Stand and Defend
In this group activity, each student is asked to take a place along a spectrum from one side of the classroom to the other. Each wall represents one extreme stance in the range of possible opinions on a subject such as whether genes are patentable items. Each student must then explain why he or she is standing where they are. Students should be allowed to move after each statement, if they have been swayed by a particular argument.

Reading Circles
Reading circles are temporary, task-oriented groups of 4-6 students who have chosen to read a specific article. This is an analytical approach to reading that is an example of collaborative learning. It is structured, and enables open-ended discussions. Although everyone in the group reads the same article, each person is individually responsible for analyzing the text from a particular perspective. Reading circles acknowledge that different skills are necessary for a thorough understanding of a text, and assign each person a specific task or role. Individual analyses are completed before class and your findings form the basis of a shared discussion within your reading circle.

Below are some names to identify specific roles that are useful in reading, analyzing, and discussing a text.

• Discussion Director: Prepares 3-4 general, but probing questions for discussion. The perspective is a wide-angle one. Also convenes the group, solicits contributions from each member, wraps up the discussion.
• Passage Picker: Selects and notes specific passages to read aloud to the group with a brief analysis about why these passages are worthy of discussion. The excerpts may be important, surprising, confusing, informative, controversial, thought provoking, etc.
• Creative Connector: Examines the text for its relevance to personal experiences, to current events, to other books or readings for the class, or to previous class discussions.
• Icon Crafter: Provides a graphic or non-linguistic insight into the reading. These may be cartoons, diagrams, flow charts, or graphs. Artistic skill not required!
• Essence Extractor: Prepares a 1-2 minute summary of the article. Identifies key points and main highlights.
• Word Wizard: Identifies (by page and context) and defines individual words and names, whose definitions may be ambiguous, or whose meanings are technical or specific to a particular discipline.
• Argument Analyzer: Examines the article for the quality of the evidence that the author uses to support the conclusions. Looks for evidence that is missing and for logical soundness.
• Bias Barometer: Reads for explicit and implicit assumptions that influence the author’s work. Gathers information on the author’s background and other publications.

Journal Articles
The issues involved in the debate of patenting genes and whole organisms is perfect for inclusion in an on-going journal, if students are already writing one. The controversial nature of this debate almost ensures a strong personal response by anyone asked to consider an aspect of the debate. See the list of suggested topics for subjects of this assignment. If you are not currently using a journal format, check out the Short Response Paper for an alternative assignment.

Short Response Paper
Much like the Journal Article, this assignment can be used to encourage students to express their opinions on any controversial topic. By stressing the structure of an effective argument, students will learn to organize their thoughts, and present sound evidence to support their point of view. To prepare for this assignment, it may be helpful for students to read some similar writings such as the editorials from newspapers or periodicals, and engage in discussions about the effectiveness of the statements made. See the list of suggested topics for subjects that can be used for this assignment.

Small Group Discussions/Debates/Mock Trials
Group discussions can vary widely along a spectrum of formats. They may be relatively informal or highly structured. One format that is often useful for students who don’t initially feel comfortable speaking before a group is called Geometric Joining. In this type of discussion, students start of in pairs or trios, and discuss the assigned topic for a set amount of time, after which groups merge and summarize their discussions for each other. This joining continues until the whole class is united, at which time each student will hopefully have had an opportunity to present their individual opinions at some level of the discussion.

Slightly more formal is a Pro-Con Debate, in which groups or individuals can choose or be assigned a stance to support. To keep the debate smooth (and civil) allotted times for statements and rebuttals can be established. Part of the class can act as the audience and determine who presented the most compelling argument.

A variation on the Pro-Con Debate format is a Mock Trial or Town Meeting. Individual positions can be assigned (see below for a partial list of suggestions) and arguments presented in a role-playing scenario. This can allow students to present an opinion safely, while feeling their own beliefs are not under scrutiny. Some possible roles include:

Mock Trial

• Judge – Acts as mediator to keep discussion on subject.
• Prosecutor
• Defense Attorney
• Expert Witness – May include scientists, corporate representatives
• Defendant – Depending on the scenario selected, this can be a researcher, a corporation, an activist, etc.
• Jury
• Court Reporter – Summarizes the proceedings for later discussion.

In a Town Meeting scenario, the Townspeople and expert witnesses such as Physicians and Researchers can present opinions and information. The Mayor will mediate presentations, while the City Council will function as the jury by taking vote on the issue after all interested parties have presented their views.

Town Meeting

• Mayor
• City Council
• Townspeople
• Physician/Researcher
• Patient
• Interview

As part of an interview project, students would be required to submit questions pertaining to a specific aspect of the patenting life issue to the teacher, along with the name of a potential interviewee. After approval of the questions and the interviewee, the interview would be conducted, and the information gathered summarized in a format to turn in. The interview could be conducted in person, on the phone or in written format via a letter or email. Students would be required to organize thoughts and gain experience in business letter writing by requiring that they set up the interview. Interviewees could include Medical Doctors and other representatives of local hospitals, professors from local Universities, researchers, political figures, journalists, or “everyday” citizens.

Suggested Topics:

• Life v. Non-Life
   What criteria should be used to distinguish a living organism from a non-living object. This topic can incorporate not only the biological definition of life, but individual opinions, depending on the assignment. A classic example compares and contrasts viruses (considered non-living) to bacteria (considered living). This can also include a discussion of the cellular theory of life, and what happens to that distinction once you move below the cellular level.
  
  
• Will Patents Help or Hinder Scientific Method?
  The traditional image of science includes a free exchange of ideas, with everyone seeking the truth first and foremost. Is this a realistic goal? Is it unattainably idealistic? Can secrecy ever be beneficial to finding the truth, or is it just a measure to ensure that a researcher might be first to reach this truth?
  
  
• Organ Donation
  Is there anything wrong with “stealing” an organ from a corpse if a life can be saved by doing so? How would your opinion change if it was your relative, or even yourself that would benefit? What rights do the relatives of the deceased have to prevent the removal of organs from their loved ones? Consider this question in terms of its religious and moral implications as well as the legal.
  
  
• Invention v. Discovery
  What is the nature of discovery? What is the nature of invention? How is each considered under patent law? If there are distinctions, what are they? What roles do humans and nature play in these processes?
  
  
• Terminator Gene
  On March 3, 1998, patent number 5,723,765 was granted on a new, agricultural biotechnology sinisterly called the “terminator” gene. The new patent permits its owners and licensees to create sterile seeds by selectively programming a plant to kill its own embryos. The logic for terminator technology is simple, really. A seed company invests money to develop and produce new varieties of seed. It hopes to sell a lot of that seed to recoup monies spent on crop research and seed development, and then to realize a profit on their investment. By incorporating a self-sterilization gene, farmers are prevented from saving and using seed produced by crop plants from year to year. Is such technology merely a reasonable step for companies to protect their investments, or does it effectively force farmers to become “addicted” to agricultural biotech companies for their livelihoods?
  
  
• Commodification
  For many, genetic technology raises concerns about the way the medical community and biotech industries treat individuals. The fear is that it will quickly lead to exploitation and dehumanization, particularly of marginalized peoples. This fear is strongest in the competition between biotechnology companies to market products derived from human tissues. What are the impacts (good or bad) this type of commodification will have on human societies? Is this any different from the commodification of human labor that already exists in industrialized countries?