The literature is replete with examples of scientists' inattention to ethical issues. Too often scientists and other academicians think of ethics as something outside the realm of their concerns; required courses in higher education frequently do not discuss ethical issues at all. In this project the focus is on facilitating ethics education for scientists by utilizing the heretofore untapped power of interactive technologies such as Second Life. The PI argues that the hands-on and exciting nature of virtual worlds is uniquely suited to maximizing the effectiveness of ethics education, by increasing the ethical engagement of students and faculty. Second Life, the most popular virtual world in the academic arena, hosts hundreds of colleges and universities. Yet none of those member institutions have developed sites committed to ethics education. The PI and her team will develop interactive ethics modules in Second Life, for use in the content of graduate-level science courses. To this end, they will assemble a dedicated group of science faculty who teach graduate-level courses and graduate students in the sciences, who will participate in summer workshops in order to design and implement the online ethics modules. Four main features of ethics training particularly conducive to the virtual world, as confirmed in the research literature, will be addressed: the training will be context- or discipline-specific to increase its effectiveness; the modules will emphasize the ambiguity of the ethical context, helping to free participants of the inevitable bias that comes with the awareness of being studied; the hands-on nature of virtual worlds correlates well with the most successful conditions for increasing ethical awareness; because those in leadership positions (faculty, lead researchers, laboratory supervisors, etc.) have the largest impact on the development of ethical behavior in subordinates, the virtual world modules developed will be able to encourage simulations of those interactions, increasing the likelihood of the success of such training. Data collected during the piloting of the modules will be utilized for improving them. The PI team has been carefully selected to include members with diverse expertise that includes teaching ethics courses, training in ethics, teaching science courses, developing effective curricula, analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, and creating content in virtual worlds.
Broader Impacts: This project reaches far beyond the walls of West Chester University students and faculty. The partnering organization for the project is Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, the oldest historically black post-secondary institution in the United States. In addition to the diverse nature of the partnering organizations, the results of research and educational efforts will be disseminated through publications, conferences and web-based activities. Due to the global and self-perpetuating nature of Second Life, the completed modules will be available world-wide, far beyond the time-frame of the life of the grant.
