Task 1.7: Participate in the Debate on GM Animals

You have been asked to participate in a debate on GM animals. Your team will be paired with a team who has been assigned the opposing position.

(Note: This task assumes teams will debate in front of two other teams. Teams not participating in the debate at that time should act as the audience.)

The debate proceeds as follows:

1. Affirmative Speaker (4 minutes) - The person assigned the affirmative position will have 4 minutes to introduce his/her main arguments.
   
   
2. Negative Speaker (4 minutes) - The person assigned the negative position will have 4 minutes to introduce his/her main arguments.
   
   
3. Short Break (2 minutes) - Teams discuss what was presented and prepare their rebuttal.
   
   
4. Negative Speaker - Rebuttal (3 minutes) - The negative speaker will get 3 minutes to rebut or argue against the points made by the affirmative speaker.
   
   
5. Affirmative Speaker - Rebuttal (3 minutes) - The affirmative speaker will then get 3 minutes to rebut or argue against the points made by the negative speaker.
   
   
6. Questions (up to 5 minutes) - Debaters will take questions from the audience and each other. The mentor will moderate this section. He or she will call on someone to ask a question, acknowledge who has the floor, etc.
   
   
7. Short Break (2 minutes) - Teams discuss what was presented and prepare their conclusion.
   
   
8. Affirmative speaker conclusion (3 minutes) - Positive speaker will conclude his/her debate, summarize main arguments and revisit key evidence.
   
   
9. Negative speaker conclusion (3 minutes) - Negative speaker will conclude his/her debate, summarize main arguments and revisit key evidence.

Participate in the group discussion.

After each debate your mentor will lead a group discussion on the debate itself. Both teams and the audience will participate in the group discussion. Think about the following questions:

• Which group presented the stronger argument? What made it stronger?
  
  
• What did you notice that your team did well? What could you have improved on?
  
  
• What did you notice the other team did well? What could they have improved on?
  
  
• Were there any other points regarding the debate you noticed?
  
  
• What lessons did you take away from this experience that you would like to remember for future debates?

After the Debate

• Review the Reflect on What You Learned link (above) and complete the reflection questions there
  
  
• Review the checklist located in the Submit Your Work section of this task to ensure completion of the task before submitting your deliverables to your mentor.
  

Task 1.7 Resources

There are no new content-specific resources for this task. Use the General Skills Resources link (in the left menu), relevant resources from previous tasks, other resources you have available to you, and/or conduct your own research to find the information you need to complete this task.