Collaborative Research: Normalizing Ethical Reasoning in Mathematics as a Foundation for Ethical STEM

数学家们，除了一些例外，还没有描述过以道德的方式实践和使用数学意味着什么。这导致了一种文化，允许与数据相关的丑闻、可疑的专业实践，并降低了公众对科学的信任。通过将伦理推理(ER)整合到本科数学课程中，数学界可以开始改变这样一种看法，即如果数学具有抽象和理论的结构，那么数学实践者就没有伦理责任。考虑到“数学实践者”既是数学的使用者，又是数学的贡献者，本提案试图将ER确立为数学实践的常规组成部分。这个项目不是等到从业者致力于研究生涯，而是针对数学课程(如微积分、微分方程和线性代数)的教师和学生，这些课程是不同STEM领域的基础，并寻求引入可学习的、可改进的技能集(ER)。该项目建立在已出版的伦理推理发展模型的基础上，并对数学从业者对来自数学、统计和计算(其结果被称为“原始指导方针”)的伦理实践的各个方面的看法进行了全国性调查。利用这一基础，该项目寻求在使用数学和对数学做出贡献方面促进完整性。该项目将邀请有兴趣的参与者参加第一年的一个研讨会，以在各自的数学课程背景下开发以ER为特色的学习成果，并起草支持性教学材料。在整个第二年，参与者将通过与企业、行业和政府的焦点小组与利益相关者(包括非教师利益相关者)分享他们对在数学用户和贡献者中建立ER能力的看法。这一意见将有助于阐明教师可以使用和改进的真实问题。在第三年，学员将参加国家和区域讲习班，其他基础数学课程的讲师可以在不同的学生水平上改编经过测试的ER教学材料，以促进在更广泛的学习者中实施。收集的数据将包括材料执行情况的调查数据、与材料的编制和执行有关的定性数据以及对项目利益攸关方的调查和访谈。数据将使用合格的更改算法进行分析。这个项目在公众对STEM研究结果的信仰和信任中服务于国家利益，包括作为数学一部分的结果和涉及数学应用的结果。该项目由改进的本科生STEM教育和伦理与责任研究计划联合资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Mathematicians, with some exceptions, have not described what it means to practice and use mathematics ethically. This has contributed to a culture permissive of data-related scandals, questionable professional practices, and decreased public trust in science. By integrating ethical reasoning (ER) into undergraduate mathematics classes, the mathematics community can begin to alter the perception that, if mathematics features abstract and theoretical constructs, then the mathematics practitioner has no ethical responsibility. Considering the ‘mathematics practitioner’ to be both the user of, and the contributor to, mathematics, this proposal seeks to establish ER as a regular component of mathematical practice. Rather than wait until practitioners have committed to a career in research, this project target instructors of, and students in, math courses (such as Calculus, Differential Equations, and Linear Algebra) that are foundational for diverse STEM fields and seek to introduce a learnable, improvable skill set (ER). The project builds on a published, developmental model of ethical reasoning and a national survey of mathematics practitioners’ perceptions of aspects of ethical practice that were derived from mathematics, statistics, and computing (the results of which we refer to as the “proto-guidelines”) Using this foundation, the project seeks to foster integrity in both the use of, and contribution to, mathematics. The project will invite interested participants to a workshop in Year 1 to develop learning outcomes featuring ER in their respective mathematics course contexts and to draft supportive teaching materials. Throughout Year 2, participants will share their work with stakeholders, including non-instructor stakeholders through focus groups with business, industry, and government about their perceptions of building ER capabilities in users of, and contributors to, mathematics. This input will be useful in formulating authentic problems that instructors can use and refine. In Year 3, participants will attend national and regional workshops where instructors of other foundational mathematics courses, and at different student levels, can adapt the tested ER instruction materials to promote implementation among a broader set of learners. Data collected will include survey data from materials implementation, qualitative data related to the development and implementation of the materials, and surveys and interviews of project stakeholders. Data will be analyzed using a Qualified Change algorithm. This project serves the national interest in the faith and trust the public puts in the results of STEM research, including both that which is part of mathematics and that which involves the use of mathematics.This project is jointly funded by the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education and Ethical and Responsible Research Programs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.