Effects of bioethics integration on the critical thinking and decision-making skills of high school students

Sally Baricaua Gutierez, Rosanelia Yangco

Abstract


Students nowadays are becoming responsive and aware of their rights and privileges.  As such, educational institutions started to develop the cognitive skills of students such as their critical thinking and decision-making skills across disciplines. This study focused on Bioethics Integration in high school Biology classes to determine its effects on the critical thinking and decision-making skills of the students. Using a quasi-experimental research design, results of the t-test on the pre- and post-test mean scores of students significantly revealed that Bioethics Integration is another useful approach in teaching high school biology.  Various teaching strategies were employed in teaching such as moral games, debates and group case analyses.

In this study, the positive effects of Bioethics Integration were influenced by factors such as interactive teaching strategies used, timeliness of the topics and media exposure of the students.  Group work and collaborative effort in most of the activities of students enhanced their capacity to communicate well allowing them to gain respect from their peers for their opinions – the first step in developing ethics in the learning environment.  


Keywords


bioethics, biology education, critical thinking skills, decision-making skills

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References


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