Date: Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Time: 9:30am-12:30pm
Location: Meeting Room 324
Teaching applied ethics in computer science has shifted from a perspective of teaching about professional codes of conduct and an emphasis on risk management towards a broader understanding of the impacts of computing and the principles and practices of responsible computing. There is an increased recognition that students need intentional and consistent opportunities throughout their computer science education to develop the critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and cultural competency skills to understand their roles and professional duties in the responsible design, implementation, and management of complex socio-technological systems. One of the primary shifts in the approach to teaching computing ethics comes from research in the social sciences and humanities. This position is grounded in the idea that all computing artifacts, projects, tools, and products are situated within a set of ideas, attitudes, goals, and cultural norms. Through teaching students critical analysis methods, instructors can help them to identify potential biases, flaws, and unintentional harms in applications or systems and they can examine the underlying assumptions driving those designs and work with others to correct them.
The purpose of this affiliated event is to highlight current scholarship, principles, and practices in the teaching of responsible computing in undergraduate computer science settings. The session will be organized around four objectives providing participants with a: 1) high-level rationale for the adoption of different pedagogical approaches based on program context and course learning goals, 2) brief review of responsible computing pedagogical approaches; 3) set of illustrative examples of how topics within the CS 2023 Social, Ethical, and Professional (SEP) knowledge area can be implemented and assessed across the broad spectrum of undergraduate computing courses; and 4) a collaborative design session with a basis in a set of 4-6 solicited activities with materials on current best practices, tools, and resources for faculty to build responsible computing teaching into their own instructional settings.
9:30-9:50am: Stacy Doore
High-level rationale for the adoption of different pedagogical approaches
9:50-9:55am: Q&A
9:55-10:15am: Atri Rudra
Brief review of responsible computing pedagogical approaches
10:15-10:20am: Q &A
10:20-10:40am: Richard Blumenthal
How Regis University is addressing CS2023 in their curriculum
10:40-11:00am: Stacy Doore
11:00-11:20am: Dalia Muller
11:20-11:30am: Break
11:30am-12:30pm: Hands on Activities (in parallel)
Activity 1: Richard Blumenthal (Regis University and CS2023)
Activity 2: Stacy Doore (Computing Ethics Narratives project)
Activity 3: Dalia Muller (Impossible Project) [Slides]
We solicit a short (1-2 pages) activity proposal as part of the workshop. The activity should be based on an undergraduate course intervention/instrument that relates to responsible computing. We encourage activities based on a course intervention that has already been implemented in an undergraduate computing class. If chosen, you are expected to present the activity at the workshop.
Please fill in this Google form if you want to present an activity in the workshop.
Deadline to fill in the form is February 10, 2025 (AoE).
Michelle Trim, UMass Amherst
Stacy Doore, Colby College
Richard Blumenthal, Regis University
Atri Rudra, University at Buffalo
Joycelyn Streator, Prarie View A&M University and Mozilla Foundation
Bobby Schnabel, University of Colorado Boulder