Work in Progress: Introduction to Engineering Ethics through Student Skits in the Freshman Engineering Program at Virginia Tech

An engineering ethics assignment through student skits was piloted in the spring 2006 with 180 freshman students enrolled in an introductory engineering course at Virginia Tech. Students, assigned into groups of 4-8, were given one of five ethics case studies documenting realistic engineering scenarios, a set of guidelines, a performance assessment rubric, and instructed to prepare a 5-10 minute skit integrating the essential elements of the given case study. The student groups were given two weeks to organize, prepare, and practice before performing their skit for the class. Students were required to complete a hand-out, provided during the skit session, identifying which of twelve Rules of Practice as part of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) ethical codes had been violated and provide a brief response to a set of open-ended ethical questions. Results of the student hand-out, student surveys and focus group interviews are discussed