Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly

In This Episode

For Educators

Bioethics: Where the Future May Take Us – Procedures For Teachers

In This Lesson

Prep — Preparing for the lesson
Steps — Conducting the lesson
Extension — Additional Activities


Prep

Media Components

Computer Resources:

  • Modem: 56.6 Kbps or faster.
  • Browser: Netscape Navigator 4.0 or above or Internet Explorer 4.0 or above. Macintosh computer: System 8.1 or above and at least 32 MB of RAM.
  • Personal computer (Pentium II 350 MHz or Celeron 600 MHz) running Windows® 95 or higher and at least 32 MB of RAM
  • RealPlayer
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or higher. Download the free Adobe Acrobat reader here:
    http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

Bookmarked sites:

TIP: Prior to teaching, bookmark all of the Web sites used in the lesson and create a word processing document listing all of the links. Preview all sites and videos before presenting them to the class.

Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly Web sites:

Other sites:

Materials:

Teachers will need the following supplies:

  • Board and/or chart paper
  • Ideally, a screen on which to project the Web-based video clips
  • Handouts of Web resources if computers are not available in the classroom

Students will need the following supplies:

  • computers with the capacities indicated above
  • notebook or journal
  • pens/pencils


Steps

Introductory Activity: The Future

1. To begin, write the following sentence stem on the board: “In the future…” Ask each student to try to imagine a way that life might be radically different in the future; students should then write a few sentences about their ideas. When they have finished, they can share what they wrote with a partner or small group and then discuss the exercise with the whole class. Identify common themes in students’ ideas and explain to them that they are going to be learning about some current cultural and scientific developments that few people would have imagined even thirty years ago.

Learning Activities:

Activity 1: Viewing/Reading RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY Segments

1. Introduce the topic of cloning. Ask students what they know and chart their responses, and then ask what more they would like to know and chart their questions. Then have them read and view (where video is available) the following bookmarked RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY segments, asking them in advance to notice and think about the ethical problems raised by cloning.

2. After showing the segments, ask students to take a few minutes to free-write any thoughts and reactions. Then discuss with the class some of the issues raised in the segment, asking:

  • Why is cloning controversial?
  • What are some of the potential benefits of cloning?
  • What are the negatives or the risks?

<!– 3. Proceed similarly with the following RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY segments:

  • Brain Imaging (November 14, 2003)
    https://pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week646/cover.html
    This video clip shows the emerging science of brain fingerprinting.

    Possible questions for discussion are:

    • Why is this type of brain imaging controversial?
    • What are the potential threats to privacy?
    • What are the possible benefits?
    • Does the fact that emotions are connected to brain chemistry diminish the concept of free will?
  • Premature Babies (October 22, 1999)
    https://pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week308/cover.html
    This transcript describes the medical, legal, and economic issues associated with treatment of premature infants.

    Possible questions for discussion are:

    • When technology exists to save a life, does that create an obligation to use that technology?
    • Is it justifiable to choose not to use life-saving technology? Should cost be a factor in deciding whether to use life-saving technology??
  • Xenotransplantation (January 24, 2003)
    https://pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week621/cover.html
    This video clip explores the ethical issues of using animal organs sometimes from cloned animals as transplants.

    Possible questions for discussion are:

    • What do you think about the idea of using animal organs for humans?
    • Why do you think Jim Finn had to agree not to have children?
    • Do you think it is ethical to raise animals for the purpose of harvesting their organs? How do we decide whether to use this life-saving technology?
  • Creation of a Virus (November 14, 2003)
    https://pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week711/perspectives.html
    This video shows an interview centering on the possible benefits and misuses of creating viruses.

    Possible questions for discussion are:

    • What are the possible uses of a man-made virus?
    • Do you think it would be possible to stop scientists from creating viruses, now that it has been done?
    • Is regulating scientific activity a good idea or even possible?

–>
Activity 2: Learning More

1. Students can work in groups of 4-6 to research and report on one of the topics from the RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY segments.

Each group can review the segments together, then assign and carry out further research as decided by the group. The guiding questions for each topic can help groups structure their work.

The following Web-based resources will be a start. Students can also utilize other resources, including print resources.

As students search the Internet for other sources, they probably will find sites belonging to individuals or groups with strong views. When this happens, you can use these sites as the starting point for a discussion with students about how to distinguish between a Web site that has reliable information and one that is full of misrepresentations or mistakes, or is being used to proselytize or advocate for a position. The Web site evaluation handout can guide students to think critically about information they find on the Web. Ask that each student fill out at least one during the course of their research.

2. When students have put their reports together, they can present their findings to the class, using whatever modes and media they wish. If equipment is available, students can also videotape the presentations. The format can be that of a traditional research paper, or students might have the option of presenting a play or skit, a rap, or some other performance mode.

Activity 3: Risks and Benefits

1. Students should analyze the risks and the benefits of the technology associated with the topic they researched, using the Risk and Benefit Analysis Form.

2. Divide each student group in half and distribute the Exploring Controversial Issues handout. Ask the students to stage a debate about the use of the technology they have researched. One half of the group should argue for the technology’s use, and the other half should argue against it. Using the forms to help them formulate their arguments, students may plan their positions, rehearse, and then stage their debates in front of the class.

An alternative to classic debate is a form called “academic controversy” or “creative controversy.” A lesson plan using this form to explore the death penalty issue can be found at https://pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/teachers/lp_penalty.html.

Activity 4: Mad Scientists and Others

1. There are numerous books and films that deal with controlling and designing people through genetic engineering or other technologies. Students can read or watch one or two of the following, or other works that are appropriate:

Books Films
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley Frankenstein
Brave New World , by Aldous Huxley Gattaca
Star Split, by Kathryn Lasky (YA) Minority Report
Waterbound, by Jane Stemp (YA) A.I.

2. Distribute the Fortune Teller Organizer and ask students to reflect on the predictions made in the book or film they have chosen. How many of these predictions have come true? Looking ahead to the future, which of the predictions do you think might come true?

3. Gather the students together as a class and ask them to discuss what kinds of predictions science fiction writers/filmmakers have made, and whether or not those predictions were justified. Ask them if they believe we can assess the risks of technology before it is implemented. Should we try to foretell the future of these new technologies?

Activity 4: Back to the Future (optional, for older students)

1. In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Heinar Kipphardt is a play taken entirely from the transcripts of Oppenheimer’s trial before the Atomic Energy Commission in 1954, in which he expressed trepidation about the negative uses to which his scientific work might be put. Ask students to read this play; then discuss Oppenheimer’s predictions. Ask students to discuss the following questions:

  • Which of Oppenheimer’s predictions came true?
  • Are there any that did not?
  • Were there any consequences that he did not foresee, positive or negative?

2. Follow up with looking at another development from the past which, at the time it happened prompted many predictions regarding their consequences. The birth of Louise Brown, the first “test tube” baby, in 1978 created a controversy about how far science should go to help childless couples. Now the procedures that made Louise’s birth possible are commonplace.

Students should read commentaries from that time, considering the following questions:

  • What was the range of opinions on the technology that made Louise’s life possible?
  • What were some predictions people made about in vitro fertilization?
  • Which of those predictions were accurate? Which were not?

Activity 5: Interviewing Guest Speakers

1. If possible, invite a bioethicist or a physician to speak to the class about ethical issues that arise from new technologies. A local hospital might be able to refer you to someone in the field of medical ethics.

Speakers should plan on a presentation of 5-10 minutes followed by “Q and A”. The tip sheet Guidelines for Guest Speakers can be given to guests in advance.

When your speaker or speakers are scheduled, tell the class who will be coming to speak with them, giving names, places of origin, and a brief summary of their background, and help students develop general questions to ask each speaker. Possible questions are:

  • What does it mean to be a bioethicist? What do you do?
  • What are some of the ethical issues you deal with?
  • What issues are hardest for you?
  • What kinds of bioethical problems do you see in our future?

Presentations can be videotaped or audiotaped. If the speaker is willing, the interview can also be videotaped. Students should write thank-you notes to the speaker.

Culminating Activity 1: Group Poems

1. Ask students to create group poems reflecting their ideas about bioethical issues. Have students form groups of five or six. Each group can then choose one or more of the topics they have been exploring, or you can assign topics.

2. In each group, each student should write a line or two on a piece of paper . Students can also cull lines from sources; e.g., from the RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY feature on cloning: “At what cost to our privacy?” Each line should be written on a separate strip of paper so the lines can be arranged and re-arranged easily.

3. When each group has collected the raw material for their poem, they can work together to assemble the lines they gathered into a poem. This will involve sequencing the lines, incorporating repetition if desired. For instance, the line “At what cost to our privacy?” could be repeated in the style of a chorus.

Finished poems can be written and photocopied so each group member has a copy.

4. Each group can decide how they will read their poems, with an eye towards creating a presentation that will be engaging and dramatic. Some lines might be read by one person, others by several group members, others by all. Students can move as they read, stepping forward or back, striking poses, or forming different groupings.

Once a group has composed their poem and decided how to present it, they can practice their presentation.

5. Finally, each group can present their poem to the rest of the class. Finished poems can be posted.

Culminating Activity 2: Art Project

1. Students can create art works reflecting their ideas about bioethical issues. They can work individually, in pairs, or in small groups. This activity can be done in class or as homework.

2. Groups or individuals can state their themes, then choose ways to express their themes artistically. Possibilities include: posters, collages, and three-dimensional presentations, incorporating drawing, painting, photos, and real-life objects.

3. Finished art works can be presented to the class, then displayed.

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