Building Inclusive Ethical Cultures in STEM (The International Library of Ethics, Law and Technology, 42)

This book shares innovative approaches to effectively engage students and faculty working in research labs, lab-based classrooms and courses to build inclusive ethical cultures. The frameworks and approaches presented move beyond traditional research ethics training to strengthen the ethical culture in research labs. The chapters in the book showcase best practices and approaches to embedding educational interventions in courses, research labs and departments. The book is based on the two-day workshop “Building Inclusive Ethical Cultures in STEM” (April 23-24, 2021). Moving beyond the two-day conference that inspired this collected volume, the various chapters address questions like: What are approaches and tools to integrate ethics education in STEM effectively? How can STEM ethics education be improved? What can researchers do to build more inclusive research environments? How can meaningful discussions about ethics be effectively integrated into STEM courses, research labs, and workplace environments? While each chapter takes a different perspective and is located in its respective context, the contributions are united by the goal of effectively including ethical reflection in STEM education. Instructors from both four-year and two-year colleges who teach STEM and lab-based STEM courses; young principal investigators/junior faculty who are in the process of building their research groups; departmental chairs interested in programmatic approaches for improving mentoring, research ethics education, and the research culture of their department, will find this work to be a very valuable resource in their daily practice. Acknowledgments Contents Editors, Authors and Contributors About the Editors About the Authors Contributors Chapter 1: Building Inclusive Ethical Cultures in STEM 1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 Importance of STEM and STEM Ethics Education 1.1.2 STEM Ethics Involves a Broad Spectrum of Topics 1.1.3 Traditional Approaches to STEM Ethics Education 1.1.4 Need for New Approaches 1.1.5 About This Collected Volume References Part I: Introduction: Restructuring Ethics Education in STEM Reference Chapter 2: Social Responsibility and Ethics in STEM Education: The State of the Field 2.1 Introduction 2.2 A Renewed Interest in Ethics and Social Responsibility Education 2.3 What Is Social Responsibility? 2.4 Personal and Professional Social Responsibility 2.5 Efforts to Examine Social Responsibility in STEM 2.6 Ethics and Social Responsibility Education 2.7 Conclusion: Knowledge Gaps and Future Research Opportunities Bibliography Chapter 3: Developing an Ethics Credential for Undergraduate STEM Majors 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Rationale 3.3 Challenges 3.4 Standalone Modules 3.5 Learning Outcomes 3.6 A Sample Module: Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) 3.7 Other Example Activities 3.8 STEM Faculty Assessment of Humanities Assignments 3.9 Extension to an Inclusive Degree 3.10 Conclusion Appendixes Appendix: QALY (Quality-Adjusted Life Years) Module for STEM Faculty Integrating Bioethics Content into Their Courses Day One: John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism Day Two: The QALY Approach to Distributing Rare Health Care Resources Day Three: From the Philosophical to the Personal Assessments References Chapter 4: Ethics Education in Engineering and Technological Institutes in India: Challenges and Looking Forward 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Engineering and Technology and Ethics Education: Challenges 4.3 Ethics and School Curriculum in India 4.4 The Way Forward: Improving Meta-moral Cognitive Skills for Better Ethical Decision Making 4.5 Conclusion References Chapter 5: Embedding Moral Reasoning and Teamwork Training in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering 5.1 Introduction 5.2 History of the Authors’ Collaboration 5.3 Minimodule Design 5.4 Ethics in Action: Art & App Challenge 5.5 Coding Competitions Abound: in Most, Speed Is Critical 5.6 Why Do Prosocial Technologies Matter? 5.7 Envisioning a Happy Future for America References Part II: Introduction: How the Socio-political Context Influences STEM Ethics Education Reference Chapter 6: A Framework for STEM Ethics Education in South Africa: Holding Values Paramount 6.1 Orientation of the Chapter 6.2 Introductory Comments 6.3 The South African Higher Education Landscape 6.4 A Literature Review of Ethics Education in STEM in South Africa 6.4.1 Agricultural Sciences 6.4.2 Engineering 6.4.3 Health Sciences 6.4.4 Mathematics 6.5 Observations 6.6 A Framework for STEM Ethics Education 6.7 Pointers from the South African Discussion and Practices 6.8 Summary References Chapter 7: Ethics Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in Africa: A Reflection on the Successes, Failures and the Way Forward in the Era of a Global Pandemic 7.1 Introduction 7.2 The Concept of STEM Education 7.3 The Concept of Morals, Values and Ethics 7.4 The Status of STEM Education in Africa 7.5 The Integration of STEM in the African Education System 7.6 Commitment of African Higher Education Institutions to STEM 7.7 Ethics in STEM Education 7.8 Conclusion and Implications for Policy and Practice References Chapter 8: Ethics Education in STEM in Eastern Europe, Moral Development or Professional Education? 8.1 Introduction 8.2 A Quest for Unified Features of Ethical Culture in STEM 8.3 Ethics Topics in STEM Education 8.4 Evidence of STEM Ethics Culture in Former Soviet Union Countries: An Empirical Study 8.4.1 Sources of the Study 8.4.2 Research method 8.4.3 Results 8.5 General Observations on STEM Ethics in Former Soviet Countries 8.6 STEM Ethics, Moral Development, or Professional Education? 8.7 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 9: Engineering Ethics Education in China: Development, Promoters, and Challenges for the Future 9.1 Introduction 9.2 An Overview of Engineering Ethics Education in China 9.2.1 Brief History and State of Affairs 9.2.2 Goals of Engineering Ethics Education 9.2.3 Teaching Mode and Content 9.3 Promotors of the Development of Engineering Ethics Education 9.3.1 The Academic Community’s Vigorous Promotion 9.3.2 The Voice and Action of the Industry 9.3.3 Overall Promotion of the National Engineering Education Steering Committee 9.3.4 Promotion of Social Level 9.4 Challenges for the Future 9.5 Conclusion References Chapter 10: Building Ethical Awareness Using Culturally Relevant Practices in STEM Departments 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Culturally Relevant Education 10.3 Building Connections Using Culturally Relevant Practices 10.4 A Model for Inclusion of Culturally Relevant Practices in Engineering Learning 10.5 Examples of Culturally Relevant Educational Activities 10.6 Applying Culturally Relevant Practices to STEM Ethics Education 10.7 Engineering Education Leaders Build Connections References Part III: Introduction: Embedding Ethics Education in Practice Contexts and Labs References Chapter 11: Character Comes from Practice: Longitudinal Practice-Based Ethics Training in Data Science 11.1 Introduction 11.2 RCR Training and Data Science 11.2.1 RCR Programs and Their Flaws 11.2.2 Why We Need RCR Training for Data Science 11.2.3 Finding the Right Blueprint or Rethinking RCR? 11.3 What Should a RCR Program for Data Scientists Look Like? 11.4 Case Study: CODATA-RDA Schools for Research Data Science 11.4.1 First Step: A General Understanding of Ethical Issues in Data Science and Open Science 11.4.2 Second Step: Linking Ethical Content to Data Science Tools 11.4.3 Third Step: Recognizing Context 11.5 Strategies of Resilience 11.6 Concluding Comments: Leveraging Data Science to Foster Ethically Robust Digital Systems References Chapter 12: Encouraging Transparency in Lab Safety via Teachable Moments and Positive Feedback 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Teachable Moments 12.3 Generating Lessons Learned Memos 12.4 Positive Feedback in Safety Inspections 12.5 Why Positive Feedback Worked 12.6 Best Practices 12.6.1 Communication 12.6.2 Learning 12.6.3 Attitude/Mindset 12.6.4 Institutional Structure 12.7 Conclusions References Chapter 13: In Situ Ethics Education Within Research Laboratories: Insights into the Ethical Issues Important to Research Groups and Educational Approaches 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Project Background 13.3 Overview of Initial Workshop Series 13.4 Analyzing the Ethics Guidelines 13.5 Overview of the Guidelines 13.6 Detailed Results 13.6.1 Themes Across All Four Guidelines 13.6.2 Themes Across Three Guidelines 13.6.3 Traditional RCR Topics in the Guidelines 13.6.4 Interpersonal Relationships 13.6.5 Relevant Topics in the Guidelines 13.6.5.1 Social Interactions, Equity, and Equality 13.6.5.2 Supervisor as a Role Model and Mentor 13.6.5.3 Limited Focus on Good Research Practices 13.6.6 Student Influence on the Guidelines Content 13.7 Comparison with Other Study Results 13.8 In Situ Ethics Education on Ethical Issues in STEM Labs 13.9 Developing a Flexible Workshop Module 13.10 Conclusion Appendix Taxonomy Utilized in Quantitative Analysis of Codes, grouped by Themes References Chapter 14: Engineering an Ethical Ethos: Reframing Ethics Education for Engineers and Researchers 14.1 Existing Ethics Education at RNEL 14.2 Ethical Ethos – Philosophical Underpinnings 14.3 Cultivating an Ethical Ethos 14.3.1 Topic Identification 14.3.2 Dialogue/Synthesis 14.3.3 Ownership 14.3.4 Application 14.4 Justice, Inclusion, and the Ethical Ethos 14.4.1 Topic Identification 14.4.2 Dialogue/Synthesis 14.4.3 Ownership 14.4.4 Application 14.5 Responses and Outcomes 14.6 Discussion and Takeaways References Part IV: Introduction: New Approaches in Framing Ethical Issues References Chapter 15: Inclusivity in the Education of Scientific Imagination 15.1 Introduction 15.2 No Imagination Allowed 15.3 A “Typical” Relationship with Imagination 15.3.1 Reflections of a Space Scientist 15.3.2 Imagined Careers 15.4 Improving Imagination Education 15.4.1 Prompting Imagination with Tools 15.4.2 Role Models 15.4.3 Supporting Virtues 15.5 Conclusion References Chapter 16: Tinkering with Technology: How Experiential Engineering Ethics Pedagogy Can Accommodate Neurodivergent Students and Expose Ableist Assumptions 16.1 Introduction 16.2 The Exercise 16.2.1 Inspiration Behind the Exercise 16.2.2 Implementation 16.3 Assessing the Tinkering Exercise Through Triangulation 16.3.1 A Triangulated Answer to RQ1 16.3.2 A Triangulated Answer to RQ2 16.4 Areas for Improvement 16.4.1 Improving the Tinkering Exercise 16.4.2 Limitations of the Research 16.5 Conclusion References Chapter 17: At the Verge of ‘Is’ and ‘Could Be’: Storytelling as Medium to Develop Critical Ethical Skills 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Background and Purpose 17.3 The Storytelling Approach 17.4 Storytelling to Develop Empathy and Understanding 17.5 Truth or Fiction 17.6 Different Forms of Storytelling 17.6.1 Science Fiction 17.6.2 Digital Storytelling 17.6.3 Virtual Reality 17.6.4 Video Games 17.7 Embedding Storytelling into STEM Ethics Training 17.8 Conclusion References Chapter 18: Philosophy in the Rainforest: Reflections on Integrating Philosophy and Fieldwork 18.1 Introduction 18.2 Teaching Undergraduate Ecological Field Research Ethics 18.2.1 The Importance of Undergraduate Research Experiences & Limitations of Traditional Responsible Conduct of Research Training 18.2.2 Ecological Field Research Ethics & Field Philosophy 18.3 Occidental’s Field Ecology-Philosophy Collaboration 18.4 Conclusion References Chapter 19: Building Inclusive Cultures Through Community Research 19.1 Building Inclusive Cultures Through Community Research 19.2 The Importance of Undergraduate Ethics Education 19.3 Community-Based Ethics: An Approach to Undergraduate STEM Education 19.4 Why Community-Based Learning? 19.5 The REACH Process 19.6 Sample Case Study: When to Vaccinate, When to Educate? 19.7 Student and Instructor Feedback 19.8 Comparison with Traditional Approaches to Ethics Case Studies 19.9 Next Steps and Future Directions 19.10 Conclusion Appendixes References