A case-based bioprospecting ethics module for undergraduate CUREs with multi-institution evidence of student learning

Bioprospecting, the search for useful biological resources, drives scientific innovation but can be tarnished by ethical challenges (e.g., biopiracy) when prior informed consent and benefit sharing are not formally established. Despite the widespread use of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) with a foundation in characterizing biodiversity and, in many cases, direct bioprospecting, to our knowledge, there are no published CURE curricula that teach the ethics of bioprospecting. Here we developed and vetted the Bioprospecting Module as a flexible, case-based curricular resource that can be implemented before students commence discovery-based research. The resource is focused on learning and analysis situations that warrant prior informed consent and mutually agreed terms and is adaptable to other science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses that incorporate ethics. The module was implemented across 13 collegiate institutions with undergraduate students enrolled in a Tiny Earth CURE at diverse course types and institutional contexts. Student learning was evaluated using iteratively refined pre-post knowledge-based instruments aligned to learning objectives. Student perception and attitudinal measures were also surveyed to complement the knowledge measures. Throughout classroom implementation, students showed significant pre-post learning gains with a large effect size. Post-module performance was comparable across student groups and institutional contexts after accounting for baseline knowledge. Furthermore, ceiling effects were observed with higher pre-scores but did not undermine overall gains. Students reported increased perceived competence in module learning objectives and positive engagement with the module. This adaptable module provides a scalable curricular resource for embedding ethical bioprospecting and responsible and ethical conduct of research in STEM courses, helping students anticipate and navigate consent, benefit sharing, and stewardship issues in research fueling the bioeconomy.