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High School Bioethics Curriculum Project*
(HSBCP) FAQ: Teaching Bioethics in the High School Classroom
Q. What is the format of the HSBCP Curriculum?
A. The HSBCP Curriculum uses case studies and discussion questions to introduce bioethics themes and issues into the secondary school classroom. Currently, the Curriculum consists of four units, each containing between 5 and 8 case studies, with associated teacher preparation topics, teaching aims, discussion questions, suggestions for further research, and a reading list. The four units cover the topics of neonatal ethics, organ transplantation, research on human beings, and eugenics. Other units are planned. The cases can be used singly or in groups and can be introduced into already existing classes or serve as the core for a new class on bioethics. At present, the HSBCP Curriculum is being made available only in workshop settings. Efforts are in the planning stages to develop a pilot unit that may be distributed to interested teachers for testing in their school settings. Please contact Laura Bishop, Ph.D. if you would like to apply to pilot test this bioethics unit. In the interim, the staff at the National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature would be happy to help you identify cases studies or other resources for use in your classrooms. Use the electronic search form on this website to request information.
Q. Are the HSBCP Curriculum and Approach appropriate for my school/students?
A. The HSBCP Curriculum is intended for, and has been tested by, teachers from the:
- Sciences,
- Social sciences,
- And the humanities.
The HSBCP's Curriculum may be and has been used in:
- Public AND private schools
- Secular AND religious schools
- Single-sex AND coed schools
- Racially/ethnically homogenous AND racially/ethnically heterogeneous schools
- Large AND small class sizes
- Teacher-lead AND team taught classes
Q. How should I use the Curriculum?
A. You may use the cases in the High School Bioethics Curriculum in a variety of ways. Each of the four units that currently comprise the prepared curriculum contains between 5 to 8 case studies with associated teaching aims, topics for teacher preparation, questions for classroom discussion, topics for further research, readings and additional references.
Depending on your course requirements and classroom schedule, you may use:
- Just one case
- Single cases from one or several units scattered throughout a course
- An entire unit (5 to 8 Cases)
- The entire curriculum as the core for an elective or advanced course
Q. What are some of the themes that can be taught with the HSBCP Curriculum?
A. Some recurring themes regarding health care and medical decision making that can be taught using the Curriculum are:
- Quality of life
- Autonomy
- Making choices
- Personhood
- Dignity
- Family dynamics/role of the family
- Public opinion
- Role of the media
- Economics of care
- Technology assessment
- Inter-generational variations
- Global/cultural variations
- Historical variations
- Historical context
- Legal issues
- Medical and scientific issues
Q. What skills will my students learn from using the bioethics case study approach?
A. Linda Anderson, one of the lead teachers on the High School Bioethics Curriculum Project, knows that students can develop a variety of skills through using bioethics cases studies and discussions found in the High School Bioethics Curriculum. She identifies the following teaching goals and student skills that can be met using the Curriculum:
- Enhance problem-solving and decision making skills
- Develop critical thinking and analytical abilities (learn to formulate and justify ideas)
- Teach good discussion and, in turn, good writing skills
- Stretch thinking and academic risk taking
- Enhance "metacognitive" abilities (as per John Bean)
- Help facilitate an understanding of different perspectives on issues
- Nurture respectful dialogue and listening
- Teach the integration of other academic disciplines and life experiences into classroom thinking and argumentation
- Develop individual and group skills
- Fine-tune research skills
- Enhance public speaking abilities
- Open up areas for career exploration
- Help form thoughtful individuals, responsible citizens, and concerned and caring members of society
Q. How Can I Introduce the Case Studies in My Classroom?
A. Many teaching techniques work well to introduce case studies into a curriculum. For example, lead by the teacher, students can:
- Brainstorm about the issues in a case
- Develop their own discussion questions for the case (these questions can form the basis for classroom discussion and individual research)
- Develop a thesis statement to be used in a class debate about the case
- Conduct an interview with another student representing a stakeholder in the case
- Develop an idea map of the issues involved in any case
- Write an outline of a argument to be used in a debate about one of the issues
- Generate a list of the pros and cons (medical, individual, family, social, public policy) associated with the various points-of-view involved in a case
Q. How can I involve the class in learning this material?
A. Several classroom activities work very well when bioethics themes, issues, and cases are discussed. These activities include:
- Discussions
- In-class debates
- Role-playing
- Fish bowl exercises
- Videos: making, viewing, or critiquing
- Idea maps
- Research reporting
- News program
- Game show format to test knowledge learned from the case study
Q. What individual assignments can I give to students?
A. Some examples of individual learning or assessment assignments include,
- Journal writing
- Research papers B either arguing for their own position or arguing for a position opposed to their own position
- Develop an analogy to explain the issues in the case to someone not in the class
- Write a an outline of how they would explain the classroom discussion to a friend in another class
- Write an article for a local or national newspaper
- Develop an examination to test fellow students' knowledge of the case
- Create a movie or short video about the case
- Write a dialogue or play using the various points of view expressed about a case
- Write an essay from one of the different perspectives in the case
- Write an essay taking the position opposite to the position held personally
- Prepare a PowerPoint® or other presentation summarizing the history, issues, and discussion about one case
- Write a bill for the state legislature or the United States Congress to address the student's concerns about the case
- Write a letter to the editor addressing one aspect of one of the problems in the case
Q. Whom should I contact for more information?
A. Please contact Laura Bishop, Ph.D., Research Associate, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University, Box 571212, Washington, DC 20057-1212; email: bishopl@georgetown.edu or hsbioethics@georgetown.edu
This FAQ page is largely based on materials developed by Linda Anderson, The Potomac School, McLean, VA. Some additional ideas were contributed by Lola Anderson, Hanover High School, East Hanover, NJ, Laura Bishop, The Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Washington, DC, and the alumni and alumnae of the HSBCP. |
