Building Inclusive Cultures in STEM: A Virtual Practice-Based Workshop

Kelly Laas (Illinois Institute of Technology), Elisabeth Hildt

This two-day workshop seeks to share best practices to effectively engage students and faculty working in research labs and lab-based classrooms in building inclusive ethical cultures. This training moves beyond traditional research ethics training into frameworks and approaches to strengthen the ethical culture in research labs. 

The workshop will feature a series of short presentations and panel discussions that showcase best practices and approaches to embedding educational interventions in research labs and lab-based courses. This will be followed by a discussion of effective frameworks for implementing recommendations made by the panelists as well as best practices and potential hurdles in implementing these frameworks. Participants of the workshop will also be guided through the development of personalized plans for implementing some of these educational interventions in their labs, courses or departments. 

The workshop is aimed at: 

• Young principal investigators/junior faculty who are in the process of building their own research groups; 

• Instructors from both four-year and two-year colleges who teach lab-based STEM courses;

• Departmental chairs interested in programmatic approaches to improving mentoring, research ethics education, and the research culture of their department.

Topics covered will include:

• How can meaningful discussions about ethics be effectively integrated into research labs?

• What are approaches and tools to effectively integrate research ethics education?

• How do we build more inclusive research environments?

• How can researchers, junior faculty, and young principal investigators begin to form strategies for building inclusive, ethical lab environments?

• How can we better support and empower graduate students to effectively handle ethical questions that arise in research - especially international students and underrepresented  students?

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This workshop will be held virtually and there will be no charge for participation.

Please register via Eventbrite.

The workshop is part of the NSF funded project “A Bottom-up Approach to Building a Culture of Responsible Research and Practice in STEM”. The workshop is being organized by Elisabeth Hildt (Illinois Institute of Technology), Kelly Laas (Illinois Institute of Technology), Eric M. Brey (University of Texas at San Antonio), and Christine Miller (Savannah College of Art and Design).

Workshop: Building Inclusive Ethical Cultures in STEM

All times are in U.S. central standard time.

Friday, April 23, 2021

Session 1

12:00-1:30 PM, CST

Embedded Discourse: Lab-Based Conversations about Ethical Practice

Dena Plemmons, Research Ethics Education Program, University of California Riverside, USA

Towards a Neuroethical Ethos: A Case Study in Reframing Neuroethics Education for Engineers and Researchers

Juhi Farooqui, Rehab Neural Engineering Labs, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Sarah Dawod, University of Pittsburgh, USA

Devapratim Sarma, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, USA

A Bottom-Up Approach to Building a Culture of Responsible Research and Practice in STEM

Elisabeth Hildt, Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA 

Kelly Laas, Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions, Illinois Institute of Technology 

Chris Miller, Savannah College of Art and Design, USA

Eric M. Brey, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas, San Antonio, USA 

Discussion

Break          1:30-1:45 PM, CST

Session 2

1:45-3:15 PM, CST

What Does it Mean to Embed Ethics in Data Science? An Integrative Approach Based on Microethics and Virtues

Louise Bezuidenhout, Institute for Science, Innovation, and Society, University of Oxford, U.K.

Emanuele Ratti, Institute of Philosophy and Scientific Method, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria

Embedding Moral Reasoning and Teamwork Training in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

Alan P. Sprague, Department of Electrical & Computing Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA

Raquel Diaz-Sprague, Department of Electrical & Computing Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA

DigEsT: How Ethicists can Spearhead Digital Ethics Education in a Computing Department 

Marc Cheong, School of Computing and Information Systems (CIS) / Centre for AI and Digital Ethics (CAIDE), University of Melbournee, Australia

Kobi Leins, School of Computing and Information Systems (CIS) / Centre for AI and Digital Ethics (CAIDE), University of Melbourne, Australia

Simon Coghlan,School of Computing and Information Systems (CIS) / Centre for AI and Digital Ethics (CAIDE), University of Melbourne, Australia

Discussion

Saturday, April 24, 2021

Session 3

9:00-10:30 AM, CST

Philosophy in the Rainforest: Reflections on Integrating Philosophy and Fieldwork

Clair Morrissey, Department of Philosophy, Occidental College, USA 

Integration of Ethics in STEM Education at Primary and Graduate Level: An initiative by Unnat Bharat Abhiyan Program of Government  of India

Virendra Kumar Vijay, Center for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India

Manavee Singh, Center for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India

Building Inclusive Cultures through Community Research

Jennifer Nyland, Department of Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, USA 

Timothy Stock, Department of Philosophy, Salisbury University, USA

Michéle Schlehofer, Department of Psychology, Salisbury University, USA 

Discussion

Break          10:30-10:45 AM, CST

Session 4

10:45-12:15 PM, CST

Inclusivity in the Education of Scientific Imagination

Mike Stuart, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Geneva, University of Tuebingen, Switzerland/Germany

Using a Brain Processes Map as a Framework to Strengthen Ethical Culture in Research Labs

J. Brooke Hamilton, EthicsOps.com, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA

Storytelling as Facilitation Tool for Inclusive Ethics Training 

Marietjie Botes, IRiSC Sociotechnical Cybersecurity Interdisciplinary Research Group, SnT - Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Discussion

Lunch Break           12:15-1:00 PM, CST

Session 5

1:00 pm-2:30 PM, CST

Encouraging Transparency in Lab Safety via Teachable Moments and Positive Feedback 

Melinda Box, Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, USA

Maria Gallardo WIlliams, Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, USA

Developing an Ethics Credential for Undergraduate STEM Majors

Alexandra Bradner, Department of Philosophy, Kenyon College, USA

Rebecca A. Bates, Department of Integrated Engineering, Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA

Social Responsibility Development in Undergraduate STEM Students: Influences and Inhibitors

Daniel Schiff, School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

Jason Borenstein, Graduate Research Ethics Programs, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

Ellen Zegura, School of Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

Discussion

Closing Remarks