Part 2-Model Classroom Lessons

The following 23 lessons are designed for classroom use. They are all edited or revised versions of lessons created by teachers in our institutes. These lessons cover a wide range of topics and grade-levels. At least one lesson is included that is designed for each of the science courses commonly offered in secondary schools, including middle schools, junior high schools and senior high schools. Some of the lessons are adaptable for use in several subjects and grade-levels.

Each lesson conforms to the following format

• Title of Lesson
• The author(s) of the lesson
• Which science course(s) the lesson as written and is designed for
• The kind of teaching activity employed in the lesson. (For example, a hands-on laboratory exercise, an organized student debate, a panel discussion, student responses to case studies, discussion of ethics issues involved in a science fiction story, etc.)
• Which one, or more of the following categories of ethics-related issues best describes the lesson: Behavior of scientists, behavior of students, social issues, or honesty
• A listing of the principal ethics/values issues that are raised by the lesson
• A detailed lesson-plan, instructions for the teacher, and materials for the students
• A discussion of the appropriate use of the lesson, and the ethics/values issues that the lesson is designed to explore

List of model lessons by science class for which they are appropriate

Middle and junior high school general science

Secondary School Science Class

Chemistry Classes

Biology Classes

Earth science Classes

Physics Classes

Categories of Ethics Issues Illustrated

Lessons for any secondary school science class

(1) Alas, All Human 
(2) Student and Teacher Behaviors in Science Classrooms
(3) Keeping a Science Journal
(4) Honesty in Reporting Research
(5) What Kind of Research Should Our Government Support?

Lessons for middle and junior high school general science

(6) Low Birth weight Infants
(7) Fraud in Science: Circumstances and Consequences
(8) Recycling

Lessons for earth science classes

(9) Dune Road
(10) Summer Home
(11) The Landfill
(12) Pinebarrens
(13) The Automotive Plant

Lessons for biology classes

(12) Pinebarrens
(14) Ethics Issues From Science Fiction
(15) The Envelopes
(16) The Human Genome Project Structured Controversy
(17) Whose Life Is It?
(18) My Friend Linda
(19) The Race for the Double Helix

Lessons for chemistry classes

(10) Summer Home
(11) The Landfill
(13) The Automotive Plant
(20) Reporting Data
(21) Ethics in the Science Laboratory

Lessons for physics classes

(21) Ethics in the Science Laboratory
(22) The Law of Inertia
(23) Handling Discrepancies

Listing of model lessons by categories of ethics issues that they illustrate

Behavior of scientists

(1) Alas, All Human
(3) Keeping a Science Journal
(4) Honesty in Reporting Research
(7) Fraud in Science: Circumstances and Consequences
(13) The Automotive Plant
(14) Ethics Issues From Science Fiction
(19) The Race for the Double Helix
(20) Reporting Data
(22) The Law of Inertia

Behavior of students

(2) Student and Teacher Behaviors in Science Classrooms
(3) Keeping a Science Journal
(4) Honesty in Reporting Research
(21) Ethics in the Science Laboratory
(23) Handling Discrepancies

Social issues

(3) Keeping a Science Journal
(5) What Kind of Research Should Our Government Support?
(6) Low Birth weight Infants
(7) Fraud in Science: Circumstances and Consequences
(8) Recycling
(9) Dune Road
(10) Summer Home
(11) The Landfill
(12) Pinebarrens
(14) Ethics Issues From Science Fiction
(15) The Envelopes
(16) The Human Genome Project Structured Controversy
(17) Whose Life Is It?
(18) My Friend Linda
(22) The Law of Inertia

Honesty

(1) Alas, All Human
(2) Student and Teacher Behaviors in Science Classrooms
(3) Keeping a Science Journal
(4) Honesty in Reporting Research
(7) Fraud in Science: Circumstances and Consequences
(20) Reporting Data
(21) Ethics in the Science Laboratory
(23) Handling Discrepancies