Queen's College is the darling of the province after defeating 30 other hopeful schools to claim the provincial debating title.
Five young men will now carry the provincial flag against the eight other provinces’ teams in the final of the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (Saasta) national school debates competition in Johannesburg on Thursday December 4.
The Eastern Cape provincials, played out over two events in Mthatha in the past month, were fiercely fought and had the highest number of competing schools in the country.
“Scientifically generated solutions to the drinking water challenges we face in South Africa and globally” was the topic, and for the first time, social media was incorporated into the competition, adding extra appeal and relevance to the experience of its teenage participants.
The competition aims to encourage young people to address key issues around science and technology faced by their communities through the medium of debate. It is conceived and hosted by Saasta, a business unit of the National Research Foundation.
The programme seeks to foster the confidence to speak about science in high school students in grades 9, 10 and 11.
It gives participants the opportunity to develop research, critical thinking and information literacy skills, as well as the ability to work as a team in presenting logical, clear arguments.
Queen’s will hear their topic for the finals in the next week or two.
The 60 participating schools in the province’s regional finals were chosen on the basis of winning essays, selected by Saasta.
The topic of the essay was: “How will the huge scientific investment in the SKA affect our lives in South Africa?”
SKA is the world’s biggest telescope and will be co-located in South Africa and Australia.
For the regional finals, students were given the following topic to research and debate: “Do you think investment in nanotechnology research will provide a feasible solution to our water challenges?” Nanotechnology, with support from the field of crystallography in identifying and characterising materials, is one of the technologies being explored to address the growing challenge of providing clean, safe drinking water to citizens, an issue that is top of the mind particularly since recent water shortages in Gauteng.
The international science theme for 2014 is crystallography.
Students on each team randomly selected one of five different perspectives of science communication from which to argue their stand on the topic.
The perspectives were economic, sociocultural, utilitarian, democratisation of science and advancement of science.
The day-long regional final began with a representative of each team giving a four-minute opening statement. Other team members could then respond in a three-minute statement.
The second session was a “large imbizo” discussion. If participants felt strongly about an issue relating to the topic they could call for a “mini imbizo” on it, which any participant could attend. There were four time-slots of 20 minutes for each mini imbizo, and then the discussion reports were posted on social media, unedited as they occurred.
Debaters were encouraged to use information and points picked up at mini imbizos as well as Facebook and Twitter posts to strengthen their four-minute closing statements.
Throughout the day, judges evaluated debaters for their participation, including responses to arguments and questions within discussions.
In addition to increasing their knowledge and gaining experience in the debating arena, the past two years’ winners were awarded a trip to New York, which included scientific exploration as well as tourism. According to Saasta, the prize for 2014 will be a surprise.
“It is well-known that the development of science, engineering, technology and innovation has a distinct bearing on overall economic development of any country,” said Dr Jabu Nukeri, managing director of Saasta.
“To solve our country’s deep and pressing socio-economic challenges, South Africa needs skills to help us compete internationally, grow economically and generally improve the lives of our citizens. Saasta’s goal is to steer young South African minds towards careers in science, engineering, technology and innovation. Using to engage scientific issues provides a platform for learners to make scientific information relevant to them, through the understanding of social, cultural, economic and broader implications.” — DDC
lFollow the teams during their national finals on Twitter @SAASTADebates or on the Facebook page SAASTADebates
Queen’s bright sparks get tongues wagging
Five young men will now carry the provincial flag against the eight other provinces’ teams in the final of the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (Saasta) national school debates competition in Johannesburg on Thursday December 4.
The Eastern Cape provincials, played out over two events in Mthatha in the past month, were fiercely fought and had the highest number of competing schools in the country.
“Scientifically generated solutions to the drinking water challenges we face in South Africa and globally” was the topic, and for the first time, social media was incorporated into the competition, adding extra appeal and relevance to the experience of its teenage participants.
The competition aims to encourage young people to address key issues around science and technology faced by their communities through the medium of debate. It is conceived and hosted by Saasta, a business unit of the National Research Foundation.
The programme seeks to foster the confidence to speak about science in high school students in grades 9, 10 and 11.
It gives participants the opportunity to develop research, critical thinking and information literacy skills, as well as the ability to work as a team in presenting logical, clear arguments.
Queen’s will hear their topic for the finals in the next week or two.
The 60 participating schools in the province’s regional finals were chosen on the basis of winning essays, selected by Saasta.
The topic of the essay was: “How will the huge scientific investment in the SKA affect our lives in South Africa?”
SKA is the world’s biggest telescope and will be co-located in South Africa and Australia.
For the regional finals, students were given the following topic to research and debate: “Do you think investment in nanotechnology research will provide a feasible solution to our water challenges?” Nanotechnology, with support from the field of crystallography in identifying and characterising materials, is one of the technologies being explored to address the growing challenge of providing clean, safe drinking water to citizens, an issue that is top of the mind particularly since recent water shortages in Gauteng.
The international science theme for 2014 is crystallography.
Students on each team randomly selected one of five different perspectives of science communication from which to argue their stand on the topic.
The perspectives were economic, sociocultural, utilitarian, democratisation of science and advancement of science.
The day-long regional final began with a representative of each team giving a four-minute opening statement. Other team members could then respond in a three-minute statement.
The second session was a “large imbizo” discussion. If participants felt strongly about an issue relating to the topic they could call for a “mini imbizo” on it, which any participant could attend. There were four time-slots of 20 minutes for each mini imbizo, and then the discussion reports were posted on social media, unedited as they occurred.
Debaters were encouraged to use information and points picked up at mini imbizos as well as Facebook and Twitter posts to strengthen their four-minute closing statements.
Throughout the day, judges evaluated debaters for their participation, including responses to arguments and questions within discussions.
In addition to increasing their knowledge and gaining experience in the debating arena, the past two years’ winners were awarded a trip to New York, which included scientific exploration as well as tourism. According to Saasta, the prize for 2014 will be a surprise.
“It is well-known that the development of science, engineering, technology and innovation has a distinct bearing on overall economic development of any country,” said Dr Jabu Nukeri, managing director of Saasta.
“To solve our country’s deep and pressing socio-economic challenges, South Africa needs skills to help us compete internationally, grow economically and generally improve the lives of our citizens. Saasta’s goal is to steer young South African minds towards careers in science, engineering, technology and innovation. Using to engage scientific issues provides a platform for learners to make scientific information relevant to them, through the understanding of social, cultural, economic and broader implications.” — DDC
lFollow the teams during their national finals on Twitter @SAASTADebates or on the Facebook page SAASTADebates
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