Optimistic Fiction as a Tool for Ethical Reflection in STEM
Journal article, 2021

Greater emphasis on ethical issues is needed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The fiction for specific purposes (FSP) approach, using optimistic science fiction texts, offers a way to focus on ethical reflection that capitalizes on role models rather than negative examples. This article discusses the benefits of using FSP in STEM education more broadly, and then explains how using optimistic fictions in particular encourages students to think in ethically constructive ways. Using examples of science fiction texts with hopeful perspectives, example discussion questions are given to model how to help keep students focused on the ethical issues in a text. Sample writing prompts to elicit ethical reflection are also provided as models of how to guide students to contemplate and analyze ethical issues that are important in their field of study. The article concludes that the use of optimistic fictions, framed through the lens of professional ethics guidelines and reinforced through ethical reflection, can help students to have beneficial ethical models.

STEM pedagogy

fiction for specific purposes

interdisciplinarity

science fiction

ethical reflection

Author

Kathryn Strong Hansen

Chalmers, Communication and Learning in Science, Language and Communication

Journal of Academic Ethics

1570-1727 (ISSN) 15728544 (eISSN)

Vol. 19 3 425-439

Subject Categories

Didactics

Languages and Literature

Ethics

Learning and teaching

Pedagogical work

DOI

10.1007/s10805-021-09405-5

More information

Latest update

4/5/2022 5