WebQuest

Designer Babies... Is the World Ready?

Add to Favorites

Process

This webquest consists of four steps:

Everyone starts by reading an article from the August 2014 edition of Popular Science magazine. The article is entitled, "Infant Possibilities" and can be found on page 50 of the magazine or at the following URL: http://www.popsci.com/article/science/infant-possibilities. The article provides a good overview of the possibilities that currently exist in embryonic selection. A short class discussion will follow to check for understanding and set the stage for the rest of the webquest.
Step 2 involves breaking into groups of four students and assigning roles within the group. The four group roles are: prospective parent, genetic counselor, genetic researcher, and medical doctor specializing in infertility treatments. Each role has specific websites to visit and questions to answer in order to be able to contribute its particular perspective to the discussion later on.
Step 3 is research and discussion within your role group. That is, all of the genetic counselors (for example) would research and answer their role-specific questions, then get together as a group to try to develop a common understanding of their point of view.
Lastly, everyone will get together and discuss/debate the pros, cons, and ethics of technologies such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), and embryo selection from the points of view of the various stakeholders now present in the class. After the in-class discussion, each student will write a personal reflection summary indicating his/her understanding of the issues involved and stance on the ethics involved.