2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

WIP: Teaching Empathy, Leadership, and Ethics in Computing

Presented at Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division (LEES) Technical Session 3

We describe the work-in-progress development and delivery of a foundational undergraduate course for computer science majors in a College of Engineering. Designed by faculty, staff, and students from four units across two schools, the course uses three case studies to develop and link core concepts of empathy, inclusion, leadership, and power.

The recent decision of our department to forgo ABET accreditation provided an opportunity to rethink the teaching and learning of critical and interpersonal skills in the Computer Science Engineering major. We took this opportunity to bring together people with a range of expertise and experience: the teaching and learning of ethics in computing contexts, the integration of empathy into engineering course design, the design of socially-engaged case studies, and computer science subject matter and pedagogy.

The backbone of the course is a sequence of three case studies examining the co-design of the Xbox Adaptive Controller, the ongoing efforts of Airbnb to resolve problems of bias and discrimination that manifest on its platform, and the risks faced by the “Emotion AI” company Affectiva as its technology is brought into contexts beyond the scope of its original design. We further co-developed an integrated array of discussion-intensive in-class activities and small-group projects which support students deepening their capacities to: (1) have effective and empathetic communication with clients, co-workers, and stakeholders; (2) recognize and analyze power differences, both among peers and between technology creators and users; (3)
be and become empathetic and inclusive leaders; and (4) create and analyze inclusive (e.g. accessible, gender-inclusive) artifacts.

By the end of the 25–26 academic year, 150 to 200 students will have taken the first-year pilot of the course, and we will be planning to scale up the pilot to 300 students per term. We will report on our initial assessment of course outcomes and impact—using the Critical Reflection and Agency in Computing Index as well as several course-internal measures—and seek input on pedagogical support for fostering student engagement in large discussion-based courses.

Authors

Dr. Scott D. Dexter University of Michigan [biography]

Scott D. Dexter recently joined Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan as a Lecturer, after 25 years as a professor of computer science at Brooklyn College (City University of New York) and Alma College (Michigan). He is an enthusiastic and interdisciplinary collaborator; technology ethics is one of his abiding research and teaching interests.
Dr. Linjue Wang University of Michigan [biography]

Dr. Linjue (Jade) Wang is the Assistant Director for New Faculty Initiatives at the Center for Research on Learning & Teaching in Engineering at the University of Michigan. Jade received her Ph.D. in Engineering Education and M.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from The Ohio State University. Jade is dedicated to supporting new faculty and graduate students in engineering as they adopt evidence-based best practices in teaching. She serves as a co-lead program director of Preparing Future Faculty at the University of Michigan. Jade is also passionate about integrating empathy into engineering course design and instructor-student interactions. Before studying in the U.S., she earned her B.E. in Building Environment and Energy Engineering from the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University in China.
Dr. Laura E. Bland University of Michigan [biography]

Laura Bland is a Case Writer and Learning Experience Designer at the Center for Socially Engaged Engineering and Design at the University of Michigan, where she researches and writes case studies that help engineering students set technical challenges in their human and environmental contexts. She joined C-SED after many years teaching undergraduate courses at the intersection of STEM and the liberal arts at the University of Houston and the University of Notre Dame, where she received her Ph.D. in the History and Philosophy of Science.
Dr. Sara L. Hoffman University of Michigan [biography]

Sara Hoffman is the Assistant Director of Educational Content and Research Integration at the Center for Socially Engaged Engineering and Design at the University of Michigan. She leads the development of case studies that explore the intersection of technical and social aspects of engineering. In this process, Sara partners with instructors to co-design cases across engineering disciplines, oversees the research and writing process for new content, and supports instructors and the C-SED facilitation team in bringing these materials into classrooms.
Aadarsh Padiyath University of Michigan

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on July 31, 2026

« View session