Probably because we had not analyzed case studies together in class beforehand, student performance on the intellectual property assignment varied widely. After we discussed this assignment and another case study in class, students’ understanding of ethical issues became more complex. Performance on the second assignment, the group paper, rose sharply.
Though students performed well on their second assignment, in future semesters I will include an earlier discussion of an ethical case study to help them prepare for the first assignment. I also plan to offer students examples of high quality work and revise my rubric so students may use it as a guide as they complete their ethics assignments.
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