Assessing Engineering Students’ Ethics Learning: Model of Domain Learning Framework
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 145, Issue 1
Abstract
The aim of this work was to examine the use of the Model of Domain Learning (MDL) framework to determine the level of students’ ethics learning during their progress in the engineering curriculum, considering three constructs through which learning is gained: knowledge, strategic processing, and interest. The MDL has been validated and used in different fields to predict the stages of student development and its relation to important constructs contributing to learning. This study was conducted to demonstrate that the MDL framework is effective in assessing ethics learning in engineering education. For this purpose, a questionnaire was developed based on the MDL framework and administered to 940 students from freshmen to seniors. The questionnaire consisted of 31 items divided into three sets of questions: (1) demographics, (2) multiple choices to measure knowledge and strategic processing, and (3) Likert scale to measure students’ interest level in ethics. The results revealed that there is a progressive increment in knowledge and strategic processing as students advance in their studies, while the level of interest remains statistically the same, and a significant correlation between knowledge and strategic processing in the development of ethical awareness and reasoning in engineering students. Consequently, the assessment instrument based on the MDL framework can be used to effectively measure the ethics learning in engineering education in a progressive form, taking into consideration the components and stages of learning.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DUE 1141001.
References
ABET. 2018. “ABET criteria for accrediting engineering programs.” Accessed April 18, 2018. http://www.abet.org/accreditation/accreditation-criteria/criteria-for-accrediting-engineering-programs-2018-2019/.
Alexander, P. A. 2003. “The development expertise: The journey from acclimation to proficiency.” Educ. Res. 32 (8): 10–14. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X032008010.
Alexander, P. A., T. L. Jetton, and J. M. Kulikowich. 1995. “Interrelationship of knowledge, interest, and recall: Assessing a model of domain learning.” J. Educ. Psychol. 87 (4): 559–575. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.87.4.559.
Alexander, P. A., K. P. Murphy, B. S. Woods, K. E. Duhon, and D. Parker. 1997. “College instruction and concomitant change in students’ knowledge, interest, and strategy use: A study of domain learning.” Contemp. Educ. Psychol. 22 (2): 125–146. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1997.0927.
Alexander, P. A., C. T. Sperl, M. M. Buehl, H. Fives, and S. Chiu. 2004. “Modeling domain learning: Profiles from the field of special education.” J. Educ. Psychol. 96 (3): 545–557. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.96.3.545.
ASCE. n.d. “Code of ethics.” Accessed April 18, 2018. https://www.asce.org/code-of-ethics.
ASME. n.d. “Code of ethics.” Accessed April 18, 2018. https://commmunity.asme.org/colorado_section/w/wiki/8080.code-of-ethics.aspx.
Barry, R. L., and E. G. Seebauer. 2001. Fundamentals of ethics for scientists and engineers. New York: Oxford University Press.
Borenstein, J., M. J. Drake, R. Kirman, and J. L. Swann. 2010. “The engineering and science issues test (ESIT): A discipline specific tool to assessing moral judgments.” Sci. Eng. Ethics 16 (2): 387–407. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-009-9148-z.
Chipperfield, S., K. Yoder, S. Kulturel-Konak, and A. Konak. 2015. “Living in an international world: Assessing students’ global awareness.” In Proc., Spring 2015 ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Conf., 300–308. Washington, DC: American Society for Engineering Education.
Davis, M., and A. Feinerman. 2012. “Assessing graduate student progress in engineering ethics.” Sci. Eng. Ethics 18 (2): 351–367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-010-9250-2.
Drake, M. J., P. M. Griffin, R. Kirkman, and J. L. Swann. 2005. “Engineering ethical curricula: Assessment and comparison of two approaches.” J. Eng. Educ. 94 (2): 223–231. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2005.tb00843.x.
ECEC (European Council of Engineers Chambers). 2008. “Code of conduct for European chartered engineers issued by ECEC.” Accessed April 18, 2018. http://www.ecec.net/fileadmin/pdf/ECEC-Code-of-Conduct.pdf.
ENAEE (European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education). n.d. “Standards and guidelines for accreditation of engineering programmes.” Accessed April 18, 2018. http://www.enaee.eu/wp-assets-enaee/uploads/2015/04/EAFSG-Standards-and-Guidelines-section-2.pdf.
Engineering Council. 2014. “The accreditation of higher education programmes: UK standard for professional engineering competence.” Accessed April 18, 2018. http://www.engc.org.uk/engcdocuments/internet/Website/Accreditation%20of%20Higher%20Education%20Programmes%20third%20edition%20(1).pdf.
Engineers Australia. 2008. “Accreditation criteria guidelines.” Accessed April 18, 2018. https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/content-files/2016-12/G02_Accreditation_Criteria_Guidelines.pdf.
Engineers Australia. 2018. “Code of ethics.” Accessed April 18, 2018. https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/ethics.
Engineers Canada. 2016. “Code of ethics.” Accessed April 18, 2018. https://engineerscanada.ca/code-of-ethics.
Engineers Canada. 2017. “Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board: 2017 accreditation criteria and procedures.” Accessed April 18, 2018. https://engineerscanada.ca/sites/default/files/accreditation-criteria-procedures-2017.pdf.
Engineers Ireland. 2017. “Code of ethics.” Accessed April 18, 2018. https://www.engineersireland.ie/getattachment/dda7c8d0-d159-4027-b189-86f76fb794a0/Revised-Code-of-Ethics.pdf.aspx.
Finelli, C. J., M. A. Holsapple, E. Ra, R. M. Bielby, B. A. Burt, D. D. Carpenter, T. S. Harding, and J. A. Sutkus. 2012. “An assessment of engineering students’ curricular and co-curricular experiences and their ethical development.” J. Eng. Educ. 101 (3): 469–494. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2012.tb00058.x.
Hidi, S., and K. A. Renninger. 2006. “The four-phase model of interest development.” Educ. Psychol. 41 (2): 111–127. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep4102_4.
Hu, L. T., and P. M. Bentler. 1999. “Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives.” Struct. Equ. Model. Multi. J. 6 (1): 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118.
IEEE. n.d. “IEEE code of ethics.” Accessed April 18, 2018. https://www.ieee.org/about/corporate/governance/p7-8.html.
IEE Japan (Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan). 2013. “Code of ethics.” Accessed April 18, 2018. http://www.iee.jp/wpcontent/uploads/2014/01/code_of_ethics.pdf.
JSCE (Japan Society of Civil Engineers). 2014. “Code of ethics for civil engineers.” Accessed April 18, 2018. http://www.jsce-int.org/about/p_engineer.
Konak, A., S. Kulturel-Konak, G. E. Okudan Kremer, and I. E. Esparragoza. 2015. “Teamwork attitude, interest, and self-efficacy: Their implications for teaching teamwork skills to engineering students.” In Proc., 45th Frontiers in Education Conf., 610–612. El Paso, TX: IEEE.
Kulturel-Konak, S., A. Konak, G. E. Okudan-Kremer, and I. E. Esparragoza. 2015. “Professional skills assessment: Is a model of domain learning framework appropriate?” Int. J. Qual. Assur. Eng. Technol. Educ. 4 (1): 33–60. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJQAETE.2015010104.
Langan, D., and J. Athanasou. 2005. “Testing a model of domain learning in music therapy.” J. Music Ther. 42 (4): 296–312. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/42.4.296.
Lawless, K. A., and J. M. Kulikowich. 1998. “Domain knowledge, interest, and hypertext navigation: A study of individual differences.” J. Educ. Multimedia Hypermedia 7 (1): 51–70.
Murphy, P. K., and P. A. Alexander. 2002. “What counts? The predictive powers of subject-matter knowledge, strategic processing, and interest in domain-specific performance.” J. Exp. Educ. 70 (3): 197–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220970209599506.
NAE (National Academy of Engineers). 2014. “Resources for engineering and science ethics.” Accessed May 5, 2014. https://www.onlineethics.org/Resources/Cases.aspx.
NSPE (National Society of Professional Engineers). 2018. “NSPE code of ethics.” Accessed April 18, 2018. https://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics.
Ozar, D. T. 2001. “Learning outcomes for ethics across the curriculum programs.” Teach. Ethics 2 (1): 1–27. https://doi.org/10.5840/tej2001211.
Rest, J., D. Narvaez, S. J. Thoma, and M. J. Bebeau. 1999. “DIT2: Devising and testing a revised instrument of moral judgment.” J. Educ. Psychol. 91 (4): 644–659. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.91.4.644.
Rest, J., S. J. Thoma, D. Narvaez, and M. J. Bebeau. 1997. “Alchemy and beyond: Indexing the defining issues test.” J. Educ. Psychol. 89 (3): 498–507. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.89.3.498.
Rousseeuw, P. J. 1987. “Silhouettes: A graphical aid to the interpretation and validation of cluster analysis.” J. Comput. Appl. Math. 20: 53–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-0427(87)90125-7.
Royal Academy of Engineering. n.d. “Engineering ethics.” Accessed April 18, 2018. https://www.raeng.org.uk/policy/engineering-ethics/ethics.
Schrader, P., and M. McCreery. 2008. “The acquisition of skill and expertise in massively multiplayer online games.” Educ. Technol. Res. Dev. 56 (5–6): 557–574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-007-9055-4.
Self, D. J., and E. M. Ellison. 1998. “Teaching engineering ethics: Assessment of its influence on moral reasoning skills.” J. Eng. Educ. 87 (1): 29–34. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.1998.tb00319.x.
Shen, B., A. Chen, and J. Guan. 2007. “Using achievement goals and interest to predict learning in physical education.” J. Exp. Educ. 75 (2): 89–108. https://doi.org/10.3200/JEXE.75.2.89-108.
Shuman, L. J., M. Besterfield-Sacre, and J. McGourty. 2005. “The ABET ‘professional skills’—Can they be taught? Can they be assessed?” J. Eng. Educ. 94 (1): 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2005.tb00828.x.
Shuman, L. J., R. M. Clark, M. Besterfield-Sacre, and T. P. Yildirim. 2008. “Work in progress—Ethical model eliciting activities (E-MEA)—Extending the construct.” In Proc., 38th Frontiers in Education Conf., S4C-16–S4C-17. Saratoga Springs, NY: IEEE.
Sindelar, M., L. J. Shuman, M. Besterfield-Sacre, R. Miller, C. Mitcham, B. Olds, R. Pinkus, and H. Wolfe. 2003. “Assessing engineering students’ abilities to resolve ethical dilemmas.” In Proc., 33rd Frontiers in Education Conf., S2A-25–S2A-31. Boulder, CO: IEEE.
Vance, K., A. Konak, S. Kulturel-Konak, G. Okudan Kremer, and I. Esparragoza. 2015. “Teamwork efficacy, attitudes and interest: Insights on their relationships.” In Proc., Spring 2015 ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Conf., 429–441. Villanova, PA: American Society for Engineering Education.
Vanderbilt University Center for Ethics. 2014. “Center of ethics.” Accessed May 5, 2014. https://www.vanderbilt.edu/CenterforEthics/cases.html.
VanSledright, B. 2002. In search of America’s past: Learning to read history in elementary school. New York: Teachers College Press.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 16, 2018
Accepted: Jun 13, 2018
Published online: Oct 19, 2018
Published in print: Jan 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Mar 19, 2019
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.