To begin this learning activity, the class will be divided into groups of between 6 and 10 and each of these will then be split in half to form debating teams of around 3 - 5 students. Each team will then be required to construct a comprehensive and coherant argument for a particular stance of a bioethical issue and debate their viewpoint to the remainder of the class. Some students may find themselves playing 'the devils advocate' where they are arguing a stance that they do not nessesarily agree with, however, this ability to separate an emotional argument from an academic argument is an important skill for students to develop. This form of student debate and discussion is a very appropriate manner to explore bioethical issues with students as an 'issue' is just that; there is no right or wrong answer, only points of view based upon socially constructed values. Some possible bioethical issues related to human intervention in evolutionary processes may include topics such as embyonic selection in humans and the reasons behind it, stem cell reseach or intended vs. unintended traits that result from selective breeding in animals, to name just a few.
Assessment: Teacher and Peer Review
The assessment for this activity is carried out in two ways. Firstly, students will be peer assessed by the audience (the remainder of the class) based upon a predetermined rubric that has been jointly created by the teacher and the class. This not only provides the students with useful formative assessment but also helps to keep them activly engaged when they are not part of the current debate. Secondly, each students will be assessed (quantitative and qualitative) by the teacher based not only on their ability to construct and argue a case but also on their demonstrated engagement with the topic and their ability to work as part of a group which includes their responsibility to their debating team and also their responsibility to provide constructive feedback to other members of the class.
CURRICULUM MAP (Links to VCE Biology Study Design)
Learning Activity
Skills
Assessment
Bioethical Issues Debate
'...evaluate experimental procedures and reliability of data;
analyse and synthesise data; draw conclusions consistent with the question under investigation and the evidence obtained;
work independently and collaboratively as appropriate'
As Above
Area of Study
Key Knowledge
Learning Outcomes
2 - Change Over Time
'...human intervention in evolutionary processes; selective breeding; application of gene technologies: cloning of organisms; transformation; stem cell differentiation; genetic screening, gene therapy'
'...describe mechanisms for change including the effect of human intervention on evolutionary processes'
Bioethical Issues Debate
To begin this learning activity, the class will be divided into groups of between 6 and 10 and each of these will then be split in half to form debating teams of around 3 - 5 students. Each team will then be required to construct a comprehensive and coherant argument for a particular stance of a bioethical issue and debate their viewpoint to the remainder of the class. Some students may find themselves playing 'the devils advocate' where they are arguing a stance that they do not nessesarily agree with, however, this ability to separate an emotional argument from an academic argument is an important skill for students to develop. This form of student debate and discussion is a very appropriate manner to explore bioethical issues with students as an 'issue' is just that; there is no right or wrong answer, only points of view based upon socially constructed values. Some possible bioethical issues related to human intervention in evolutionary processes may include topics such as embyonic selection in humans and the reasons behind it, stem cell reseach or intended vs. unintended traits that result from selective breeding in animals, to name just a few.
Assessment: Teacher and Peer Review
The assessment for this activity is carried out in two ways. Firstly, students will be peer assessed by the audience (the remainder of the class) based upon a predetermined rubric that has been jointly created by the teacher and the class. This not only provides the students with useful formative assessment but also helps to keep them activly engaged when they are not part of the current debate. Secondly, each students will be assessed (quantitative and qualitative) by the teacher based not only on their ability to construct and argue a case but also on their demonstrated engagement with the topic and their ability to work as part of a group which includes their responsibility to their debating team and also their responsibility to provide constructive feedback to other members of the class.
CURRICULUM MAP (Links to VCE Biology Study Design)
analyse and synthesise data; draw conclusions consistent with the question under investigation and the evidence obtained;
work independently and collaboratively as appropriate'