Integrating case study teaching and the four component model: Cultivating ethical decision in genetics education

Emerging genetic technologies present complex socio-ethical dilemmas, requiring biology students to develop ethical decision-making (EDM) skills. This study aimed to design and evaluate a learning intervention integrating case study teaching and the four component model of morality, while also identifying design principles relevant for EDM. The method of this study used educational design research across three phases: preliminary analysis, intervention development, and evaluation. A total of 101 undergraduate biology students and 22 genetics instructors and practitioners participated, with ethical approval obtained from Universitas Negeri Malang. The field evaluation revealed significant improvements in EDM skills, with the largest effects on moral sensitivity (Cohen’s d = 0.83), followed by judgment (d = 0.78), character (d = 0.77), and motivation (d = 0.64). These findings confirm the intervention’s effectiveness and provide design principles to guide the development of similar ethical learning interventions in science education.