Course Syllabus

Summer 2024 | HUM-2020-VO01 - Bioethics

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Amy Beth Kessinger
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Jennifer Gundy

General Education Requirements

VSCS Humanistic Perspectives

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course explores ethical issues and decision-making processes involved in biomedical research and practice, as viewed from legal, medical, social and philosophical perspectives. Students will apply philosophical frameworks, theoretical approaches, argument development skills, and critical thinking to address moral questions pertaining to the beginning and end of life, biotechnology and genetic experimentation, justice in healthcare, responsibilities of physicians, environmental health and other pertinent subjects.

Essential Objectives

1. Discuss individual, social, cultural, and ethical implications of making decisions on a range of moral issues related to healthcare and biology (including right to life and death, reproductive issues, sexual assignment, cloning, and the role of religion in healthcare), and reflect on varied positions surrounding these.
2. Identify and define key concepts, facts, theories, and perspectives important in clarifying and resolving bioethical concerns including patient choice, confidentiality, informed consent, access to information, and physician/family relationships.
3. Discuss types of criteria which physicians, hospital administrators, government officials, and legal professionals use in making decisions affecting human life and how these affect individuals, families, and various populations.
4. Examine current controversies in biomedical research from political, social, and philosophical perspectives.
5. Explore philosophical and social justice implications of bioethical issues such as allocation of and access to healthcare resources, differential treatment of certain groups, and environmental health; describe their effect on specific populations and propose just solutions.
6. Demonstrate critical reasoning, research, and argumentation skills in analyzing and developing informed positions about significant bioethical controversies.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

*** This is a no cost textbook or resource class. ***

This course only uses free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials. For details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Integrated: This course's generative AI policy acknowledges the use of AI is an essential skill in today's world. By using genAI for specific purposes, students become equipped with relevant skills and tools necessary to thrive in a technology-driven society. Emphasizing the mastery of generative AI should empower you to harness its potential, enhancing your problem-solving abilities and preparing you for future challenges and opportunities. Be aware, however, that any time generative AI is used at any point in the assignment without attribution it may be considered a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

A Few Words about Generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT)

Writing is integral to thinking. It is also hard. Natural language processing (NLP) applications like ChatGPT or Sudowrite are useful tools for helping us improve our writing and stimulate our thinking. However, they should never serve as a substitute for either. And, in this course, they cannot.

Think of the help you get from NLP apps as a much less sophisticated version of the assistance you can receive (for free!) from a Tutor.com tutor. That person might legitimately ask you a question to jump-start your imagination, steer you away from the passive voice, or identify a poorly organized paragraph, but should never do the writing for you. A major difference here, of course, is that an NLP app is not a person. It’s a machine that is adept at recognizing patterns and reflecting those patterns back at us. It cannot think for itself. And it cannot think for you.

With that analogy in mind, you will need to adhere to the following guidelines in our class.

Appropriate use of AI when writing journals, essays, or discussion board entries:

• You are free to use spell check, grammar check, and synonym identification tools (e.g., Grammarly, and MS Word).
• You are free to use app recommendations when it comes to rephrasing sentences or reorganizing paragraphs you have drafted yourself.
• You are free to use app recommendations when it comes to tweaking outlines you have drafted yourself.

Inappropriate use of AI when writing essays or discussion board entries:

• You may not use entire sentences or paragraphs suggested by an app without providing quotation marks and a citation, just as you would to any other source. Citations should take this form: OpenAI, chatGPT. Response to prompt: “Explain what is meant by the term ‘Triple Bottom Line’” (February 15, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/).
• You may not have an app write a draft (either rough or final) of an assignment for you.

Evidence of inappropriate AI use will be grounds for submission of an Academic Integrity report. Sanctions will range from a zero for the assignment to an F for the course.

I’m assuming we won’t have a problem in this regard but want to make sure that the expectations are clear so that we can spend the semester learning things together—and not worrying about the origins of your work.

(This AI statement is used with permission from Chris Beneke.)

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criteria (Please note that this is subject to change a wee bit before the start of the course.)

• Participation in Weekly Discussion Forums: 30%
• Weekly Journals: 30%
• Bioethics at the Movies Project: 20%
• Final Project: 20%

Participation in Weekly Discussion Forums (30%): Each week, you will participate in a discussion forum. You will be graded on the quality of your overall engagement, which will include your first posting as well as the required subsequent reply posts you contribute throughout the week.

Weekly Journals (30%): Each week, you will craft and submit a brief written response (about 200 - 300 words) to a specific question I pose related to the reading/viewing homework.

Bioethics at the Movies Project (20%): You will pick a feature film from a list I provide and watch, evaluate, and analyze this film using the concepts/language of the course. Your analysis will be between 1000 - 1200 words and be graded according to the same rubric I use to grade your journals.

Final Project (20%): Details to be determined but you will have lots of freedom with this final project!

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

CLASS PARTICIPATION EXPECTATIONS

Discussion forums = class participation.

Discussion forums are a vital and required component of this course because this is where you will apply concepts, practice skills, and build community with your peers.

Forums take place in an “asynchronous” manner; in other words, we all make contributions within a certain time frame but not necessarily at the exact same time.

Full participation requires active and thoughtful engagement in class each week. The following habits are important:

• Complete all of the week's reading and assignments before the start of the forum.
• Compose a timely, substantive, and thoughtful initial response to the discussion/activity prompt.
• Contribute a minimum number of high-quality reply postings that significantly contribute to a positive learning environment.
• Address and interact with your peers by name (e.g. Dear Sally) and sign off with your own name (the one you want us to use, of course).

Students who regularly participate in discussions perform better on the major weight-bearing assignments associated with that unit.

Missing & Late Work Policy

MISSING & LATE WORK POLICIES

• Discussion Forums: Students may not go back and participate in forums that have already closed, as this is akin to participating when everyone has left the room. If a student makes an initial post but contributes no replies, they may receive a grade of 1 out of 5 for the week.
• Weekly Journals & Major Assignments: Extensions will be granted only in extenuating circumstances. If a lengthy medical problem or other emergent personal issue will result in missing weekly discussions and/or assignments, please let me know in writing as soon as possible.
• I drop the lowest journal grade and I offer extra credit. This feels fair to everyone in the course since it grants all students the opportunity to have an "off" week - whether you're sick, on vacation, or just need to charge your school battery.
• Anticipated Absences: Students who know that they will not have course access for any given week should make arrangements with me to complete assignments and some of the participation requirements prior to the absence.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity