Argumentation and conflict should not be limited to debate class; quite the contrary, students should be exposed to controversy, conflict, ethical dilemmas, and complex issues in all disciplines, particularly in the sciences. After all, failing is part of every scientist’s trajectory. A scientist working in a lab fails more times than he/she is successful. I know this from personal experience. Yet, what we see, hear, and read about are the success stories; the failures are kept hidden from us, and that is problematic for it gives our students the short-sighted perspective that doing science is about “doing it right.” Furthermore, it gives students the impression that there is a “right” way of approaching a problem, with that way being the way in which “success” was achieved. Instead of fostering creativity, open-mindedness, and risk-taking emphasizing success instead of failure promotes rigidity, narrow-mindedness, and conformity. Debating challenging, open-ended, tough issues is one way to expand students’ thinking and to help them find value in the process, rather than in the final outcome.

Lesson resources adopted from ScienceNetLinks (a really great site supported by the American Association for the Advancement of Science)

NYTimes Article: “Taking the Least of You”

• This article discusses legal cases where patients fought for control over their cell tissue. It is a great article to prompt discussions about patient rights, bioethics, and informed consent.

• Sample discussion questions (from the AAAS site): Who owns these tissue samples? Do individuals own their own tissue samples? Who seems to have the commercial value of the tissues? What do you think about the question of property rights over an individual’s tissues? How would this affect medical research? Why do you think this case has come about in the first place?

Northwest Association for Biomedical Research: Debate Form

• This is a wonderful template for students to use organize their argument surrounding a debatable issue. This tool provides instructions for students, along with a sample debate scoring sheet.