936 Journal of Chemical Education Vol. 86 No. 8 August 200 www.JCE.DivCHED.org © Division of Chemical Education In the Classroom For many years ethical misconduct has been a long endured and difficult to address issue in the scientific community. Profes- sional ethics are not to be confused with morality because each profession has an agreement with society (1). Scientists, in par- ticular, can facilitate and shape progress and essential changes in society. Scientific ethical misconduct and its cover-up are oen not only disturbing and time consuming, it is also a barrier to progress (2). As the 21st century continues to unfold, scientists carry the burden of past judgment while looking for the solu- tions for tomorrow. Teaching Ethics in Science Courses Roald Hoffmann, the 1981 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, uses his latest play Should’ve as a means to present the ethical dimensions of science. Responding to a question of whether a code of conduct was necessary he replied (3): Yes, I believe that an ethical code of research is necessary, for all scientists. Scientists are not born with ethics, nor is sci- ence ethically neutral. I think courses in ethics, or better still, discussion groups, based on case studies, should be part of education of all scientists, and also that discussion should be continued throughout life, even for experienced scientists. As Hoffman states, ethics are not innate, and therefore scientists, like any other professionals, cannot be expected to react to situations of misconduct if they are unsure as to what it really constitutes, especially in situations where misconduct is hard to identify and address (3). When should scientific ethics be taught, and how? Values, morality, and basic rules of conduct are taught at an early age in contemporary society. As professionals we should articulate as well as model the rules to be followed from an early time. Undergraduate-level educators are equipping future professionals, and therefore, are partly responsible for students’ perceptions of scientific misconduct as well as their understanding of the definition and consequences of scientific misconduct and how to deal with it properly. Uni- versities cannot rely on course content as the sole formative professional development because, traditionally, ethics has not been part of the curriculum (4). e Revised ACS Guidelines for Undergraduate Chemistry Programs indicate the importance of students conducting themselves ethically, and being aware of the role of chemistry in contemporary societal and global issues (5). ese new guidelines emphasize that the curriculum should aid students in developing the ability to apply their knowledge and skills to new situations and to transfer knowledge between contexts. is confers responsibility to educators in equipping students with the proper conduct guidelines (6–8). Responding to the need for discussions of ethical miscon- duct and other inquiries regarding professional growth and formation of our students through the chemistry undergradu- ate curriculum at the University of Puerto Rico–Río Piedras, the organic chemistry course for chemistry majors has been designed as a combination of different strategies to enrich the teaching–learning process beyond course content. One of these strategies includes an ethics discussion board. A special class project was developed through the use of case studies. ese have been proven as effective tools to teach ethics because stu- dents can relate with situations presented in them (9–12). e main goal of the project was to have students research and study current ethical issues within the scientific community and to then understand and discuss these issues. Other noncognitive skills, also called for by the new proposed ACS Guidelines for Undergraduate Chemistry Programs, were incorporated into the project; these include oral and written communication skills as well as document research and citation as dictated by the ACS Style Guide chapter on citing references (13). Methodology Students enrolled in the organic chemistry course for chem- istry majors during the 2006–2007 academic year were asked to participate in defining, analyzing, and discussing a case of ethical misconduct as a “special assignment in ethical misconduct in science”, in the fall semester. e five cases shown in List 1 repre- senting different ethics subject areas were chosen from the book On Being a Scientist (14). ese cases can be grouped under a single term, FFP (“falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism”), known as misconduct. Each case was assigned to two groups. Each group consisted of three subgroups or teams of 4–6 students; one subgroup to prepare a defense for the accused, one to serve as prosecutor, and the third to serve as a jury. e jury was to render a verdict on the case based on the arguments presented by the defense and prosecution. Every group had to prepare an essay related to their role in the case. (See the online supplement.) While an introduction to the subject of ethical misconduct was given at the beginning of the course, no specific class was dedicated solely to project instructions and case discussion. Only specific doubts were resolved during class; they were mostly posted and answered either on Blackboard or via email. In addition to using the online version of On Being a Scientist to view the case and book discussions of the case, students were also provided with online links on information about ethical misconduct and on how to use ACS style for reference citation. Student-Centered Use of Case Studies Incorporating Oral and Writing Skills To Explore Scientific Ethical Misconduct Ingrid Montes,* Adriana Padilla, Atenaida Maldonado, and Solymar Negretti Department of Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico–Río Piedras, Río Piedras, PR 00931-3346; *imontes@uprrp.edu Subjects Conflict of interest The allocation of credit Publication and openness Misconduct in science Error and negligence in science Cases A Conflict of Interest Credit Where Credit Is Due Sharing of Research Materials Fabrication in a Grant Application Publication Practices List 1. Ethics Topics and Corresponding Case Studies