Evaluation of First-Year Student's Learning of Engineering Ethics in a Blended PBL Course

There has been a growing call to nurture and prepare current engineering graduates to think and act ethically as the products designed by engineers have both individual and societal implications. Engineering ethics revolves around the professional obligation of engineers to society, their employers, and the profession. Engineering codes of ethics commonly referred to as fundamental cannons form the base for engineering ethics education. It focuses on micro ethical issues, fundamental overarching responsibility to protect human health, welfare, and the environment or promote sustainable development. Engineering ethics was introduced to first-year engineering students as part of a PBL based course, which was taught in a blended mode due to the disruptions caused by the COVID19 pandemic. This study attempts to assess students' knowledge of engineering ethics and their ability to identify and resolve ethical dilemmas by applying the fundamental canons. When a module like engineering ethics was introduced to the first-year engineering students in a blended mode, it was essential to identify methods that would help assess students' understanding of engineering ethics. Students learn the concepts of engineering ethics through asynchronous videos. The module's primary objective was to develop students' ability to identify and resolve ethical dilemmas and map fundamental cannon. A discussion forum was set up, allotting students with a case study that had an ethical dilemma used as an instrument to assess the students. The results discuss mainly the cognitive levels that the students have reached in resolving an ethical dilemma. The analysis also predicted the areas where students found it challenging to understand the concepts.