2023 | Learning to Engage with Values in Science

IGC Capstone Project | Interfaces of Global Change

Learning to Engage with Values in Science

Student Members:

• Camilo Alfonso, Biological Sciences
• Jennifer Brousseau, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
• Caleb O'Brien, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
• Amber Wendler, Biological Sciences
• Colleen Malley, Philosophy

Faculty Mentors:

• Dr. Karen Kovaka, Philosophy
• Dr. Kendra Sewall, Biological Sciences

Our values play a role in the scientific questions we seek to answer and how we conduct research. For this IGC Capstone Project, philosophers and scientists worked together to create an interactive, reflexive exploration of the role of values in science. The project was impleted over two class meetings of the first-year IGC seminar course as an intertactive workshop to help other Fellows articulate their core values and consider how these play a role in their own research. Adapted from Michigan State University’s Toolbox Dialogue Initiative, the sessions involved class discussions about values, ethical themes related to interdisciplinary research, and relevant case studies. Students also created a Values Statement that summarized their core values and the role of these values in their scientific work. As part of the project, the group collected pre- and post-session survey data from the PhD Fellows to understand their perceptions on values and ethical considerations before and after the sessions and to assess changes in their perspectives due to the experience. The learning module was designed for continued use as part of the IGC curriculum for future seminars.