Embedding Ethics in STEM @ LSU
In 2022, the LSU Ethics Institute was awarded a $103,900 Departmental Enhancement Grant from the Louisiana Board of Regents for the project "Embedding Ethics in STEM @ LSU."
During the 2022-2023 academic year, we will carry out this grant by working with STEM faculty affiliates and outside experts to develop course modules that are focused on ethical literacy and moral issues. These modules will be implemented into STEM courses across LSU to supplement and enhance existing course materials, all with the goal of expanding ethics education and awareness throughout STEM courses.
Please contact the Director of the Ethics Institute and grant Principal Investigator, Dr. Deborah Goldgaber, if you have questions about the grant or would like to get involved with this project!
| Current Faculty Affiliates | Department | Modules |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Adam Melvin | Department of Chemical Engineering | |
| Dr. Andrew Webb | Department of Computer Science and Engineering | Disability and the Ethics of Inclusive User Interface Design |
| Data Science | Data Ethics: An Introduction | |
| Dr. Marybeth Lima | Biological and Agricultural Engineering | Reflective Equilibrium and Community-Based Design |
| Dr. Melissa Beck | Department of Psychology | Structural Forces in Research Ethics - Graduate Psychology |
| Dr. Nan (Peter) Liang | Stephenson Department of Entrepreneurship & Information Systems | Social Media and the Public Sphere: Authenticity, Democracy, Experimentation |
| Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering | Biosensor Privacy and Proxy Variable Module | |
| Dr. Prosanta Chakrabarty | Biological Sciences | Structural Forces and Moral Exemplars in Research Ethics - Biology |
| Dr. Roberto Champney | College of Engineering |
- Tuana, Nancy. 2007. “Conceptualizing Moral Literacy.” Edited by Paul Begley. Journal of Educational Administration 45 (4): 364–78. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230710762409.
- Kriegstein, Hasko von. 2023a. “A Primer on Moral Concepts and Vocabulary.” Teaching Philosophy 46 (3): 379–400. https://doi.org/10.5840/teachphil2022722176.
- ———. 2023b. “The Moral Vocabulary Approach.” Teaching Philosophy 46 (3): 367–77. https://doi.org/10.5840/teachphil2022721175.
- O’Neill, Onora. 1984. “Paternalism and Partial Autonomy.” Journal of Medical Ethics 10 (4): 173–78. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27716299
- “ACM Code of Professional Ethics.” n.d. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.acm.org/code-of-ethics.
- “Harvard Embedded Ethics Module Repository.” n.d. Embedded EthiCS @ Harvard. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://embeddedethics.seas.harvard.edu/classes/.
Faculty Affiliates
For the pilot phase of this project, we seek 10 faculty affiliates from STEM disciplines across the University community to work collaboratively with the Ethics Institute over the 2022-2023 academic year. Faculty affiliates will receive a stipend of $3,000 in June 2023 for their participation. LSU faculty members who are interested in becoming faculty affiliates with this project should apply via our Google Form.
Faculty affiliates will work collaboratively with the Ethics Institute over the next year to create tailored course modules fit to specific courses taught by affiliates. Affiliates will receive a stipend of $3,000 in June 2023 for their participation.
We will work closely with STEM faculty to develop engaging modules that will improve students’ ethical literacy and awareness of moral issues in their chosen STEM fields. These modules will supplement and enhance existing course materials; they will be tailored to individual instructional needs, as defined by the course instructor in partnership with the LSU Ethics Institute staff.
Some examples of these modules might include:
- Role playing exercises related to research integrity
- Structured exercises for improving transparency in AI-assisted decision-making
- Using an “ethics audit” for experiment design,” or
- Developing short position papers on the ethical implications of adopting a new technique.
Summer/Fall 2022
- Take a brief survey to identify “gap” in moral literacy in their courses
- Submit a syllabus for the course they wish to produce “embedded” content
- Attend 3 workshops related to moral literacy and pedagogy in STEM. These events will be hybrid to ensure accessibility.
- Select module content areas for their courses (in consultation with Ethics Institute staff)
Spring 2023
- Meet 1-on-1 with the Ethics Institute, working together to design and develop course modules.
- Present modules at in-house conference. These modules will later be made accessible as “open source” available for adoption in other courses.
Fall 2023
- Current modules are now available to view and utilize in coursework.