UPD8

Help! The powerpoint does not work for me either!

Reviewer: Rebecca Gashi

The powerpoint does work you just have to click on the blue writing.
This is fantastic for my Thinking and reasoning course. I have a low ability Y9 group who have to debate ethics and I struggle with it - well untill now!

Reviewer: Glenys Dawkins

powerpoint is not working.

Reviewer: K B

This worked well with a mixed ability year 8, although they found it difficult to align themselves with some views, especially if they disagreed with them! Overall their opinions before and after the debate had changed so some thinking obviously happened. I would use this again, although it was a squeeze in a 50 minute lesson.

Reviewer: Helen Lloyd

An excellant resource - used with low ability year 10s to explain ethics as part of 21st Century science B1. 90% of a difficult (behaviour wise) class participated and there were some excellant debates with all listening to each other - for once!!! Would highly recommend.

Reviewer: Alison Maslen

Really helped the class with 'evaluating' questions in their revision.

Reviewer: lucy baddeley

I have run this activity over two lessons with a mixed age and ability group who realy enjoyed it and benefitted greatly from looking at problems from a different perspective. Even normally shy individuals were able to read out in front of the group and participated in discussion. This is so good because it brings in citizenship and literacy. I will use it again now that we have practiced using it and I can see how adaptable it is a s a tool for ethical dilemmas. Thankyou.

Reviewer: Jennifer Mayer

A useful introduction to ethical thinking.

I posed some other ethical questions including discussing the currently topical case of the canadian woman who has donated some of her ova to be frozen for her daughter to use when the daughter's Turner's syndrome makes her sterile.

I like the approach, but id did modify the sheets to produce an A3 sheet which each character's thinking process grid and his/her speech bubble (conclusion) on it.

certainly got the Y9 middle set talking.

JUne 2008 - a year later

I find myself using the Smpletons again, this time discussing Pre-implantation Gentic Diagnosis PGD as part of C21st B1 topic you and your genes.

Again I sed my modified sheet.

the more I use this Upd8 activity the more I like it.

Reviewer: Stephen Brian

I used this with my middle ability year 10 as an end of term lesson. The majority of pupils took part and gave responses. I will use it again at the beginning of Y10 or as an intro to 21st C science at the end of Y9.

Reviewer: lee wigham

Used this with a group of lower ability, disaffected pupils. Adapted to answer the question "Should a baby be tested in the womb for cystic fibrosis?"
Art work was really easy to adapt and greeted with enthusiasm by pupils. Lively, on-task discussion followed. We typed the final conclusions into the characters speech bubbles and made them into a display which gave the class a confidence boost since it attracted comments from other pupils.

Reviewer: Alison Dennis

Jon Gurney's quibbles notwithstanding (I agree with you Jon), I think this is a timely attempt to introduce younger pupils to some principles of ethical decision-making. I hope it proves popular. There have been lots of good materials, reources and approaches for engaging younger pupils with bioethics in the last few years, with positive emphases on getting the science right and on exploring, articulating and justifying points of view. What I particularly like here is the emphasis on encouraging pupils' understanding that there are also some clear ethical principles that are worth getting to grips with. In other words, as well as the "bio" bit of bioethics needing some rigour, "ethics" also has some intellectual principles which can help us reach valid and reliable positions, even if they don't always provide resolution, and I'm glad to see an approach that places this centrally. I'm looking forward to seeing more topics from Up8 like New Womb where pupils can use these ideas in context.

Reviewer: Jeremy Airey

This is certainly a positive direction for upd8 to move in, but let me quibble with the way you lay out the area to be covered. The self-centred approach is most certainly NOT an "unethical approach". It may be "immoral", in fact I would probably argue it is, but it is not "unethical" which would imply it is devoid of criteria for values decision-making, and qualifiers like "of course" have no place in any philosophical argument. Are you trying to say a priori that a kind of Ayn Rand / Adam Smith-style individualism with social good emerging from individual self-interest can't work? Let's not go there in a science lesson.

Reviewer: Jon Gurney

Clusters of Primary schools in Powys are introducing Philosophy for Children into their learning and teaching.
I shall be making reference to the 'Simpletons' activity in forthcoming courses with teachers, as an appropriate and relevant starting point for ethical discussion, relating to science in everyday contexts.

Reviewer: JOHN GITTINS