The Great Debate: Should Smallpox be Eradicated?

1. The Great Debate:Should Smallpox be Eradicated? Rebecca Rose EDCI 5314

2. Home Introduction Task Process Debate Format Things to Remember Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page You have just received a phone call from the head of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA. The known resources of highly dangerous virus, variola major (smallpox), are once again up for eradication. Your team is being asked to present a case to help the world decide once and for all whether eradication should move forward or forever be given up. In your hands is the power to completely eradicate all known stockpiles of the variola major strain of smallpox. Will you argue for the total extinction of this disease or will you support its continued existence for the potential research opportunities it presents? The Great Debate: Introduction

3. Home Introduction Task Process Debate Format Things to Remember Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page Your ultimate goal will be to put together an organized debate and successfully argue your side. You should take your time and consider the question of eradication carefully. How will you break up the workload? Who will assume each role? A well-prepared debater requires strong researchers and good writers for the actual debate. What part will you play? The Great Debate: Task

4. Home Introduction Task Process Debate Format Things to Remember Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page You will break up into two groups for this assignment. Each member will be responsible for a specific aspect of the debate. The roles are as follows: Bioterrorism experts (~5 students): These people need to research and understand the implications of unknown stocks of smallpox being developed for bioterrorism and their impact on eradication. Useful articles can be found at http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/281/22/2127 and http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/281/22/2127 (select “Full Text to read the articles). Medical experts (~5 students): These people should research and understand the medical information related to smallpox. What is the infection rate? How is it spread? What is the incubation time? Go to http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/disease/ and http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/vaccination/vaccine.asp to find some useful links on these topcis. Writers: Each team of experts (medical and bioterrorism) should have a writer to prepare the speeches for the debaters. They need to work closely with the debaters and should summarize the key points, counterpoints, and facts for the debaters for their area of expertise. Debaters: One person in each team should be elected to argue the case for the team. These people needs to study the information found by the other members of the group in detail. They need to practice keeping their arguments within the time limit and be ready to answer questions from the judges and the audience. The Great Debate: Process

5. Home Introduction Task Process Debate Format Things to Remember Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page The debate format will be as follows: 5 minute opening from affirmative 5 minute opening from negative 4 minute rebuttal from affirmative 4 minute rebuttal from negative 4 minute rebuttal from affirmative 4 minute rebuttal from negative 4 minute closing from affirmative 4 minute closing from negative 10 minute Q & A period from audience/panel 5 minute break and panel deliberation Winner announced The Great Debate: Debate Format

6. Home Introduction Task Process Debate Format Things to Remember Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page Things to remember while preparing for your debate: Debaters have to be prepared to argue both sides. This means that your team must have researched both sides extensively from good reputable sources. Listen very carefully to your opponents.  Your ability to make a good rebuttal is only as strong as your ability to undermine their arguments with evidence or carefully constructed counterarguments of your own. Arguments should be logical and based on evidence. You should avoid emotional arguments, for instance "I’m right because everyone knows that it’s right." Arguments should be supported with expert opinions, gathered from your research. Also avoid citing sources that seem dubious or that are unsupportable. You will be cut off at the end of the time limit. Practice timing your responses within your groups to ensure that you’ve made your argument within the time allowed. The first and last impressions are most important. Make sure that you have good openings and closings for your debate.  Make sure your closing statements address the arguments of your opponents. Focus on the larger picture and don’t worry about memorizing every little bit of information out there. You will be allowed to have a fact sheet and the audience will respond much better to clear arguments. Speak slowly and clearly so the audience can understand you. The Great Debate: Things to Remember

7. Home Introduction Task Process Debate Format Things to Remember Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page Your final grade will be based on several things. Each heading is worth 100 points (300 points total): Resources: You should have a minimum of ten sources for each of the two focus areas (medical and bioterrorism). Summaries should be created by the researchers for the writers and debaters and will be evaluated for their completeness (are all key points noted?), coherency (does each point make sense?), and overall ease of understanding (is the summary something easy to incorporate into the paper?). Paper: Writers should have a paper summarizing the arguments, points, and counterpoints for their area of expertise. The paper should address the topics brought up by the researchers and incorporate them into a cohesive argument either for or against eradication. Debate: The grade in the debate is not based on whether you win or lose, but how well you argued your stance. Did you make clear points about your side of the debate during opening and closing arguments? Did you keep within the time limits? Did your rebuttals directly reflect the opposing team’s arguments? Effective debaters have to think on their feet in order to build their own argument while detracting from their opponent’s argument. The Great Debate: Evaluation

8. Home Introduction Task Process Debate Format Things to Remember Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page Richard Preston’s The Demon in the Freezer reflects many of the issues faced by the biological community since the September 11, 2001 attacks. The uncomfortable truth is that there are diseases out there that can easily be turned into weapons and used to inflict large numbers of casualties on a country. As we have learned, smallpox is particularly problematic because it no longer exists in nature and could potentially be made totally extinct by humans. However, scientists and politicians are aware that despite the claim that only the U.S. and Russia have samples of live smallpox, there are very likely further samples that exist and have not been located. The question of whether the known supplies should be eradicated is a difficult one for the entire world. What do you think should be done? The Great Debate: Conclusion

9. Home Introduction Task Process Debate Format Things to Remember Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page This WebQuest was created as part of a unit on bioterrorism for a seventh grade (middle school) life science class. It is based on issues studied in Richard Preston’s The Demon in the Freezer. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). Virginia Standards of Learning addressed: LS.12: The student will investigate and understand the relationships between ecosystem dynamics and human activity. Specifically including: c. population disturbances and factors that threaten or enhance species survival and d. environmental issues. LS.14: The student will investigate and understand that organisms change over time. Specifically including: a. the relationships of mutation, adaptation, natural selection, and extinction. This lesson was designed to promote teamwork and critical thinking about a modern-day issue. By analyzing both the political and scientific implications of eradication of variola major, students should learn that science is about more than just experiments run in a laboratory and that the work done by scientists can have global implications. The Great Debate: Teacher Page