Personalized Genetic Testing as a Tool for Integrating Ethics Instruction into Biology Courses

Abstract

Personalized genetic testing (PGT) has been used by some educational institutions as a pedagogical tool for teaching human genetics. While work has been done that examines the potential for PGT to improve students’ interest and understanding of the science involved in genetic testing, there has been less dialogue about how this method might be useful for integrating ethical and societal issues surrounding genetic testing into classroom discussions. Citing the importance of integrating ethics into the biology classroom, we argue that PGT can be an effective educational tool for integrating ethics and science education, and discuss relevant ethical considerations for instructors using this approach.