Curriculum

Free Curriculum Under Development to Tackle Bioethics

By Sean Cavanagh — December 05, 2006 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

They are the sort of timely, complicated, and controversial science topics that can enthrall students—and bedevil teachers. When the subject is bioethics, many students bring strong opinions to class. Teachers want to channel that passion into scientifically literate discussions, but sometimes don’t know how.

Now, the National Institutes of Health is trying to help them. The federal agency has awarded a two-year contract to the Education Development Center, a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Boston, to craft a bioethics curriculum for use in high schools. The EDC, which focuses on K-12 education, early-childhood development, and health issues domestically and abroad will receive $759,000 for its work. The curriculum will be a supplement to biology textbooks, and will be free to districts across the country.

Numerous nonprofit organizations and universities in recent years have set up Web sites and written materials to provide guidance to science teachers on discussing bioethics topics. (“Science Teachers Learning to Tackle Thorny Issues Inherent in Subject,” July 26, 2006.)

This new project, financed by the NIH’s office of science education, will encourage students to develop deeper biological and overall scientific thinking when considering issues such as clinical trials, vaccination policies, the overall nature of bioethics, EDC officials said in a statement. The curricular materials are expected to be field-tested next fall.

A version of this article appeared in the December 06, 2006 edition of Education Week

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Curriculum How This School Librarian Transformed the Library and Got More Kids to Read
While schools across the country have shed librarians, Leigh Knapp became the first full-time librarian at her school.
7 min read
A look at the new seating librarian Leigh Knapp brought into Bethune Academy's school library in Milwaukee.
A look at the new seating librarian Leigh Knapp brought into Bethune Academy's school library in Milwaukee. Knapp became the school's first full-time librarian at the start of the 2024-25 school year, with a vision of revitalizing the library and changing the school's culture around reading.
Courtesy of Leigh Knapp
Curriculum Opinion Which Books Belong in Classrooms? Which Don't?
District officials, parents, and the Supreme Court are debating where to draw the line.
7 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Curriculum Video These Two Key Questions Form the Heart of Digital Literacy Instruction
Crucial lessons around digital literacy and digital safety can be framed around these two questions.
1 min read
Curriculum Opinion This State Is Achieving Impressive Reading Gains. Why?
How content-rich curricula is fueling a rise in reading scores.
7 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week