Technical Papers
Jan 28, 2020

A Comprehensive Overview of Approaches to Teaching Ethics in a University Setting

Publication: Journal of Civil Engineering Education
Volume 146, Issue 2

Abstract

Improving the ethical thinking and analysis of university students is becoming an essential goal of modern curricula and program designers in various disciplines. To support ethics learning via practical applications and decision-making scenarios, ethics instructors are adding innovative methods to their multidisciplinary courses by following creative teaching practices and including diverse activities inside and outside the classroom. In this paper, a review of activities that promote ethics learning and engagement of undergraduate students is presented as a guide to devise a comprehensive framework for applying and promoting ethics. Ethics centers are also introduced as well-organized hubs that plan, organize, and host activities to support ethics teaching and enhance student intellectual growth and community services. The paper is enriched with numerous examples of activities and strategies for instructors and incentives for students extracted from an intensive review conducted on more than 60 ethics centers and 40 syllabi of ethics courses offered in international colleges and universities.

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Data Availability Statement

No data, models, or code were generated or used during the study.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Ms. Hiba Itani and Ms. Dania Salem in reviewing this manuscript.

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Go to Journal of Civil Engineering Education
Journal of Civil Engineering Education
Volume 146Issue 2April 2020

History

Received: May 10, 2019
Accepted: Oct 15, 2019
Published online: Jan 28, 2020
Published in print: Apr 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jun 28, 2020

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Authors

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Research Associate, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, American Univ. of Beirut, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon (corresponding author). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4573-4721. Email: [email protected]
Lecturer, Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Management, American Univ. of Beirut, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon. Email: [email protected]
Issam Srour, A.M.ASCE [email protected]
Associate Researcher, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, American Univ. of Beirut, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon. Email: [email protected]
Ali El-Hajj [email protected]
Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, American Univ. of Beirut, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon. Email: [email protected]

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