教育工作者能够改善本科阶段的道德教学。pi建议与全国16个不同的合作机构建立关系，并对合作机构中所有班级的4000名工程本科生进行横断面研究。在项目的开发阶段，还将在每个机构与学生、教师和管理人员进行焦点小组讨论。该项目侧重于伦理发展的三个主要组成部分（伦理知识、伦理推理能力和伦理行为），并包括对美国工程本科生伦理发展产生最积极影响的教育经历（包括课程和课外）和学生环境（包括学生特征和机构文化）的全国性评估。本研究的三个目标是：(1)验证工程本科生伦理发展的实证模型；(2)评估教育经历和学生环境对伦理发展的影响；(3)识别和传播对伦理发展有最积极影响的因素。

The PIs, of this engineering education project, propose to conduct a holistic assessment of the ethical development of engineering undergraduates using a computerized assessment battery that will include items related to ethical decision making, demographics, college experiences, etc. Specifically, the PIs will develop and test the Student Engineering Ethical Development (SEED) Survey to assess the impact of various inputs using an empirical model of ethical development. The PIs will analyze data and identify those inputs that have the most positive impact on ethical development. The outcome of this project will be a better understanding of the impact of curricular efforts on ethical development, allowing educators to improve ethics instruction at the undergraduate level. The PIs propose to establish relationships with sixteen diverse partner institutions nationwide and administer the survey to a cross-sectional study of 4,000 engineering undergraduates at all class levels at the partner institutions. Focus groups will also be conducted at each institution w/ students, faculty and administrators during the development phase of the project. The project focuses on three primary components of ethical development (knowledge of ethics, ethical reasoning ability, and ethical behavior), and it includes a national assessment of educational experiences (including curricular as well as extracurricular) and student context (including student characteristics and institutional culture) that have the most positive impact the ethical development of engineering undergraduates in the United States. The project is guided by three objectives: (1) validate an empirical model of the ethical development of engineering undergraduates, (2) assess the impact of educational experiences and student context on ethical development, and (3) identify and disseminate factors that have the most positive impact on ethical development.