This section illustrates the actual teaching in the MTCS course of ethics and diversity – two social issues of computer science which deal with the community of computer science professionals.
The need to tackle such topics in the framework of computer science teacher prepara- tion programs emerges from the growing recognition that such topics are indeed part of the discipline of computer science. This fact is well reflected, for example, in the Computer Science volume of the Computing Curricula 2001.8 According to this volume, one body of knowledge of computer science is SP – Social and Professional Issues – which is com- posed of 16 core hours, within which the following core topics are included:
SP1. History of computing (1 h)
•
SP2. Social context of computing (3 h)•
SP3. Methods and tools of analysis (2 h)•
SP4. Professional and ethical responsibilities (3 h)•
SP5. Risks and liabilities of computer-based systems (2 h)•
SP6. Intellectual property (3 h)•
SP7. Privacy and civil liberties (2 h)•
We would add that the attention given to social issues is highlighted also in the context of other educational domains. For example, this perspective is integrated in the Science, Technology, and Society (STS) movement that studies the relationships between these
7 Based on Hazzan and Lapidot (2006).
8 See http://www.acm.org/education/curric_vols/cc2001.pdf
3
three elements and combines a cross-disciplinary approach of engineering, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.There are additional social issues related to computer science, such as teamwork, program comprehension, software requirements, business issues, software project man- agement, and more (cf. Tomayko and Hazzan 2004). In what follows, as mentioned, we illustrate the teaching of social issues of computer science in the MTCS course by focusing on ethics and diversity.
3.5.1
Ethics in Computer Science Education
Ethics is part of the discipline of philosophy. The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines ethics as “the science (or set) of moral principles; the branch of knowledge that deals with the principles of human duty or the logic of moral discourse.” The Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary adds that ethics is “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation.”
Some communities of practice have a well-defined code of ethics (e.g., The Code of Medical Ethics). The role of such codes of ethics is to guide professionals how to behave in vague situations where it is not clear what is right and what is wrong. The need for a code of ethics arises from the fact that any profession generates situations that can neither be predicted nor answered uniformly by all members of the relevant professional commu- nity. In practice, ethics is most often needed when a conflict arises, between two (or more) possible legal actions. Since all of the alternatives are legal, ethics may help solve conflict of interests, at least in part.
A relevant question to be asked at this stage is: Does the community of computer sci- ence educators need a code of ethics? If yes, what situations should be addressed by such a code of ethics? What should be its principles? Clearly, it is not our intention in this lesson of the MTCS course to formulate a code of ethics for the community of computer science educators. However, since there are cases in which the ethical dilemmas faced by com- puter science educators are similar to those faced by computer scientists, and since, in addition, there are situations unique to computer science teachers, the ethics of computer science educators may be derived both from educational ethical norms as well as from the ethical norms of the community of computer scientists. In other words, in practice, com- puter science educators should base their ethical norms on one of the many available edu- cational codes of ethics and on the Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice,9 formulated by a IEEE-CS/ACM Joint Task Force, which outlines how software developers should adhere to ethical behavior.
This perspective highlights the ethical complexity that computer science educators must deal with as well as the importance of dealing with the concept of ethics within the framework of computer science teacher preparation.
Activity 6 aims at increasing the students’ attention to situations that their profession – that is, computer science teaching – might bring them face with, and at delivering the message that their behavior should be based on ethical norms.
9 See http://www.acm.org/constitution/code.html
31 3.5 Social Issues of Computer Science
Activity6:AnalysisofEthicalDilemmas
›
Stage A: Case analysis, group workThe following two cases are presented to the students. They present a hypothetical situation that raises an ethical dilemma: the first relates directly to a school situation;
the second – indirectly. Each group discusses whether or not there is an ethical dilemma in the described situation, and, if so, the students are asked to identify and describe it.
›
Case 1One of your pupils downloads a software tool from the Web that helps your students in their understanding of one of the complicated topics studied in the high school computer science curriculum. The rules state that the software should be paid for after 30 days of trial usage. As it turns out, your school does not have the required budget to pay for it. It is, however, possible to reinstall the software in 30-day cycles and avoid payment.
How can the ethical dilemma (if exists) be solved?
•
How would you behave in such a situation?•
Formulate (one or more) ethical principles that will help you make a decision in•
similar cases.›
Case 2 (based on Tomayko and Hazzan 2004)Your friend works for a software house that specializes in the development of computer games. Recently, several publications have indicated that these games influence some children negatively. These games, however, are the main product of your friend’s company and without them the company may not be able to sur- vive. The company’s management is aware of these publications and gathers all the employees to discuss the future of the company. You are invited to the meeting as a representative of the educational system.
Suggest different opinions that might be expressed in the meeting. What (if at all)
•
ethical consideration does each of them represent?What (if at all) conflicts of interest are presented in this case?
•
What is your opinion with respect to this case?•
How would you behave in such a case?•
Formulate (one or more) ethical principles that might help make a decision in•
similar cases.›
Stage B: Presentations and discussionAfter the students work on the task, the different groups present their works and express their opinions with respect to the different questions. Specifically, after the source of ethical dilemma is observed in each case, the focus is placed on specific solutions that might solve it. This discussion delivers the message that ethical con- siderations should be part of the profession of computer science teaching and that different solutions can be found that eliminate the ethical dilemmas (at least partially).
3
3.5.2 DiversityDiversity is expressed in different ways in any community, and, in particular in any com- puter science class that the prospective computer science teachers may teach in their future professional life. Diversity can be exhibited, for instance, in terms of students’ fields of interest, ways of thinking and perspectives, background, gender, nationality, and more.
Accordingly, prospective computer science teachers should be familiar with the concept of diversity in general and, in particular, with its importance in the context of computer science education and with how to take advantage of diversity in their teaching processes.
Activities 7, 8, and 9 address diversity. Activity 7 deals with diversity in general, Activity 8 – with different approaches toward students’ performance, and Activity 9 – with gender diversity – a well-recognized topic in computer science education (cf. the June 2002 Special Issue of Inroads – The SIGCSE Bulletin).
We note in passing that, in fact, the underlying idea of presenting triggers in itself rep- resents diversity, since triggers should be designed in a way that encourages different per- spectives and ways of thinking. Furthermore, the pedagogical viewpoint of constructivist teachers, which legitimizes and respects the differences between students, is based on diversity.
Activity7:DiverseClassDemography,GroupWork
The students are asked to describe a class demography that is diverse as much as pos- sible. This trigger is presented to the students before the concept of diversity is intro- duced. After the students work on the trigger, each group presents its suggested hypothetical class in the course milieu. The collection of class structures presented at this stage by the students indicates their level of awareness to diversity, increases their awareness to diversity, and leads to discussions on how to deal with diversity.
Activity8:TestEvaluation,WorkinPairs
The students are asked to evaluate several pupil answers to a question given on a test, administrated at a high school class. After working on the trigger, each group suggests its philosophy with respect to the evaluation of the answers. The different perspectives exhibited at this stage highlight that there are different perspectives regarding student errors, that this is another way by which diversity is expressed, and that different con- siderations plays in such teaching situations.
For additional information about the theme of evaluation in the MTCS course see Chap. 10 and Lapidot and Hazzan (2003).
33 3.6 Programming Paradigms