bioethics classroom

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Dr Chris Willmott Dept of Biochemistry University of Leicester [email protected] Tackling bioethics in the classroom – some practical ideas University of Leicester Lincoln, February 2008

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Page 1: Bioethics Classroom

Dr Chris Willmott Dept of Biochemistry University of Leicester [email protected]

Tackling bioethics in the classroom –

some practical ideas

University ofLeicester

Lincoln, February 2008

Page 2: Bioethics Classroom

Ethics in the classroom Growing importance of (bio)ethics in school curriculum

• Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology

• New AS/A levels from September 2008

• Perspectives on Science AS level

• New GCSEs since September 2006

• Citizenship education

Page 3: Bioethics Classroom

Bioethics = Bio AND Ethics! • Science – COULD it be done?

• Ethics – SHOULD it be done?

Important that both are being considered:

Science without ethics may be immoral

Ethics without science may be impossible

Page 4: Bioethics Classroom

Ethics -

concerns e.g. (regarding Ethics dimension of SNAB A level)

“It’s quite a challenging role for a teacher, I think. If you’ve not got the in depth understanding of a lot of the ethics which goes behind it… it is quite unnerving… some of the questions that students can ask you… it sort of undermines your authority sometimes”

Anonymous teacher quoted by Lewis (Jnl Biol Edn 40:101-106, 2006)

Page 5: Bioethics Classroom

Approaches • Case studies/ scenarios

• Debate and role-play

• Newspapers

• Book extracts

• Guest lectures

• TV programmes

• Structured activity based on news footage

• Clips from other programmes

• Knowing what’s on and when

Page 6: Bioethics Classroom

Approaches • Case studies/ scenarios

• TV programmes

• Structured activity based on news footage

• Clips from other programmes

• Knowing what’s on and when

Page 7: Bioethics Classroom

Case studies & scenarios • Case studies allow real-world framing of otherwise abstract ideas

• As such, can have a key role in opening up complex issues for students

• May be genuine or fictional (though latter work best when as close to real as possible)

Page 8: Bioethics Classroom

Carl is a twenty-one year old builder. He is engaged to Julie, and she has recently discovered that she is expecting their first child. In 2001, Carl’s maternal grandfather died from Huntington’s disease (HD), a late-onset degenerative disease of the nervous system. HD is inherited in a dominant fashion; if you do have HD, you have a 50% chance of passing it on to your children. Carl’s mum has decided not to take the test to find out if she got the faulty copy from her father, but now that he is expecting to be a father himself, Carl is keen to find out if there is any risk that he has passed on the condition.

What are some of the issues at stake for Carl and Julie? What are the consequences of taking the test, or deciding not to? If you were Carl, what would you do?

Case study –

Carl and Julie

Page 9: Bioethics Classroom

Carl can know his status and prepare accordingly

But his mum has made a conscious decision not to know, hence potential harm to her

Other consequences: - Carl’s relationship with Julie? - Carl’s relationship with baby? - Implications for Carl’s work? - Insurance implications, etc

Genetic screening

(Developed from episode of “Bitter Inheritance”)

Page 10: Bioethics Classroom

TV footage –

why? • Familiar visual medium

• Can be used to: - convey information - as discussion starters

• Clips save time over full programme

Page 11: Bioethics Classroom

What sort of programmes? • Documentaries, e.g.

- A child against all odds (2006) - Who’s afraid of designer babies? (2005) - The dark secret of Hendrik Schön (2004)

• Drama e.g. - Holby city (various, esp 2006) - The Simpsons (e.g. Trash of the titans, 1998) - Million dollar baby (2004)

• News clips - topical - pithy summary

Page 12: Bioethics Classroom

Example 1: scene setter

South Park: “Kenny Dies” (Paramount Comedy Channel, 16th Jan 2006)

This recording is to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence

Page 13: Bioethics Classroom

Therapeutic Cloning

You are going to see a 3 minute video from Five News on June 16th 2004, discussing an application by a team of scientists at Newcastle University for permission to carry out “therapeutic cloning”. Read through these questions before you see the clip, so you know what to look out for.

From the video Explain how therapeutic cloning would work What is the source of the eggs to be used in this research?

What is the stated aim of the research? Thinking deeper In the clip, Professor Murdoch says: “Imagine a child, say a ten year old child, now who is diabetic who’s cells that normally produce insulin are not working properly, so that child will have to take insulin injections for the rest of their life. Possibly, in five or ten years time, we could be in a situation where we could take a tiny piece of skin from that child, do some work within the laboratory to tell that skin cell to forget that it was ever a skin cell, to learn to become a stem cell, which means that it has no background

information about what it is going to be, and then teach that stem cell to become an insulin secreting cell so that cell can be planted back into the child and then the diabetes theoretically would be cured.” Compare this with the explanation of how therapeutic cloning would work; - in what ways was it different, and - in what ways was it the same? What objections to stem cell research are mentioned in the video? What other reasons (not mentioned) may cause people to object to therapeutic cloning? What technical difficulties might make this work difficult to achieve?

Example 2: structured news

Page 14: Bioethics Classroom

Example 2: structured news

This recording is to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence

Five News Five, June 16th 2004

Page 15: Bioethics Classroom

A Child Against All Odds BBC1, November 14th 2006

Example 3: technical information

This recording is to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence

Page 16: Bioethics Classroom

GATTACA Channel 4, September 4th 2005

Example 4: discussion starter

This recording is to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence

Page 17: Bioethics Classroom

GATTACA –

questions to consider GATTACA (Dir: Andrew Niccol, 1997) is set “in the

not too distant future”. Having watched the clip, consider the following questions:

1.

How realistic is the genetic screening process shown in the film? Which aspects can already be done? Which are likely to be more difficult?

2. Screening of this type would be controversial. What are some of the potential benefits, and what are some of the potential problems?

3. Consider your answers to Q2. What form of ethical thinking does each represent?

4. Does this film offer any insights into current development in genetic screening?

Page 18: Bioethics Classroom

GATTACA –

Science issues Technology shown could offer selection, not

enhancement –

gene can only be included if mum or dad had it!

Current PGD? Future PGD?Genetic determinism? How much of us as individuals

is down to our genes and how much down to other factors (food intake, trauma, etc)?

Page 19: Bioethics Classroom

GATTACA –

Ethical issues Genetic discrimination –

‘Valids’

v ‘In-valids’? A

‘made-man’

v a ‘faith-birth’? A ‘vitro’ v a ‘utero’? Insurance moratorium in UK (until 2011). Risk and

social exclusion?What would it be suitable to check for? Diseases?

Gender? Physical features? Character traits?What costs to the individual and to society are worth

paying in order to select-out diseases?What do such attitudes say about people with

disabilities now? Role of genetics in forensics?

Page 20: Bioethics Classroom

Knowing what’s on and when For scheduled programmes:• Radio Times, etc• www.trilt.ac.uk Television and Radio Index for Learning and Teaching

Page 21: Bioethics Classroom

Knowing what’s on and when For scheduled programmes:• Radio Times, etc• www.trilt.ac.uk Television and Radio Index for Learning and Teaching

• Need to be member of BUFVC to use TRILT (cost for Schools = £375 per annum)

• www.tvgenius.co.uk

But, news isn’t known in advance!• Today programme (Radio 4)• BBC website, esp. Health and Science/Nature sub-sections

Page 22: Bioethics Classroom

Getting hold of programmes & clips • Off-Air Recordings

- recorded at time of transmission - requires Educational Recording Agency licence

• Back-up www.bufvc.ac.uk/services/offair.html British Universities Film & Video Council

• Increasing availability of streamed news clips, esp. on the BBC website, but shortly also on the Newsfilm online site (http://newsfilm.bufvc.ac.uk)

• Legitimate and unlicensed use of programmes on YouTube, Google Video etc

Page 23: Bioethics Classroom

Helpful websites e.g. www.bioscience.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/ethicsbrief.htm

Bioethics BriefingsSix titles and

others to follow

Page 24: Bioethics Classroom

Helpful websites e.g. www.beep.ac.uk

Page 25: Bioethics Classroom

Helpful websites e.g. www.at-bristol.org.uk/cz/Default.htm

Page 26: Bioethics Classroom

Helpful websites: BioethicsBytese.g. www.bioethicsbytes.wordpress.com

Page 27: Bioethics Classroom

BioethicsBytes: Drama

Page 28: Bioethics Classroom

BioethicsBytes: Extended Comm.

Page 29: Bioethics Classroom

BioethicsBytes: Streamed News

Page 30: Bioethics Classroom

Acknowledgements • Bonnie Green and David Willis

• GENIE (the Genetics Education CETL) and the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme

• Audio-Visual Services, UoL

www.bioethicsbytes.wordpress.comdel.icio.us/chriswillmott/bioethics