Can Ethics Instruction Improve Students' Technical Skills in Computer Science?

这个项目将在线道德指导添加到Java和c++编程入门课程中。通过一项对照实验，研究者提出了这样一个问题：道德教学能否在提高学生技术学习的同时取代一些技术材料？实验组在课程中较早接收伦理材料，部分技术材料延迟接收；对照组在课程后期收到伦理材料。期中和期末评估用于确定两组学生在技术和道德方面的学习成果是否存在差异。一套专注于计算机专业人员道德规范的在线材料正在开发中。参与的教师来自四年制大学和社区学院。在线模块可以接触到大量不同的学生，从而确保结果广泛适用。它们将被发布在网上，并在项目结束时可供其他机构收养。有道德意识的计算机专业人员可以通过生产更适合用户需要的更可靠、更安全的计算机系统，广泛地影响软件行业和所有用户。此外，日益强调计算方面的相关社会问题可能会增加妇女和其他在计算方面代表性不足的群体的参与。

This project adds online ethics instruction to introductory Java and C++ programming courses. By means of a controlled experiment, the investigators address the question: Can ethics instruction replace some technical material while simultaneously improving students' technical learning? An experimental group receives the ethics materials early in the course and some technical material is delayed; the control group receives the ethics materials later in the course. Midterm and end of term assessments are used to determine whether there is a difference in learning gains, both technical and ethical, between the two groups. A set of online materials focused on ethics for computing professionals is under development. Participating faculty are from both four-year institutions and community colleges. The online modules allow a large, diverse population of students to be reached, consequently ensuring that the results are broadly applicable. They will be posted online and available for adoption by other institutions at the end of the project.Ethically aware computer professionals can be expected to broadly impact the software industry and all users by producing more reliable, safer computer systems that are more appropriate for user needs. Furthermore, an increased emphasis on relevant social issues in computing is likely to increase participation by women and other groups underrepresented in computing.