“Moment to Moment”: A View From the Front Lines with Computing Ethics Teaching Assistants

Title of the Paper

“Moment to Moment”: A Situated View of Teaching Ethics from the Perspective of Computing Ethics Teaching Assistants

Paper Information

• Domain: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computing Ethics Education, Teaching Assistant Research
• Keywords: Computing Ethics, Situated Teaching and Learning, Teaching Assistants, Communities of Practice, Human-Computer Interaction

Research Background and Problem

• What problems or challenges did the authors identify?

  • There is limited research on teaching computing ethics within computer science education, particularly focusing on Computing Ethics Teaching Assistants (CETAs).
  • A lack of research from a situated perspective on computing ethics teaching, especially regarding how education is influenced by specific communities and environments.
  • Discrepancies between different computing ethics education models (e.g., standalone courses vs. embedded courses) and the differing demands placed on teaching assistants in technical versus ethics-focused courses.

• Why is this issue important?

  • As computing technologies rapidly evolve, ethical issues become increasingly complex and pervasive. Effective computing ethics education is critical for cultivating responsible computer scientists.
  • Teaching assistants play a vital role in course implementation, yet insufficient research on this group limits understanding of their potential contributions and the development of support strategies.

• Motivation and Related Work

  • The study aims to encourage HCI researchers to take a more active role in designing and studying computing ethics education.
  • The authors reference various existing ethics education models (e.g., standalone courses, embedded courses, and hybrid models) and seek to evaluate their differing impacts on CETAs.

Solution

• What methods or solutions did the authors propose?

  • The study employs qualitative methods, conducting interviews with 11 CETAs to analyze their experiences and assess how institutional and course settings influence computing ethics education practices.

• What is innovative about this solution?

  • It is the first comprehensive focus on CETAs’ roles and experiences, particularly analyzing their teaching practices through a situated perspective and exploring the significance of teaching assistants as part of a community of practice.
  • It highlights the potential of applying HCI approaches to education research and provides an in-depth discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of different ethics teaching models.

• What are the implementation steps and key techniques used?

  1. Participant Recruitment: 11 CETAs were recruited from two U.S. universities, ensuring the sample included diverse educational models (standalone courses and embedded courses).
  2. Data Collection: Semi-structured interviews were conducted, covering topics such as the assistants’ backgrounds, teaching experiences, and reflections on learning and teaching computing ethics.
  3. Data Analysis: Grounded theory methods were used for thematic analysis, focusing on CETAs’ teaching practices, challenges, reflections, and the situated impacts on their work.

Research Findings

• What specific findings were achieved?

  • CETAs play a unique role in computing ethics education, not only teaching but also actively contributing to course design.
  • CETAs’ teaching experiences highlighted key issues such as insufficient training, challenges in integrating ethics content into embedded courses, and difficulties in guiding discussions on complex topics.

• How does it compare to existing solutions?

  • It emphasizes the impact of teaching contexts on ethics education, particularly how communities and institutions shape practices of teaching assistants.
  • It suggests professional training or more structured support for CETAs, such as developing formal preparatory activities like “CETA Camp.”

• What were the experimental or evaluation results?

  • The study found that CETAs’ attitudes and practices in computing ethics education are significantly influenced by their personal backgrounds, educational models (standalone vs. embedded), and community environments.
  • While embedded models can help disseminate ethics education broadly, standalone courses allow for deeper exploration of complex ethical issues, suggesting the two can complement each other.

• Limitations and Future Directions

  • Limitations: The small sample size, limited to two U.S. universities, may constrain the generalizability of the findings. Recruitment through professor recommendations may introduce bias.
  • Future Directions:
    1. Expand the scope of research to include more universities and international contexts.
    2. Explore optimized training methods, such as cross-course embedded support.
    3. Experimentally validate how academic research can enhance support mechanisms and course design capabilities for CETAs.

Implications

• For Educators: Recognize the critical role of CETAs, provide adequate training and institutional support, broaden discussion scopes, and combine embedded and standalone education models.
• For HCI Researchers: Highlight the unique advantages of HCI researchers in studying the design and implementation of ethics education, and call for greater attention to communities of practice and the roles of teaching assistants.