2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into multiple fields has intensified the need for educational models that equip students to handle complex ethical challenges. This Work-in-Progress paper presents an initiative at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in which graduate students act as co-designers of an AI Ethics Microcredential. Created as part of Artificial Intelligence for Arid Land Agriculture (AIALA), the project promotes interdisciplinary understanding by integrating viewpoints from computer science, agriculture, and communication. Drawing on Constructivist Learning Theory (CLT), five graduate students collaboratively developed micro-modules organized around five ethical pillars: Data, Context, Responsibility, Human Control, and Access. Instead of learning through traditional, lecture-based instruction, the students participated in iterative peer review and collaborative problem-solving to build curriculum materials on topics such as algorithmic bias in healthcare and the ethics of autonomous vehicles. Through this process, they were required to develop their own interpretations of the ethical pillars in order to teach them effectively to others. Preliminary findings indicate that this student-driven model strengthens ethical reasoning and builds confidence in working across disciplines. To assess the initiative, the study uses qualitative interviews and reflective surveys to examine students’ experiences with co-design. This work contributes to emerging research by offering a transferable framework for engaging students as co-creators and by illuminating how peer-led curriculum development can advance inclusive, ethically grounded AI education.