Ethics of Team Work

This module developed for classes in Engineering and Computer Ethics at UPRM employs a value/virtue approach to encourage students to reflect on the ethical issues and problems that arise in group or team work. Throughout the class, students are given group assignments for which they receive group grades that are distributed to each individual member. The module then provides students with ethical goals to grade them as they execute these assignments. Student groups develop strategies for realizing these goals. They also envision pitfalls that often prevent groups from working cooperatively such as the Abilene Paradox, groupthink, and group polarization. Finally, students develop an assessment process based on these goals that they use to complete a group self-evaluation at the end of the semester. The primary purpose of this module is to use group work and cooperative learning as an occasion to reflect on the different ethical issues and problems that arise in collective activity. Abstract by author