Referenced in Teaching Bioethics at the Secondary School Level by Laura J. Bishop and Lola Szobota, Hastings Center Report September–October 2015; 45(5): 19-25
(We want to acknowledge every program, every person involved, and each funder so please contact Laura Bishop bishopl@georgetown.edu if you have additional information to add)
Each of these programs made — or is making a contribution — to bioethics education at the secondary school level. Different approaches or models were used based on available resources of funding, time, and personnel. Comments about the pedagogical approach are not intended to be critical but to highlight specific ways in which each program developed and implemented their goal of providing information and resources to high school teachers and students interested in learning about bioethics issues and topics.
Explore the full set of High School Bioethics Curriculum Project resources →
The High School Bioethics Curriculum Project is an initiative of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University.
| Program and Funders and Collaborators (F&C) | Intended Audience | Pedagogical Approach | Philosophy and Goals | Key/Principal Players | Publications or Online Resources (see article reference list for full citations) |
|---|
| First Generation Efforts — Foundation and Inspiration | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970–1980: American Biology Teacher | HS/College Teachers and Professors | Bioethics introduced in science classes No formal training provided to teachers |
Bioethics could be used to help teach science | George H. Kieffer, Jon R. Hendrix, Thomas R. Mertens, Sheldon Gottlieb, Sara McCormack Wilson | Kieffer, "Can Bioethics Be Taught?" (1979) and "Should Bioethics Be Taught?" (1980); J.R. Hendrix and T.R. Mertens, "Empowering Teachers to Meet Students & Peers' Educational Needs" (1990); S.M. Wilson and Others, "Teaching about Technological Death and Dying and Euthanasia" (1979); S.F. Gottlieb, "Teaching Ethical Issues in Biology" (1976) |
| 1980–1990’s: Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana F&C: NSF |
College | Training workshops provided to undergraduate professors of biology No formal training provided to teachers |
Bioethics could be used as a means to engage incoming college students in science | Jon R. Hendrix | "Search Biosocial Goals and Human Genetics: An Impact Study of NSF Workshops" (1987) |
| 1984–1990's: Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Bioethical Issues | Teachers/students | Accessible resources/timely topics; expert commentary No established program |
Materials presented arguments from two different perspectives and primed the discussion of bioethics | Carol Levine, Editor of the Hastings Center Report Gregory Kaebnick, Editor of the Hastings Center Report |
Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Bioethical Issues (book series Levine edited 1984-2012 (14th ed.; now Gregory Kaebnick, current Hastings Center Report editor, edits 15th (2013) & 16th (2015) editions) |
| Second Generation Efforts — Development and Exploration | |||||
| 1989–2014: New Choices, New Responsibilities: Ethical Choices in the Life Sciences: A Program on Bioethics for High School Biology Courses, New Jersey F&C: Collaboration between the Hastings Center, Roche-NJ (Roche Pharmaceuticals - funder), and New Jersey Science Supervisors (NJSSA) now known as New Jersey Science Education Leadership Association (NJSELA) |
High School teachers Middle School Cases added in 1995 |
Case Studies with developed lesson plans and teacher resources provided; immersion into the program and follow up day during the academic year Professional development program limited to New Jersey teachers |
Developed materials used to enhance public understanding of the use of animals in research and of other bioethical issues; Used Hastings Center Decision Model |
Co-Directors: James Simes, Lola Szobota Trainers: Aarti Mallya, Toni Adamiak, Donna Griggs, Chris Russoniello |
New Choices, New Responsibilities: Ethical Choices in the Life Sciences: A Program on Bioethics for High School Biology Course (1990) (teaching strategy, units on genetics, animals in science, AIDS, environmental responsibility); Case study supplement 1995 (middle and high school) 2nd ed. 1997, and partial revisions in 2004 & 2005 adding unit on organ transplantation |
| 1997–2006: Kennedy Institute of Ethics High School Bioethics Curriculum Project, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC F&C: The Greenwall Foundation and an Anonymous Bequest to Georgetown University |
High School | Collaboration between bioethics experts, classroom teaching experts, and bioethics information specialists; Interdisciplinary program with developed case studies; week long program with intense immersion; emphasized the possibility of team teaching; film lending library; film and book bibliographies; customized resources by request for teachers and students from Bioethics Research Library Limited funding; part-time staff |
Encouraged teachers to incorporate bioethics questions and issues in to existing curriculum rather than requiring separate stand alone bioethics resources; no single theoretical or decisional model endorsed Later interdisciplinary model incorporating theoretical tools developed by Laura Bishop |
Kennedy Institute of Ethics PI: LeRoy Walters, Founding Director: Ruth Guyer Second Director: Laura Bishop Lead Teachers: Lola Szobota (science) Linda Anderson (history & ethics), Mary Lou Dillon (social studies) Louisana Regional Lead Teachers: Linda Harvison (economics and administration), Carol Boudreaux (religion), Lori Harper (biology) |
Case Studies and Materials for four units: Babies Born at Risk (neonatal ethics), Organ Transplantation, Research Involving Human Subjects, and Eugenics Introduction to Ethical Theory for the Purposes of Teaching Bioethics Issues and Topics in the High School Classroom [Teaching Ethics Manual for Secondary School Teachers] (c2006) "Bioethics Cases and Issues: Enrichment for Social Science, Humanities, and Science Courses" http://highschoolbioethics.georgetown.edu/archive https://highschoolbioethics.georgetown.edu/archive/resources/BioethicsCasesAndIssues2000.pdf |
| 2000–2013: Northwest Association for Biomedical Research (NWABR) Ethics in the Science Classroom, (2009–2013) Seattle, Washington F&C: Eisenhower Professional Development Higher Education Program Funds; NIDA (2000-2003); NIH/SEPA; SEPA/CAUSE (2002-2006); NSF/CURE (2007-2010) |
High School biology and science teachers | Week long program with intense immersion; online teacher resources and science experts available for local school visits; solid research and data collection about teacher use and program impact Program requires a fulltime staff devoted to the program; Professional development mainly aimed at Washington State teachers in science classrooms |
Provided resources to teachers to use within their classrooms along with professional development; Initially used variation on Hastings Center Decision Model until later development of specific model by Jeanne Chowning |
Executive Director: Susan Adler (NWABR), First Education Director: Carolyn Landel, Second Education Director: Jeanne Chowning, Grants PI: Susanna Cunningham Lola Szobota, Michael Pritchard, Laura Bishop, Bruce Fuchs, Louisa Stark, Paula Fraser Jayne Mackta (NJABR) |
Ethics Primer; Ethics and Science of HIV Vaccine Research, the Ethics and Science of Stem Cell Research, Ethics and Genetics of Nicotine Addiction, and For the Greater Good https://www.nwabr.org/teacher-center |
| 2002–2012: Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, PA F&C: US Department of Education & The Greenwall Foundation |
High School teachers; High school students |
Provided web based resources, homework help, Bioethics Briefs and Bioethics Modules employed standard answers; no individual reference help |
Focused on developing an online resource for high school students | Dominic Sisti; Arthur Caplan; other staff | Bioethics Brief (various topics) and Bioethics Modules (various topics) As of July 2012, this project is part of the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York University School of Medicine http://www.med.nyu.edu/highschoolbioethics/about |
| Other Second Generation Contributors | |||||
| 1994–1996: Two Week Summer Institute, Long Island, NY F&C: NSF |
High School | Intense immersion over a two week program with follow up Program was short lived due to death of Ted Goldfarb |
Provided an instructional guide with model lessons as an online resource (1999) | Theodore Goldfarb, SUNY, Stony Brook, LI, Michael Pritchard, Western Michigan State University | "Ethics in the Science Classroom: An Instructional Guide for Secondary School Science Teachers with Model Lessons for the Classroom" http://www.onlineethics.org/Education/precollege/scienceclass.aspx |
| Ronee Yashon | High School teachers | Provided resources on bioethics and legal issues No teacher training |
Focused on providing resources on classroom discussion | Ronee Yashon | 1993–1997: Case Studies in Bioethics I and II; Landmark Legal Cases for Science Teachers |
| 1997–2006: Brian Schrag, editor; Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, Bloomington, Indiana F&C: NSF Grant Numbers SBR-9421897 and SES-9817880 |
Undergraduates and Graduate students | Research ethics focus; commentaries written by graduate and post-doctoral fellows in physical, natural, social sciences & engineering | Provided substantive and expert educational resources around research ethics | Brian Schrag | Research Ethics: Cases and Commentaries Volumes 1–7 For information about these resources, visit http://appe.indiana.edu/publications/publications-and-journals/research-ethics-cases-and-commentaries/ |
| Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, University of Santa Clara, CA F&C: donors to the Markkula Center |
High School and Middle School students | Program targeted at-risk middle and high school students through "character-based literacy" Limited to local area |
Program focused on providing literature for character education | Markkula Center | The Center suggests using literature for character education |
| University of Iowa's Biotechnology Center | Science teachers | Provides support for teachers through summer workshops, an online bioethics course, and school outreach in the areas of biotechnology and agriculture Iowa focus |
Biotech resources | University of Iowa's Biotechnology Center | http://www.biotech.iastate.edu/biotechnology-outreach-education-center-boec/ |
| National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science at the University at Buffalo, State University of NY F&C: NSF |
Undergraduate science professors; expanded in recent years to include high school teachers | Professional development workshops; teacher developed database of case studies and supporting materials for use in classrooms science focus |
Provides professional development training and resources in using the case study method Teacher developed case study database for teacher use |
Clyde (Kip) Herreid, Nancy Schiller | http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/ |
| The Genetic Science Learning Center (GSLC), University of Utah | High School teachers and students | Very engaging computer animations, accessible information to support teaching of science aspects of bioethics issues not a curriculum program |
Provides online resources to help teachers teach and students learn genetics concepts in engaging ways | Louisa Stark Staff members |
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/ |
| 1995: New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research (NJABR) Programs Videodiscovery, Inc. F&C: NSF |
High School teachers and high school students | Employed computers for classroom use; program permitted individual student self-timed instruction required special technology to play the VideoDisc |
Introduced media and computer aided independent learning idea | Jayne Mackta, Executive Director, NJABR and D. Joseph Clark, Executive Producer | "Bioethics Forums: Critical-Thinking Activities for Biology Students" (VideoDisc for teacher and student use) (offered both a Teacher's Manual and a Student Resource Book) |
| NJ Center for Ethics Education | High School teachers | Limited life span | Teacher education and support | Jayne Mackta Helen Blank |
Speaking of Ethics! A Guide for Classroom Teachers |
| Third Generation — Government Involvement and Expansion | |||||
| National Institutes of Health, Office of Science Education Curriculum Supplement Series | High school science teachers | Collaboration between educators and bioethics experts; fully developed curriculum modules ready for use in the classroom; national platform; free no face-to-face teacher training |
Offered decision making framework using key questions; did not strive for consensus in answers | NIH Office of Science Education: Bruce Fuchs and Dave Vannier NIH Center for Clinical Bioethics: Ezekiel Emanuel and Julie Tannenbaum Education Development Center staff and writing team:Mildred Z. Solomon, Jacqueline S. Miller, Kattenre Paget, Erica Jablonski, Jean Doherly, Kerry Deullet, Jeanne Chowning, Laura Bishop, and Elizabeth Crane |
Exploring Bioethics Curriculum Supplement https://science.education.nih.gov/customers/HSBioethics.html |
| President’s Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues | Public education and professional, undergraduate and high school education student education | In-depth analysis by experts on issues for which there is contemporary concern; national platform; Executive level body currently advising on policy for the US materials require interpretation for use by younger students |
Make materials accessible to US citizens and students so that the work of the Commission could be integrated and discussed in public life | President’s Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues – see list of commissioners and staffers | Multiple study guides, webinar materials, and other educational resources are available at: http://bioethics.gov/education |
| Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School (formerly Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School) | High School students | Bioethics is integrated into all curricular areas and included as course electives Program requires 5 bioethics courses and offers 2 elective bioethics courses Requires full commitment by faculty and staff and continuing professional development; requires specialized bioethics curriculum developed specifically for the high school course |
Provide a school environment that integrates bioethical values, concepts, throughout the curriculum “The following three concepts permeate the entire Bioethics curriculum like a recurring theme: 1) The exalted dignity of every human person because of his God-given powers of intellect and free will, 2) The objective nature of ethical norms as laws which are derived from human nature, and 3) The relation of moral norms to genuine human fulfillment. |
School administration, faculty, students, parents | Information about Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School’s Bioethics Curriculum: http://www.jpthegreat.org/academics/bioethics-curriculum/. See the course catalog (accessible from the link above) for bioethics course titles and descriptions. Graduation requires 2.5 bioethics credits, or at least .5 credits for each year in attendance. |
| Kent Place School | Grades K–12 | Ethics Institute presents a specialized program for students, faculty, parents, and community Reaches students 5th grade to 12 grade Requires full commitment of faculty, parents, and community |
Promote ethical awareness through ethical decision making "Our Mission: To promote the process and practice of ethical decision-making in primary and secondary school communities. To provide ethics-related programs to the Kent Place School constituents and the greater community. To become a center for research and resources on ethics-related issues relevant for the 21st century." |
Karen Rezach, Director of The Ethics Institute Eva Lazar, Ethics Institute Program Coordinator School administration, faculty, students, parents, community |
Ethics Institute; uses Ethics resources created by the Kennedy Institute of Ethics and the Hastings Center http://www.kentplace.org/Page/About-Ethics/EIKPS-Mission |
| Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) | Teachers, undergraduate and high school students | Resources are developed by experts in the field and widely available to teachers and students, require no registration or fee, flexible schedule; great adjunct materials for home schooled or interested students Impact of such courses on students especially high school students remains to be seen; no college credit is yet possible for high school students |
Quality, online and free education should be accessible to all | Universities, staff developers | Some examples of bioethics or bioethics-related MOOCs are: Kennedy Institute Introduction to Bioethics MOOC https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-bioethics-georgetownx-phlx101-02x Peter Singer Practical Ethics Course MOOC https://www.coursera.org/course/practicalethics Michael Sandel Justice Course http://www.justiceharvard.org/ |
| International Efforts | |||||
| 1996–2004 Eubios Ethics Institute |
High school teachers in Australia, Japan, New Zealand | Three independent surveys provided feedback from teachers on their knowledge and teaching of a variety of topics in biotechnology Results were published but no evidence of continuing work |
NA | Dr. Darryl R.J. Macer, Director of the Eubios Institute in Tsukuba, Japan | Y. Asada et al., “High School Teaching of Bioethics in New Zealand, Australia and Japan,” Journal of Moral Education 25, no. 4 (1996): 401-20. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0305724960250403?journalCode=cjme20 OR D. R. J. Macer et al. High School Teaching of Bioethics in New Zealand, Australia and Japan (Tsukuba, Japan: Eubios Ethics Institute, 1996), http://www.eubios.info/BHS.htm. D. R. J. Macer, “High School Bioethics Education Network in Japan,” in Bioethics in Asia, ed. N. Fujiki and D. R. J. Macer (Tsukuba, Japan: Eubios Ethics Institute, 1998), 152-66, http://www.eubios.info/Papers/YADM.htm |
| 2005 Portuguese Conselho Nacional de Ética para as Ciências da Vida | General public, high school teachers in Portugal | Served as a nation-wide effort to support the teaching of bioethics in high school | Established to encourage reflection on the current issues | National Ethics Council for the Life Sciences | Proceedings Colecção Bioética | 10 Educação e Formação em Bioética - Actas do 9th Seminário do CNECV http://www.cnecv.pt/admin/files/data/docs/1415203349_Livro%20bioetica_10_Educacao%20e%20formacao.pdf |
| 2004–present: Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) — Singapore Ministry of Education | Primary and secondary school teachers and students | National program supported by Singapore’s Ministry of Education Character and civic education is supported from earliest elementary years through high school studies Requires continuing support and teacher professional development |
Provide teachers and students with a curriculum focused on character education | Singapore Ministry of Education National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Centre for Biomedical Ethics of the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Professor Leonardo D. de Castro, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow and Professor Alastair V. Campbell, Th.D., Centre Director at NUS. |
New Syllabus and Textbook Titles for Character and Citizenship Education [press release, 2012] http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2012/11/new-syllabus-and-textbook-titl.php Subject Syllabuses-Character and Citizenship Education, 2014 http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/syllabuses/character-citizenship-education/ |
| 2010–present: Bioethics Matters: Bioethics Education | High School teachers and High school students especially in New Zealand | independent, stand-alone program; flexible and accessible new model of provision limitations of solo practitioner |
Provide teachers and students with training and tools to address complex issues in biotechnology | Deborah Stevens | http://www.bioethicseducation.com/ |
| Additional Effors | |||||
| November 2012: Loyola University Maryland School of Education, Columbia, MD | Maryland high school teachers | First statewide (Maryland) conference on bioethics in the high school curriculum public and private high school administrators science, social studies, religion, philosophy chairs and teachers in Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia, Delaware |
Joseph Procaccini, Stephanie Flores-Koulish, Laura Bishop, James Giordano | ||