2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Cultivating Ethical Judgment and Character through Situational Judgments in Undergraduate Engineering & Professional Education

Presented at Pathways into Engineering and Engineering Practice

This evidence-based practice full paper investigates the use of situational judgment (SJs) as pedagogical tools to cultivate ethical judgment, professional reasoning, and character in undergraduate engineering and professional education. While SJs have traditionally been used as assessment instruments, this study explores their potential to function as formative learning experiences when intentionally embedded within classroom instruction and paired with structured, facilitated dialogue. Anchored in virtue ethics and the concept of educating the whole engineer, this work examines how engagement with complex, authentic engineering dilemmas can foster integrated competencies—technical reasoning informed by ethical discernment, contextual awareness, and professional responsibility. The guiding research question for this study is: To what extent can situational judgments cultivate ethical judgment and character in an engineering classroom? Using a pre/post study design, students first completed an SJ instrument consisting of 5–10 scenario-based prompts designed to elicit responses reflecting key character dimensions, including courage, integrity, humility, accountability, collaboration, judgment, and humanity. Following the initial assessment, students participated in small-group discussions focused on unpacking professional and ethical tensions, considering multiple stakeholder perspectives, and articulating reasoning processes. A post-assessment then examined shifts in decision-making patterns, alignment with expert-modeled reasoning, and self-reported confidence in professional and ethical judgment. Results indicate a meaningful shift in students’ alignment with expert-informed reasoning between pre- and post-assessments. This study contributes to engineering education by demonstrating that SJs, when used beyond assessment and intentionally designed as learning interventions, can catalyze the cultivation of good judgment and character. Rather than positioning ethics as an abstract or compliance-based domain, SJs frame ethical reasoning as a skill developed through practice, feedback, and peer deliberation. Implications include scalable strategies for embedding virtue-based decision-making within core engineering courses, aligning character cultivation with ABET professional outcomes, and advancing the long-term goal of educating engineers who are both technically proficient and grounded in character. Keywords: situational judgment tests, character education, virtue ethics, engineering ethics, whole engineer competencies.

Authors

Dr. Olga Pierrakos http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-8171-4862 National Science Foundation & Wake Forest University [biography]

Dr. Olga Pierrakos (PhD) is a national higher education leader and innovator, interdisciplinary biomedical and mechanical engineer, experienced educator, and mother of four. As a first-generation student, engineer, and higher education leader, she is committed to transforming higher education for the betterment of the next generation and the betterment of humanity. She is currently a STEM Education Program Director at the National Science Foundation (NSF) working across the STEM education, engineering, and technology innovation and partnerships directorates. Prior to joining NSF for a second stint, Olga served as the Founding Chair of Wake Forest Engineering (2017-2024) from launch to accreditation and led transformational change with a vision to Educate the Whole Engineer for Human Flourishing and positioned Wake Forest Engineering as the 14th Best Undergraduate Engineering Program (2023 US News Report, among 275 US institutions). Having the responsibilities of what would be a founding Engineering Dean at most other universities, Olga led transformational change to reimagine and rethink engineering education and higher education at Wake Forest University. Olga has a PhD in Biomedical Engineering and a MS and BS in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech. She has been founding faculty of two brand new U.S. engineering undergraduate programs – Wake Forest University and James Madison University. Both programs have ranked in the top 25 Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs by US News Report. She has been PI on many NSF awards (include an NSF CAREER) and currently is PI on a multi-year Kern Family Foundation KEEN award targeted at “Educating the Whole Engineer” through innovation (entrepreneurial mindset) and character.
Kyle Luthy Wake Forest University [biography]

Dr. Kyle Luthy is an Assistant Professor and founding
faculty member in the Department of Engineering at Wake
Forest University. Kyle has taught across the engineering
curriculum and placed intentional focus on the virtue of
humility. Kyle holds a Ph.D. and a MS in Computer Engineering
from North Carolina State University, as well as BS degrees in
Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Computer
Science from Louisiana State University. As an educator, he
brings professional experience as an engineer and project
management from industry and government settings.
Dr. Jessica Koehler Wake Forest University [biography]

Jessica Koehler is the Director of Research, Evaluation and Strategic Integration in the Program for Leadership and Character. Her focus is on conducting research and evaluation to support the programming in the Wake Forest Engineering Department, the School of Law and the School of Medicine. Jessica began her current position after ten years of experience in program assessment and evaluation, with roles including the Visiting Scholar of Leadership and Character in the Wake Forest Department of Engineering, the Assessment and Accreditation Fellow for the Wake Forest Department of Engineering, and the Director of Research at The Future Project, a nationwide non-profit for teen and young adult flourishing serving tens of thousands of students annually. She received her B.A. in Biochemistry from The Colorado College and an M.S. in Chemistry from The University of Louisville. After ten years as a STEM educator, she left teaching to earn a Ph.D. in Adolescent Motivational Psychology and Positive Youth Development from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.
Mr. John Patrick Karabelas Wake Forest University [biography]

John Karabelas is an Associate Professor of Practice at the Wake Forest University School of Business, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in information systems and management. His research interests include pedagogical innovation, ethical judgment development, and the integration of character-based learning in business and engineering education. Prior to academia, he spent over a decade as an Information Systems consultant supporting federal government agencies. He holds an MS in Information Systems Technology from George Washington University and a BS in Management Science and Information Technology from Virginia Tech.
Robin Anderson James Madison University [biography]

Robin D. Anderson serves as the Academic Unit Head for the Department of Graduate Psychology at James Madison University. She holds a doctorate in Assessment and Measurement. She previously served as the Associate Director of the Center for Assessment and

Download paper (457 KB)

Are you a researcher? Would you like to cite this paper? Visit the ASEE document repository at peer.asee.org for more tools and easy citations.

» Download paper

« View session

For those interested in:

Academia-Industry Connections
engineering
Faculty
professional
undergraduate