Bring ethics into your chemistry classroom

I remember the scene well – actors with their eyes wide, music swelling, camera panning to that first majestic reveal of Jurassic Park’s dinosaurs. I was 11 when this film came out and it remains a favourite of mine.

It was during a later viewing, as a PhD student, that a line from Jeff Goldblum caught my attention: ‘Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.’

So much of science focuses on the extension of our knowledge base. Our science curriculum is rightly packed with the theoretical understanding and scientific methodology needed to build the foundations for scientific discovery. But by leaving ethical discussion to the humanities, are we suggesting that scientists only need to worry about ‘could we’, while others decide ‘should we’?

Teaching ethics in science lessons

I have integrated ethical considerations into my teaching since my NQT year, not only because I think they’re important discussions to have, but also to extend my students’ thinking beyond the classroom and into the real world.

As well as enhancing students’ cross-curricular understanding and empathy, these conversations also give those who find our subject difficult an opportunity to shine. Including socioeconomic factors makes challenging students easy, and I find that even the quietest students have an opinion they want to share.

Sometimes I allocate 10–15 minutes of lesson time for this purpose, and other times I set aside full lessons. These topics work particularly well in pre-holiday, curriculum-adjacent sessions. Here are five strategies for discussion and one idea for written work I’ve successfully used in my teaching.

1. Line-up the whole class

Make an ethical statement at the beginning of the lesson. Ask students to line up from front to back based on how strongly they agree or disagree. Repeat this at the end of the lesson and ask who has changed their position and why.

2. Silent debate in groups of 4–6

Give each student a different coloured marker and each group an A2 page containing a prompt or question. Insist on silence. Give groups two or three minutes to annotate their page, responding to the prompt or question. Rotate the groups around the room to the next piece of paper and give them two or three minutes to read and respond to what is on that page. Students could add a new argument, build on previous groups’ comments, provide counter arguments, add ticks or crosses to agree or disagree, etc. Repeat until each group has seen each page.

This strategy can take a little getting used to, but any initial silliness normally dies down quickly. It works best if you join in with the silence too, so give clear instructions before starting. Communication via handclapping, a buzzer or a bit of pantomiming all add to the fun, and students often police each other. Allocating specific-coloured pens to your more challenging students allows you to look out for silly comments, and a penalty for rule-breakers can work well. I’ve found the threat of an extra reacting masses homework question usually does the trick.

3. String debate in groups of 4–6

Sit groups in a circle with a large ball of string. Student A holds the string and makes their point. They keep hold of the string’s end and pass the ball to student B, unravelling the string along the way. Student B makes their point and, holding onto the strand, passes the unravelling ball to the next student, and so on.

Groups end up with a web of string tracking the discussion. Sometimes one student can dominate discussions without realising it. However, if after a couple of minutes, you highlight that in the best groups each student holds similar amounts of string, more dominant students can self-regulate without feeling singled out.

4. Diamond nine in pairs

Give each pair nine sticky notes. Learners write down one relevant point on each note and then arrange them in a 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 diamond, based on their importance, with the highest priority point at the top and the lowest at the bottom.

5. Role play in groups of 4–6

Give each student a professional role within the discussion. For fast fashion, for example, roles could include the consumer, a garment worker, a health and safety specialist and a CEO. Students debate the topic from their character’s perspective. I find designating the roles beforehand prevents learners wasting the allocated debate time arguing over who plays who.

Ask your students to each produce a written piece of work based on their discussions. Give them an audience or medium to focus their writing, perhaps a letter to their MP, a magazine article or even a piece of propaganda written from their chosen viewpoint. This will further bolster their critical thinking skills.

In preparation for a post-AI world, with scientific discovery accelerating exponentially, it’s vital to develop a generation of scientists prepared to stand up and contribute to the increasingly important discussions of not only could we do something, but should we.