Using Student-Authored Case Studies to Teach Bioengineering Ethics

This activity is considered an NAE Exemplar in Engineering Ethics Education and was included in a 2016 report with other exemplary activities.The activity described here instructs students in a 14-week required bioengineering ethics course to author a case study based on their research and analyze it using methods taught in the course. Based on solid research from two consecutive NSF grants, this activity is exemplary because it recognizes the ill-definednature of ethics and teaches students how to "frame" an ethics issue. This skill is needed to grapple with everyday practical ethics issues, which are not neatly packaged into teaching cases.

Educational Activity Description