DEBATE IN THE CLASSROOM
Bard College
30 June 2014
Ruth Zisman
Visiting Instructor of Humanities; Faculty Advisor, Bard Debate Union
I. What is Debate?
A. Key Elements of a Debate
1. Discussion of opposing points
A. Proposed claims/arguments
B. Underlying theoretical justifications
-focus on interaction/clash between positions
-weighing of competing claims
-comparative analysis
A. Key Elements of a Debate
2. Evaluation by a judge or jury
-speaking to a 3rd party
-focus on persuasion
A. Key Elements of a Debate
3. Focus on content AND style
-logos (strength and logic of argumentation)
-pathos (emotional appeal)
-ethos (credibility of speaker)
B. Debate Topics
A debate generally has a clearly defined topic.
-controversy areas
-questions
-resolutions
B. Debate Topics
Example:
Controversy area - Presidential War Powers
Question - Should the president’s war powers be
restricted?
Resolution - Resolved: The United States Federal
Government should substantially restrict the war powers
authority of the President of the United States.
C. Debate Positions
Unlike other role-playing exercises, debate does
not ask its participants to adopt the positions of
specific political actors or policy makers.
Rather, debate simply asks students to argue for
or against a given position.
II. Why Debate in the Classroom?
A. Debate as Educational Tool
Christopher Joyner (1948-2011), Professor of Government and International
Law at Georgetown University, writes:
“Simulations generally, and debates more specifically, are well-recognized tools
for education in the social sciences. The American Educators’ Encyclopedia notes
as an advantage of debate that it “serves to crystallize an issue, presents both
sides objectively, and stimulates interest.”… Debates help students to understand
different perspectives on a policy issue by adopting a certain perspective as
their own.”
From: “Dissecting the Lawfulness of United States Foreign Policy: Classroom
Debates as Pedagogical Devices,” ISLA Journal of International and
Comparative Law, 2003.
B. Benefits of Debate
1. Stimulates Interest
-gives students a particular task/activity at which
to direct their learning
-added value of competition
B. Benefits of Debate
2. Active Learning
-breaks up the monotony of teacher lecturing
-requires active participation of each student
(rather than passive consumption of information)
-encourages students to use the theoretical
knowledge they have gained to consider
hypothetical/future policy actions
B. Benefits of Debate
3. Teamwork and Individual Effort
-students are required to work as a team
-students present individually
B. Benefits of Debate
4. Extensive Research
-encourages and gives purpose to in-depth research on
specific issues
-who, what, where, when, why, how
-examples (past and present, failed and successful)
-hypotheses
-opposing positions
B. Benefits of Debate
Examples: Interventions, Sanctions, Middle East,
China
-makes a huge topic approachable
-requires students to research both sides encourages students think through past and
present examples
C. Debate and US Foreign Policy
As Christopher Joyner argues, debate is a particularly valuable
pedagogical tool in the teaching of United States Foreign Policy.
Joyner writes: “Students on each team must work together to refine a
cogent argument that compellingly asserts their legal position on a foreign
policy issue confronting the United States. In this way, they gain greater
insight into the real-world dilemmas faced by policy makers…they realize
the complexities of applying and implementing international rules and the
difficulty of bridging the gaps between US policy and international legal
principles, either by reworking the former or creatively reinterpreting the
latter. Finally debates familiarize students with contemporary issues on the
US foreign policy agenda and the role that international law plays in
formulating and executing these policies. The debate provides an excellent
vehicle for pushing students beyond stale arguments over principles into
the real world of policy analysis, political critique, and legal defense.”
C. Debate and US Foreign Policy
Two reasons why debate is a particularly valuable tool
in teaching US Foreign Policy:
1. Students learn about difficult/complex issues
-makes the literature base accessible (provides students
with a specific “in”)
-Highlights multiplicity of perspectives
-highlights intersections between various issues and
theoretical concepts (Example: democracy assistance)
C. Debate and US Foreign Policy
2. Students put theory into action
-asks students to test their researched arguments
against competing positions
-encourages students to see the debates that are
already taking place in politics
-encourages students to explore the compatibility
and mutual exclusivity of different theoretical
positions
III. How to Stage a Classroom Debate
Side Note:
Use debate to serve your purposes
-extensive research project
-exercise to discuss a single reading
-impromptu means to re-focus the class
A. Choose Topic
Two ways to do this:
1. Build the topic from class materials/discussions
2. Have the class brainstorm topic areas
A. Choose a Topic
Remember the 3 steps:
1. Controversy Area
2. Question
3. Resolution
*A resolution should generally call for CHANGE from
the status quo (Example: Sanctions on Iran)
B. Assign Teams/Sides
Two ways to do this:
1. Allow students to choose their teams/sides
2. Assign teams/sides randomly
B. Assign Teams/Sides
Involve the entire class.
Example - For a class of 16 students, break the class up as
follows:
Affirmative team: 5
Negative team: 5
Judges: 6
If you have a large class, consider holding multiple debates
and requiring all non-debating students to judge.
C. The Debate Format
Keep the format as simple as possible.
General Guidelines:
-each speaker speaks once
-each speech is the same length (ex: 5 minutes)
-first speaker for each team introduces his/her team’s case
-middle speakers for each team refute what has been said by
opposing team and offers a new substantive argument
-last speaker for each team summarizes his/her team’s case,
compares the cases, and emphasizes strongest/winning
arguments
C. The Debate Format
Affirmative
Speaker 1: Introduce topic and
affirmative case line; make 1-2
substantive arguments in favor of
the resolution
Speakers 2,3,4…: Rebuild
teammates’ arguments; refute
negative team arguments; make
at least 1 new substantive
argument
Final Speaker: Summarize debate;
compare affirmative and
negative arguments; clarify
strongest affirmative arguments
 
Negative
Speaker 1: Introduce negative case
line; refute first affirmative
speaker; make 1-2 substantive
arguments against the resolution
Speakers 2,3,4…: Rebuild
teammates’ arguments; refute
affirmative team arguments;
make at least 1 new substantive
argument
Final Speaker: Summarize debate;
compare affirmative and
negative arguments; clarify
strongest negative arguments
 
D. The Individual Speech
-speeches should be presented, not read
-students should be encouraged to speak from
outlines
-students should be encouraged to quote and/or
paraphrase from relevant research
E. Research Expectations
Be clear with students about the research
expectations for the debate
-how many sources
-what type of sources
-quotations or paraphrasing
E. Judging/Evaluating
 
Writing:
-outline
-written speech
-research paper
-evaluation paper (for
judges only)
 
The Speech:
-argument
-style
-strategy