Debates

Formal and informal debates are active learning activities that build upon course material to encourage structured participation and group work.

The University of Waterloo’s Centre for Teaching Excellence offers 10 steps outlining possible procedures for an in-class debate:

  1. Describe the background context, and explain why you are having a debate.
  2. Consider establishing ground rules for the discussion (ex. Disagreements are welcome, name calling and interruptions are not).
  3. Decide on the two (or more) sides to the debate.
  4. Physically group the class according to points of view: either assign students a point of view depending on where they sit, or ask people who want to argue each point of view to move to sit together.
  5. Invite someone from one side to begin the debate by stating his/her point of view.
  6. Invite someone from the other side to state the opposite point of view.
  7. Open the floor to comments that question or expand on the issues that were raised.
  8. For large groups, you may want to have speakers raise their hands while you moderate, but for small groups, anyone can speak up.
  9. The debate will probably start slowly at first, but the intensity should pick up as the students become more comfortable with the new style of in-class interaction.
  10. You, as an instructor and moderator, can ask provocative questions, but don’t express judgment on any point of view or students will hesitate to bring out new ideas for fear of being embarrassed.
  11. After 10 to 15 minutes of debating, end the debate.

A variation on debates is call “Constructive Controversy.” This strategy is contrasted with debates which can foster a competitive process where there is a “winner.” Constructive Controversy involves deliberate discussions that result in creative problem solving. See the references below for a description of this process

Watch a 1-minute video from McGill Teaching and Learning Services which describes how a critical debate can be used to engage students both in and outside of your classroom around a relevant topic or idea.

References:

Teaching and Learning Services McGill University. (22 August, 2017). Critical Debate [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL0UsW53e8M&feature=emb_logo

David W. Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., & Tjosvold, D. (2000). Constructive Controversy: The Value of Intellectual Opposition (Morton Deutsch and Peter T. Coleman, eds.), The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (pp. 65-8). Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Trujillo-Jenks, L., & Rosen, L. (25 May 2015). Fostering Student Learning through the Use of Debates. Faculty Focus. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/course-design-ideas/fostering-student-learning-through-the-use-of-debates/