Hello Justice, Hello Fairness: Teachers Discover Ethics Camp

WHAT do high school teachers do at science ethics camp?

They watch a lot of obscure educational videos: "The Whole Truth" (Wherein an ambitious scientist who fudges data is confronted by his intrepid research assistant!); "Of Mice and Mendoza" (A researcher for a pharmaceutical firm tragically learns too late that he is prohibited by his company from sharing data with university scientists!); and "The Cutting Edge" (A young woman must decide – to be tested for a genetic disease or not to be tested.)

Ethics campers learn nifty teaching exercises they can take back to their classrooms. One afternoon, counselors split campers into two groups and had them argue a hypothetical case before a bioethics committee also made up of campers. "It was great," said Laurel Valker, a teacher from Pacific Coast High in Orange County. "I can do an entire week’s biology lesson centered on that – and it will meet the state standard on electrophoresis."

By MICHAEL WINERIP

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/27/education/27education.html?oref=login