Research Study Information for Parents
and Bioethics 101 Curriculum

The Northwest Association for Biomedical Research (NWABR), a non-profit organization that advances the understanding and support of biomedical research, represents over 70 universities, research institutes and hospitals, voluntary health agencies, professional societies, and biotechnology corporations. Through outreach and service to the community, our organization strives to increase public awareness of the importance of biomedical research, the process by which research advances, and the applications and implications of that research.

In 2008, NWABR received a $1.35M Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center for Research Resources at the NIH to build upon our internationally recognized Ethics in Science Program. Our program, “ Collaborations to Understand Research and Ethics” (CURE), addresses a fundamental need in science education by preparing teachers to address research and bioethical issues with their students.

The program provides teachers with a broad understanding of the context in which science is conducted in our society. It offers an opportunity to explore biomedical research from concept through research to clinical trials, and prepares teachers to address research and ethical issues with their students.

In July 2009, CURE hosted science educators from across the nation at a summer institute that focused on the process of biomedical research and its ethical considerations. Your student's teacher attended this institute and was able to experience unique instructional methods, share expertise with others, and use our curriculum (which meets the National Science Education Standards) to effectively integrate ethical and social dimensions of research.

The funding agency requires that one component of our evaluation plan must assess the impact of the project using rigorous methods, such as a well-matched comparison-group design, in order to see how well our program and materials work. Your student's teacher has been asked to introduce the CURE research study to students in September; provide instruction based on the CURE program and materials; administer a brief (15 minute) pre-test, post-test, or both; score student responses using the CURE rubric; and provide the scores to us for analysis. The pre and post tests are anonymous, and students will have the ability to opt out of taking them. This study will add to our understanding of best practices in science education, particularly in teaching and learning about biomedical research and ethics. Some teachers are in our control group – thus they are simply administering the pre and/or post-tests without teaching the curriculum.

We appreciate working with science educators to help students understand the process that generates new treatments and cures, and the ethical standards that help ensure that research is responsibly conducted. Please ask your student's teacher about our program and the support it provides. If at any time you have questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

Jeanne Ting Chowning, Principal Investigator
Director of Education, NWABR
jchowning@nwabr.org
206-957-3337 x303

Download pdf of letter

Bioethics 101 Curriculum [Draft]

Bioethics 101 provides a systematic, week-long introductory course to support educators in incorporating bioethics into the classroom through the use of sequential, day-to-day lesson plans. This curriculum is designed to help science teachers in guiding their students to analyze issues in light of the scholarly discipline of ethics.

• Cover
  
• Overview
  
• Day 1—Introduction to Bioethics
  Students are introduced to the characteristics of an ethical question by participating in the discussion of an ethical dilemma involving the distribution of a scarce resource—antiviral flu medication—during a flu outbreak. Students are asked to determine the best course of action in the face of conflicting choices, while examining the underlying values that serve as a basis for their reasoning. Lastly, students learn why it is important to study bioethics.
  
• Day 2—Principles of Bioethics
  Students consider different types of questions (those with answers based on fact, preference, or reasoned judgment) and determine where those questions fall along the range of purely subjective to purely objective. Students then improvise short skits to illustrate familiar concepts such as fairness, respect, and ‘doing good’ which sets the foundation for the Principles of Bioethics: Respect for Persons, Maximize Benefits/Minimize Harms, and Justice. Students then apply these bioethical principles to the Pandemic Flu ethical dilemma they were introduced to on Day 1.
  
• Day 3—Finding the Stakeholders
  Students read a case study about Dennis, a 14-year old boy who has been diagnosed with leukemia. The doctors treat the leukemia with chemotherapy, which dramatically reduces the number of Dennis’s blood cells; Dennis, however, refuses life-saving blood transfusions because they conflict with his faith. Students identify an ethical question to explore, and consider how the Principles of Bioethics (Respect for Persons, Maximizing Benefits/Minimizing Harms, and Justice) relate to the case. Students then identify the stakeholders—the people or institutions that are affected by the outcome—and work in small groups to clarify stakeholder values, interests, and concerns. After stakeholder groups present their positions to the class, the class generates options for possible resolutions to the case.
  
• Day 4—Making a Strong Justification
  In this lesson, students learn the characteristics of a strong justification and apply them to a decision about an ethical question. Students brainstorm what makes a weak justification, and are then primed to identify what makes a strong justification through their participation in a silent debate. Students refer to the Case Study: Dennis’s Decision from Day 3, and evaluate a number of pre-written justifications for that case. For each justification, students consider whether or not a decision has been made, if scientific facts have been included, if stakeholder views are represented, if there is reference to bioethical principles, and if alternate solutions are considered. Once students understand the elements of a well-crafted justification, they come to their own decision about Dennis and write their own justification.
  
  Powerpoint to accompany lesson - shared by Deb North, Technology Access Foundation
  
• Day 5—Putting it all Together
  In this lesson, students read a case study about a U.S. pharmaceutical company that arrives in Nigeria during a meningitis epidemic in order to test a new antibiotic. Students work through a Decision-Making Framework in small groups, in which they identify the ethical question, determine which facts are known or unknown, consider the values of different stakeholder groups, generate possible solutions, and then make and justify a decision about the case. This is a jigsaw exercise, in which students first meet in ‘like’ stakeholder groups to become experts in the values and concerns of that group. Teams are then rearranged so that each new group has students from different stakeholder viewpoints. After sharing the views and values of each stakeholder group with their peers, groups work together to generate options for solutions to the case study. Lastly, students come to individual decisions about the case and write a thorough justification.
  
• Appendix

Read a recent article from the journal SCIENCE about NWABR's Bioethics Work:

October 2008 Science Journal Article

This program is funded by 'Collaborations to Understand Research and Ethics', a Science Education Partnership Award from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health.

NWABR is a 501(c)3 organization. All contributions are tax deductible.
Copyright 1999-2009 Northwest Association for Biomedical Research.
All rights reserved.