A Framework to Develop and Implement Role-Play Case Studies to Teach Responsible Technology Use

Case studies are among the most popular and effective pedagogical techniques in ethics education. In this paper, we present a framework to develop and effectively use one type of case study: role-plays. We argue that role-plays are particularly effective for allowing students to think through complex problems and bridge multi-level issues, a core concern of ethics education. The fictional case implemented in the study presented here focuses on the use of algorithms for making lending decisions. The case narrative and its associated roles highlight and emphasize the interdependent and intertwined individual and societal perspectives. Thirty-six students consented to the research study in the course where the role-plays were implemented. Student responses related to their engagement with the role were analyzed. We found that participants moved between the multi-level perspectives in the case, identified ethical principles at each level, and connected case examples to real-world occurrences. Overall, using role-plays strongly encouraged students to appreciate the complexity of technology. This work is part of a larger project on using role-play case studies, and in our conclusions, we draw implications from our overall findings.