Implementation of an ethics course for ETH doctoral students

The new regulations on the doctorate at ETH specify that doctoral students must acquire at least 1 ECTS credit by attending a course on the topic of ethics and good scientific practice (see Rector’s Implementation Provisions for the ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate, 10.2). In order to meet the expected high demand, the Rector initiated the development of a new ethics course which complements the existing courses in the aforementioned area. The present project has dedicated itself to the development of the first part of this ethics course. In this self-paced e-learning module on moodle, students learn to recognize, specify and address ethical issues that may occur in their own scientific activity. For this they are introduced to various resources that support ethical decision making and sharpen ethical sensibility in general. Over-all, the course will have a positive effect on individual research activity as well as the quality of research at ETH Zurich in general.

We developed a self-paced and independent e-learning module on moodle. This means that students decide when and where to study, and that they can determine how much time they need to complete each task. It also means that students do not get any personalized feedback. We find this course format particularly suitable because it takes into account the busy schedule of doctoral students at ETH. In terms of content, the goal was not only to provide relevant content as targeted as possible, but also for students to enjoy the course. For that, we chose a variety of teaching resp. learning elements such as short videos, illustrations (gamification), quizzes, journals and interactive reading assignments. Learning about ethics essentially means critically examining different theoretical approaches and questioning one’s own judgments and beliefs, which is why we have decided to do without a final test. The assessment (pass/fail) is based on the various smaller tasks (researching ethics principles, answering reading questions, quizzes, watching videos etc.) that students complete in each module. The course is designed to be both relevant to individual research activity as well as entertaining.

Now that the ethics course for doctoral students has found a permanent host (it is part of the “Science in Perspective” program at D-Gess), the development of the e-learning module (first part) has been successfully completed. Due to the fixed deadlines for new course proposals at D-Gess the e-learning module will be available from spring semester 2022 onwards. This effects the schedule – evaluation and adaptation are now planned at a later stage. Thus, the impact on student learning is yet to be determined (see follow up project Nr. 2992). This brings the project (the development of the first part of the ethics course for doctoral students) to an early but nevertheless successful end.
Administrative aspects in particular raise questions. It is unclear how the two parts of the course will be tied together. Also, it is difficult to estimate the administrative workload to come.
Working with the Moodle platform has proven to be an unexpectedly positive experience. Contrary to expectations, Moodle is excellently suited for self-paced and independent e-learning formats. With this, the first part of the ethics course is available to a large number of students. In times of e-learning and online teaching this format is most interesting for other areas at ETH Zurich.

• Chair of Bioethics
• Ethics course for ETH doctoral students
• Ethicsrp Platform