Abstract
This paper describes a second generation Simulator for Engineering Ethics Education. Details describing the first generation activities of this overall effort are published in Chung and Alfred (Sci Eng Ethics 15:189–199, 2009). The second generation research effort represents a major development in the interactive simulator educational approach. As with the first generation effort, the simulator places students in first person perspective scenarios involving different types of ethical situations. Students must still gather data, assess the situation, and make decisions. The approach still requires students to develop their own ability to identify and respond to ethical engineering situations. However, were as, the generation one effort involved the use of a dogmatic model based on National Society of Professional Engineers’ Code of Ethics, the new generation two model is based on a mathematical model of the actual experiences of engineers involved in ethical situations. This approach also allows the use of feedback in the form of decision effectiveness and professional career impact. Statistical comparisons indicate a 59 percent increase in overall knowledge and a 19 percent improvement in teaching effectiveness over an Internet Engineering Ethics resource based approach.
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The authors are grateful to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for providing fellowship funding that helped support the development of the Simulator for Engineering Ethics Education. The authors would also thank the National Society of Professional Engineers for their permission to utilize the NSPE’s code of ethics as a basis for the Simulator for Engineering Ethics Education.
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Alfred, M., Chung, C.A. Design, Development, and Evaluation of a Second Generation Interactive Simulator for Engineering Ethics Education (SEEE2). Sci Eng Ethics 18, 689–697 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-011-9284-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-011-9284-0