2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This design-based research project aims to prepare undergraduate computer science (CS) students to effectively program and operate low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, through flipped project-based learning (FPBL). This instructional approach offers a series of hands-on programming and operational exercises while explicitly embedding privacy, security, and ethical considerations into the learning process. The project responds to the growing demand for a CS workforce capable of operating drones responsibly—technologies increasingly adopted across industries for their convenience, versatility, efficiency, and safety [1]. Beyond technical skill development, the project reconceptualizes drones as socio-technical systems, emphasizing that their design and use must account for privacy protection and security enhancement [2]–[4]. By integrating these dimensions into the curriculum, the project seeks to counter drones’ reputation for privacy violations and security breaches [5], while fostering their potential for responsible, ethical, and innovative applications.

For this three-year project, we are iteratively developing, testing, and refining a new course at our institution designed to maximize opportunities for undergraduate CS and engineering students to engage in authentic, real-world projects. The course emphasizes active learning through (a) flipped instruction supported by cyber-aerial computing content videos, (b) scaffolded hands-on project experiences that progress from introductory to advanced challenges, (c) problem-solving tasks that explicitly require ethical reflection and decision-making, and (d) participation in competitions that allow students to showcase their work to the broader CS community. In Year 1, our efforts focused on designing the curriculum, developing supporting instructional materials, and establishing both online and physical learning environments—including transforming a traditional classroom into a drone lab with small-scale testbeds that can be replicated at other institutions—to facilitate implementation and enhance student engagement. Following a series of formative evaluations, including pilot tests to refine the design, we entered Year 2, during which we are implementing the curriculum with 20 undergraduate CS students. In this phase, we are systematically collecting multiple forms of data—such as student surveys, classroom observations, students and instructor interviews, and focus groups—to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum, instructional materials, the FPBL approach, and the learning environments in supporting student learning. Specifically, we are examining their impact on students’ technical skills, ethical awareness, collaboration, and engagement, as well as their potential for scalability and adoption by other institutions.

The extended paper and poster will provide a detailed account of the Year 1 design process and Year 2 implementation, presenting research findings that include analyses of student learning outcomes, engagement patterns, and ethical awareness. They will also share insights into the effectiveness of the FPBL approach, along with the instructional materials and learning environments that supported it. These findings will guide revisions in Year 3, inform broader dissemination efforts, and contribute to the growing knowledge base on integrating socio-technical perspectives into computer science education.

This project is funded by the National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program, Award #2417379.