From Awareness to Action - Page 7 of 20
2.2.2 The Pedagogical Framework
CC91 specified four knowledge units under social, ethical, and professional issues within the common computer
science core requirement. However, not much guidance was given and very little time was allocated (only 11 out of
283 total lecture hours were specified by the curriculum) for the implementation of these requirements. Using the
conceptual framework shown in Figure 1 and CC91 as a model, we have redefined the core curriculum for ethics and
social impact to be expressed as five necessary knowledge units with learning objectives, rather than specific courses.
This will allow different institutions and programs that have different pedagogical priorities, educational goals, and
general constraints to package the subject matter in different ways. In addition, we have tried to take into account new
pedagogical strategies and new technologies that have emerged since CC91 was adopted. The five fundamental
knowledge units proposed for this "tenth" subject area, designated Ethical and Social Impact of Computing (ES), are
shown in Figure 2 below[19]:
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ES1: Responsibility of the Computer Professional for Computer Science
ES1.1 History of the development and impact of computer technology
ES1.2 Why be ethical?
ES1.3 Major ethical models
ES1.4 Definition of computing as a profession
ES1.5 Codes of ethics and professional responsibility for computer professionals
ES2: Basic Elements of Ethical Analysis for Computer Science
ES2.1: Ethical claims can and should be discussed rationally.
ES2.2: Ethical choices cannot be avoided.
ES2.3: Easy ethical approaches are questionable.
ES3: Basic Skills of Ethical Analysis for Computer Science
ES3.1: Arguing from example, analogy, and counter-example
ES3.2: Identifying stakeholders in concrete situations
ES3.3: Identifying ethical issues in concrete situations
ES3.4: Applying ethical codes to concrete situations
ES3.5: Identifying and evaluating alternative courses of action
ES4: Basic Elements of Social Analysis for Computer Science
ES4.1: Social context influences the development and use of technology.
ES4.2: Power relations are central in all social interactions.
ES4.3: Technology embodies the values of the developers.
ES4.4: Populations are always diverse.
ES4.5: Empirical data are crucial to design and development processes.
ES5: Basic Skills of Social Analysis for Computer Science
ES5.1: Identifying and interpreting the social context of a particular implementation
ES5.2: Identifying assumptions and values embedded in a particular system
ES5.3: Using empirical data to evaluate a particular implementation of a technology
Figure 2: Five Fundamental ES Knowledge Units [19]
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