Teaching Ethics in Engineering and Computer Science: A Panel Discussion

This paper describes a session at a conference where two engineering professors and a philosophy professor discussed the teaching of ethics in engineering and computer science. The panelists considered the integration of material on ethics into technical courses, the role of ethical theory in teaching applied ethics, the relationship between cases and codes of ethics, the enlisting of support of engineering faculty, the background needed to teach ethics and the assessment of student outcomes. Several audience members contributed comments, particularly on teaching ethical theory and on student assessment.