Fostering the next generation: science fiction as an effective pedagogical tool for high school bioethics education
摘要
A growing focus on STEM at all levels of education creates a need for subject-specific, STEM-relevant bioethics education. Such education can establish a strong moral foundation for aspiring science and health professionals. It can also promote just and principled future work in science. However, a key challenge to teaching young people the concepts and methodologies of ethics is making educational materials accessible, relatable, and engaging. Science fiction can meet all three of these components. The genre is widely popular among younger learners, and its stories can both reflect and inform students’and the public’s attitudes toward science. This article describes the utility of science fiction as a valuable teaching tool for younger learners, using a high school bioethics program in the United States as an illustrative case. The authors further argue for the development of robust ethics education programs for high school students on the international level by utilizing original and pre-existing science fiction stories.