Schedule | Faculty & Staff | Participants
Bioethics: Approaches and Methods for Secondary Education
Center for Bioethics, Philadelphia PA
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D. is the Emanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and the Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to Penn in 1994, Art taught at the University of Minnesota, the University of Pittsburgh, and Columbia University. He was the Associate Director of the Hastings Center from 1984-1987. Art is the author or editor of twenty-five books and over 500 papers in refereed journals of medicine, science, philosophy, bioethics and health policy.
Matthew Isenberg, BA earned his bachelor's degree in Philosophy at The Pennsylvania State University in 2008. He is currently an intern at the Center for Bioethics. His interests include medical and sports ethics as well as philosophy of technology.
Igor Jasinski, MA received an master's degree in philosophy from Stony Brook University. For the last fifteen years, he has been teaching philosophy, German and Latin in both private and public high schools in New Jersey and New York. Having seen firsthand that students are eager to think philosophically, Igor developed instructional materials specifically designed for the teaching of philosophy and bioethics at the high school level. He is pursuing an Ed.D. in Pedagogy and Philosophy at Montclair State University and teaches at The Pingry School, an independent private high school in Martinsville, New Jersey.
Craig Merow, Ed.D. is chairman of the middle school mathematics department and teacher of upper school philosophy at Germantown Academy. After teaching mathematics, physics, and biology for 29 years in both public and private schools, Craig decided that it was time to confront the really big questions: he earned a B.A. in philosophy at the University of Waterloo (Ont.) and won a Kast Grant to study at Oxford. He is currently an MBE student at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the American Philosophical Association's Committee on Pre-College Instruction in Philosophy.
Jason L. Schwartz, MBE, AM is a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics and a doctoral candidate in Penn's Department of History and Sociology of Science. His research examines ethical, historical, and policy issues in public health, with a particular focus on vaccines and vaccination programs. Jason is a graduate of Princeton University, where he received an A.B. in classics, and the University of Pennsylvania, where he received master's degrees in bioethics (MBE) and the history and sociology of science (AM).
Dominic Sisti, MBE is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Philosophy at Michigan State and a research associate at the Center for Bioethics. His interests include philosophy of medicine & psychiatry, clinical ethics, & research ethics. Dom received his master's degree from Penn (Bioethics, 2000) and his bachelor's degree from Villanova (Biology, 1996).
Meghan Snow, M.Ed. earned her bachelor's degrees in biology and philosophy at Villanova University. For the last four years she was a science teacher and department chair in an urban middle school in Houston, Texas. She has also worked as a teacher trainer for Teach for America in their summer institute and ongoing professional development. In May, Meghan earned a second master's in Education Policy and Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (meghan.snow@gmail.com)
Participants
Center for Bioethics, Philadelphia PA
June 24-25, 2010
This workshop is offered by The University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics with the generous support of The Dana Foundation.
Schedule
Schedule
| Thursday June 24 | |
| 8:45am | Breakfast & Greetings |
| 9:00am |
Art Caplan: "Good, Better, Best: Should We Improve Ourselves Through Biological Engineering?" Figuring out what counts as 'normal' and 'enhanced' is especially relevant to high school students. Some students might find cognitive enhancement through Ritallin and Adderall acceptable, but argue steroids and performance enhancing technologies in sports are unacceptable. In this session, Professor Caplan will discuss this ethical quandary and will describe ways to teach about it.  |
| 11:00am | Discussion |
| 12 noon | Catered Lunch |
| 12:30pm | Craig Merow: "Giving Students the Skills to Join the Conversation" Bioethical issues such as end-of-life decisions, genetic testing, neuroethics and organ donation, affect us all. In this session we will discuss exercises, skills, and concepts that can enhance the ability of high school students to contribute to the public debate on these important ethical concerns. Topics will include understanding ethical theories, diagramming arguments, writing dialogs, and blogging. Craig will be joined by two of his students, Logan Cody and Claudia Mezey, both of whom were active in Germantown Academy's philosophical discussion group AGORA. |
| 2:00pm | Discussion |
| 2:30pm | Igor Jasinski & Dominic Sisti: "The Case of Terri Schiavo: Critical Thinking and Neurophilosophy" The tragic case of Terri Schiavo highlighted just how little politicians, the media, the general public, and even some physicians knew about the clinical facts of persistent vegetative state. This clinical confusion led to confused ethical positions. In this session we will review some of the key facts around the Schiavo case, and highlight the way ethical arguments had been deployed on both sides. We will also work through exercises designed to help students critically examine both the ethical and metaphysical dimensions of this controversial case. |
| 4:00-6:00pm | Reception |
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| Friday June 25 | |
| 8:45am |
Coffee & Breakfast |
| 9:30am | Igor Jasinski & Dominic Sisti: "A Primer on Research Ethics, History, & Cases in Neuroscience" What are the ethical standards of human subject research? What is unique about the ethical issues in neuroscience research? Such basic questions require both an understanding of the process of basic science as well as the social and political values that affect the enterprise of biomedical research. In this session, we will demonstrate a curricular module that aims to help students address these questions. It includes a brief overview of historical cases in research ethics and important policies used to guide research with human subjects. Particular attention will be given to the ethical dimensions of brain mapping research, forensic and military uses of neuroscience, and cutting edge scanning technology that probes people's thoughts and intentions. |
| 11:30am | Discussion |
| 12 noon |
Catered Lunch |
| 12:30pm | Jason Schwartz: "Vaccine Ethics: Prevention, Individual Rights, and the Common Good" High school students have been primary target groups for the two most prominent and controversial recent vaccination programs, those against human papillomavirus (HPV) and H1N1 ‘pandemic' influenza. As with vaccination policy overall, the regulation and promotion of these vaccines have generated significant debate, particularly with respect to state laws that mandate many vaccines as a condition of school attendance. This session will explore the ethical arguments underlying topics in vaccine policy through the real-time case studies of HPV and H1N1 vaccination campaigns. We will examine how these examples can be used to illustrate several of the major theories and principles of bioethics. We will also review a collaboration between Penn and a local school to introduce vaccine ethics to high school students. |
| 2:30pm - 4:00pm | Lesson Plan Focus Groups: "Animal Use Ethics" & "Psychopharmacology & The Self" A brief discussion about how to refine and improve bioethics curricular modules currently being developed by the Penn High School Bioethics Project. |
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D. is the Emanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and the Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to Penn in 1994, Art taught at the University of Minnesota, the University of Pittsburgh, and Columbia University. He was the Associate Director of the Hastings Center from 1984-1987. Art is the author or editor of twenty-five books and over 500 papers in refereed journals of medicine, science, philosophy, bioethics and health policy.
Matthew Isenberg, BA earned his bachelor's degree in Philosophy at The Pennsylvania State University in 2008. He is currently an intern at the Center for Bioethics. His interests include medical and sports ethics as well as philosophy of technology.
Igor Jasinski, MA received an master's degree in philosophy from Stony Brook University. For the last fifteen years, he has been teaching philosophy, German and Latin in both private and public high schools in New Jersey and New York. Having seen firsthand that students are eager to think philosophically, Igor developed instructional materials specifically designed for the teaching of philosophy and bioethics at the high school level. He is pursuing an Ed.D. in Pedagogy and Philosophy at Montclair State University and teaches at The Pingry School, an independent private high school in Martinsville, New Jersey.
Craig Merow, Ed.D. is chairman of the middle school mathematics department and teacher of upper school philosophy at Germantown Academy. After teaching mathematics, physics, and biology for 29 years in both public and private schools, Craig decided that it was time to confront the really big questions: he earned a B.A. in philosophy at the University of Waterloo (Ont.) and won a Kast Grant to study at Oxford. He is currently an MBE student at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the American Philosophical Association's Committee on Pre-College Instruction in Philosophy.
Jason L. Schwartz, MBE, AM is a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics and a doctoral candidate in Penn's Department of History and Sociology of Science. His research examines ethical, historical, and policy issues in public health, with a particular focus on vaccines and vaccination programs. Jason is a graduate of Princeton University, where he received an A.B. in classics, and the University of Pennsylvania, where he received master's degrees in bioethics (MBE) and the history and sociology of science (AM).
Dominic Sisti, MBE is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Philosophy at Michigan State and a research associate at the Center for Bioethics. His interests include philosophy of medicine & psychiatry, clinical ethics, & research ethics. Dom received his master's degree from Penn (Bioethics, 2000) and his bachelor's degree from Villanova (Biology, 1996).
Meghan Snow, M.Ed. earned her bachelor's degrees in biology and philosophy at Villanova University. For the last four years she was a science teacher and department chair in an urban middle school in Houston, Texas. She has also worked as a teacher trainer for Teach for America in their summer institute and ongoing professional development. In May, Meghan earned a second master's in Education Policy and Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (meghan.snow@gmail.com)
Participants
| Cynthia Armstrong: Education: B.S. Biology (San Jose State University), M.A. (Ed) Stanford University; Teaching Experience: High school Biology, Human Anatomy & Physiology, Chemistry Monte Vista Christian School, Watsonville, Ca. (carmstro@cruzio.com) |
| Teri Anger: I have been a Biology and Physical Science teacher at Saul H.S. for 8 years. While at Saul, I have participated in the Penn BioPD group and have worked with Earth Force. I currently serve as the School Based Teacher Leader. Before teaching, I was a zookeeper at the Philadelphia Zoo. (tntanger@aol.com) |
| Chris Briggs: Chris Briggs is a science teacher at Tinicum Art & Science, a small private Buddhist high school in Bucks County, PA. By meeting students where they are academically, Chris concentrates on developing motivated students and critical thinkers. Prior to becoming a teacher Chris worked in the plastics industry as a QC lab technician. Chris has his BA in Secondary Education/Biology from East Stroudsburg University. (chris@tinicumartandscience.org) |
| Katrina Burns: Education: A.S Molecular Biotechnology, B.S. Microbiology; I worked as a laboratory manager for college teaching and teaching support laboratories for 17 years. I am a full time student in the Masters Bioethics Program at the University of Pennsylvania. One of my interests is bioethics training for students. (burnskat@mail.med.upenn.edu) |
| Tom Evans: Biology Teacher (Since 1977) – Biology, AP Biology, Microbiology; St. George’s School, Newport, RI; I have made recent visits and met with top HIV researchers at Harvard AIDS Initiative, Emory Center for AIDS Research, Brown University Medical Center, Cornell Medical Center, and North Carolina State University. My goal is to make our students more aware of the importance of innovative thinking and basic science application in the real world of research –especially the challenges faced by HIV-AIDS researchers. (Tom_Evans@stgeorges.edu) |
| Pacho Gutierrez: I am originally from Bogota, Colombia. I have been teaching science at George School since the fall of 1986 (24 years). George School is a Quaker (predominantly) boarding school in Buck's County of which I am a graduate. My education is in biology and related fields. I am currently teaching two yearlong courses in biology and one in 9th grade general science. I also teach two terms of cognitive neurology, which is one of several life science elective courses for juniors and seniors. In the past I have taught electives in animal behavior, biodiversity, and ornithology to name a few. Outside of the classroom I am involved in coaching wrestling and tennis, as well as leading international workcamps to Latin America. (Pacho_Gutierrez@georgeschool.org) |
| Roberta Israeloff: Roberta Israeloff has directed the Squire Family Foundation since its inception in 2007. The Foundation advocates for philosophy and ethics instruction at the pre-college level and works closely with the American Philosophical Association in creating PLATO, the Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization; and the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, sponsor of the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl. (risraeloff@squirefoundation.org) |
| Nancy Hopkins-Evans, Ph.D. is an administrator in the Chief Academic Office for the School District of Philadelphia. She is also a biochemist with work experiences at the university and in industry. She managed the development and implementation of the high school core curriculum in four content areas for the School District of Philadelphia that included four science courses. She is deeply passionate about science, diversity in science, science literacy for all and science as a human endeavor. (nhopkinsevans@philasd.org) |
| Camille McQuillan: I am Camille McQuillan, MS, PhD; teaching biology at Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, Pa for the past 5 years. My master's research was completed at NIH's Bone Research Branch studying affects of hormones on the regulation of human bone genes. I received my PhD in 1995 from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia for work in molecular genetics that aimed at elucidating abnormalities in patients carrying chromosomal translocations. With a background in biotechnology spanning 2 decades, I am interested in the ethical use of these procedures in living organisms, and how to teach undergraduate college students to effectively debate the issues. (camille.mcquillan@delval.edu) |
| Patricia Meyers: I have been teaching biology for 20 years at Twin Valley High School (Berks/Chester counties). I am interested in incorporating bioethical discussion into my classes to encourage individual reflection and to increase the relevance and meaning of my students' learning. I have two adult children and enjoy golfing with my husband in the summer. (pmeyers@tvsd.org) |
| Patricia Sidelsky: MS Biology, Rutgers University. I am currently an Academic Advisor and Professor for the Department of Biological Sciences at Drexel University. I taught for thirty years at the high school level ( AP Biology and Genetics). I currently teach Microbiology and Genetics at the undergraduate level.. My interest in bioethics is related to issues generated by advances in biomedical research and DNA technology. I have previously integrated student projects on genetically modified organisms and gene therapy into my courses. (pls45@drexel.edu) |
| Chuck Sidman: I have been a career high school biology teacher after a B.S. degree from Suffolk Univ. and Masters from U. of Mass. I originally taught in Massachusetts, the we went on a six year excursion overseas to teach in American schools in Greece and the London. We then returned to the US to Florida where I am currently teaching. I have taught several biology classes ranging from basic to the AP and HL IB level which I currently teach. My interest in the workshop includes the biological end-neuroscience, as well as topics in ethics. The IB curricula tries to integrate as many fields as possible and I am hoping to come up with ideas to incorporate my class in discussions with several others. (sidmanc@bellsouth.net) |
| Larry Stone: Long Island City High School (rocksnroses@gmail.com) |
| Liliana M. Torres: The Pingry School, Martinsville, NJ (ltorres@pingry.org) |
| Alison Tyler: Alison Tyler, BA earned her bachelor’s degree in Informal Science Education at Juniata College in 2009. She is now a Science Educator at the Franklin Institute Science Museum. Her interests include mental health and reproductive ethics, as well as engaging museum visitors in ethical questions. (atyler@fi.edu) |
| Carol Zepatos: I am currently teaching, Honors Biology, SimMan (a project using an articulate mannequin), Botany and Bioethics ( a required course for AMST) at the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, NJ. BCA is a public magnet high school that has a number of "Academies" on the same campus (AAST, AEDT, AMST, ABF, ACST, ACAHA, and AVPA). I have been at the Academies for 15 years. (carzaep@bergen.org) |
