Debating Methods
Document | General Resource
How to prepare students for learning debating
Preparing to learn debating is different from many other subject areas in that, in order to be successful, students need to think both creatively and critically at the same time.
In most subjects, we are able to at least separate the thought processes in order to give students flexibility with how they approach a task. For example, while writing a creative piece, students are given licence to think freely and generally be as inventive as they like during the writing process, and then to think critically about their structure, language and spelling during an editing process that occurs after writing. With debating, we ask students to actively create and immediately critique their own ideas while simultaneously weaving in a working knowledge of current affairs to ground those ideas in reality.
Each of these three areas, creative thinking, critical thinking and general knowledge need to be encouraged while training a team, ideally with a balance being struck between the three.
Too much of an emphasis on creativity for example can create debaters who can solve problems in a unique way, but may run the risk of being hyperbolic or extreme in their analysis of those problems. An over-accentuation on logical critical thinking can lend itself to arguments that are ‘hyper-rational’ and risk devaluing principles in a debate. Finally, while general knowledge is important to form a basis of argument, debating is more about the interpretation of knowledge rather than the collecting of facts—facts being tools used to augment argument but carrying little persuasive weight on their own.
It should be noted that we’ve intentionally excluded ‘presentation skills’ from this list as it is the least effective form of explicit teaching in debating. Presentation skills are honed organically through discussion, collaboration and practise, and should not become an artificial marker of team success.
As a teacher, separating these areas and dedicating time to each is challenging, but definitely not impossible. Here are examples of some things that students can do to prepare for their upcoming training sessions (or even just to keep their mind active during the year!).
Have students collect articles from news sources throughout the year and organise them under topic areas. As an exercise, they should try and think about different debating topics that each article could be applied to. Individuals or small groups can be assigned areas for research, such as education, sport or politics.
Make time for whole-class discussions that both develop kids’ engagement with the wider world and their ability to understand it. This can also help you identify the different kinds of engaged thinkers you have in your class. Such discussions naturally integrate into a whole-school approach to talking and listening.
Extend this type of engagement by encouraging students to listen to, and take part in, as many conversations as possible (preferably with adults!) The more that they hear opinions about the world, the more they can be encouraged to analyse these and discuss them with their fellow debaters.
Don’t be afraid, especially at an advanced level, to set some thought provoking ethical and moral questions for students to discuss! Classic examples include variations on the ‘Trolley Problem’, the ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’ or, if you’re feeling adventurous, ‘A Callous Passerby’. These scenarios can all be adapted slightly to make them more appropriate for different ages. The best thing about these types of questions is that they can provoke endless hours of discussion among peers, classes and parents.
Introduce a logical fallacy every few sessions. We will be talking extensively about logic in other resources (and will definitely cover some of the fallacies), but students can get a real kick out of learning formal logic—particularly with a little bit of latin! Check out Ad Hominem and the Slippery Slope as a start.
Set your students problems to solve in creative ways using a change in policy. One of our favourite examples of applying this strategy comes from our work with students from a private school in Eastern Sydney (with very limited parking). After being set the task of ‘Find and solve a problem in your school environment using a policy change’ a year 4 student was able to create a school pickup schedule that was, after a little bit of formatting, presented to their head of primary. It was subsequently implemented as school policy 2 weeks later.
Remember that the key to preparing your students to learn debating is keeping them engaged with the world around them, constantly evaluating and questioning things in their everyday lives—if you can find ways to facilitate this, you’ll be surprised how quickly they learn!