Assessing Analysis and Reasoning in Bioethics

Abstract

Developing critical thinking is a perceived weakness in current education. Analysis and reasoning are core skills in bioethics making bioethics a useful vehicle to address this weakness. Assessment is widely considered to be the most influential factor on learning (Brown and Glasner, 1999) and this piece describes how analysis and reasoning in bioethics are assessed in this department. General marking notes asserting the importance of an analytical and reasoned approach while including illustrative detail are used, as well as marking notes specific to each individual question. There are a mixture of components in each answer — reasoning, appropriateness of facts, originality and organisation — which can be difficult to mark accurately. Therefore, students are assessed by several pieces of work using a trained team of markers.

Keywords:

• ethics
• assessment
• reasoning
• bioethics
• critical thinking

Acknowledgements

I am grateful for help to Drs Ian Girling and Ethan Hack. I am grateful to the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering, Newcastle University, for support through the award of a Teaching Fellowship in support of this work.