Teaching applied ethics in computer science has shifted from a perspective of teaching about professional codes of conduct and an emphasis on risk management towards a broader understanding of the impacts of computing and the principles and practices of responsible computing. There is an increased recognition that students need intentional and consistent opportunities throughout their computer science education to develop the critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and cultural competency skills to understand their roles and professional duties in the responsible design, implementation, and management of complex socio-technological systems. One of the primary shifts in the approach to teaching computing ethics comes from research in the social sciences and humanities. This position is grounded in the idea that all computing artifacts, projects, tools, and products are situated within a set of ideas, attitudes, goals, and cultural norms. Through teaching students critical analysis methods, instructors can help them to identify potential biases, flaws, and unintentional harms in applications or systems and they can examine the underlying assumptions driving those designs and work with others to correct them.

The purpose of this affiliated event is to highlight current scholarship, principles, and practices in the teaching of responsible computing in undergraduate computer science settings. The session will be organized around four objectives providing participants with a: 1) high-level rationale for the adoption of different pedagogical approaches based on program context and course learning goals, 2) brief review of responsible computing pedagogical approaches; 3) set of illustrative examples of how topics within the CS 2023 Social, Ethical, and Professional (SEP) knowledge area can be implemented and assessed across the broad spectrum of undergraduate computing courses; and 4) a collaborative design session with a basis in a set of 4-6 solicited activities with materials on current best practices, tools, and resources for faculty to build responsible computing teaching into their own instructional settings.