Thinking Out Loud about Teaching Bioethics: A Contribution from the Edge

Abstract. Teaching bioethics might be likened to a rollercoaster ride of twists, turns, and dips that invite teachers and students to experience something of their own edges of fear and comfort. Here the author provides readers with a glimpse into her distinctive approach to teaching bioethics that encourages students to move beyond boundaries of personal comfort zones by willfully transgressing traditional or comfortable boundaries. The essay describes how this is accomplished through a variety of methods – provocative readings, classroom discussion, student response papers, and student ethics committees. The author contends that teaching bioethics ought to include critical pedagogical methods and an alertness for real‐life intersections of science and ethics. Teaching bioethics can be a subversive activity that encourages students and teachers to engage in making life morally livable.