REFLECTIVE AND DIALOGICAL APPROACHES IN ENGINEERING ETHICS EDUCATION

In Shannon Chance, Tom Børsen, Diana Adela Martin, Roland Tormey, Thomas Taro Lennerfors & Gunter Bombaerts (eds.), The Routledge international handbook of engineering ethics education. New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 441-458 (2025)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

This chapter addresses the challenges of implementing reflective thinking in engineering ethics education (EEE). It examines existing methods for teaching ethical reflection in EEE and argues that pedagogical activities aiming to foster ethical reflection need to be infused with dialogical interactions and, at a deeper level, informed by dialogism. Dialogism is understood as a relational approach to inquiry in which interactions between moral agents enable them to develop their own understandings through the process of finding shared meanings with the others in activities such as sharing reasons and deliberation. Drawing on pragmatism and phenomenology, the authors conceptualize reflection as a mode of thinking that enables us to monitor and question our assumptions and values – and to synthesize experiences and situations continuously and iteratively. Classroom reflection is a nuanced practice that can be captured through experiential, first-person accounts. Given the centrality of the dialogical experiences in reflection, the assessment methods should focus on evaluating the process rather than the learning outcomes, by emphasizing self-awareness, transformation, and spontaneity in class interactions. In creating opportunities for reflection, instructors need to purposefully consider their choice of specific cases and scenarios used in instruction. Students should be guided to recognize and engage in ethical situations by considering their full, diverse, and complex contextual reality, their own assumptions, values, and experiences, and by promoting dialogical practices in the classroom.

Author Profiles

Lavinia Marin
Delft University of Technology
Alexandra Morrison
Michigan Technological University
Cristina Andreea
University of Bucharest

Analytics

Added to PP
2024-12-30

Downloads
79 (#100,138)

6 months
79 (#72,883)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?