Teaching social responsibility

I define a socially responsible enterprise as one that in some way promotes the general welfare and dignity of humanity and is respectful of the Earth and its finite resources. I have implemented teaching about social responsibility into a freshman-level computer programming class designed for all engineering majors. By means of ethical problem-solving and reflective writing assignments, students are challenged to define and develop their sense of social responsibility at the same time that they are learning engineering fundamentals. Several of the student assignments are based on scenarios adapted from the author's engineering experience. Thus, the emphasis is on ethical dilemmas and issues encountered in daily professional life, including the important one of selecting an employer or project.