Students are assigned to a particular side of a given topic or issue and have to construct and present arguments to defend that viewpoint.
Debate is an alternative to a discussion, where students need to build their arguments, defend them, refute claims, provide counter-evidence and add further arguments to support their view.
- Activity goal
- Assess | Exchange knowledge | Practice skills
- When
- In class
- Where
- Offline | Online
- Duration
- < 60 minutes| > 60 minutes
- Group size
- Small
- Materials
MS Teams. Zoom
Step-by-step
Step 1
Choose a topic that is suitable for a debate, ideally one that has clear opposing viewpoints ‘For’ and ‘Against’.
Step 2
Explain the rules of the debate and assign students to appropriate debating groups (i.e. ‘For’ and ‘Against’). This assignment can be based on their personal opinion, or they can be assigned randomly, enabling students to experience the other side of the coin.
Step 3
Give students time to prepare initial arguments in their group. This can be done either as preparation or in the class itself. Make sure to highlight that arguments should be persuasive and substantiated as much as possible.
Step 4
Let each group present their arguments in a short speech (e.g. 5 min). Instruct the other group to pay attention and write down the arguments of the opposition.
Step 5
After both groups have presented their initial arguments, both groups will formulate counter-argument to the ones stated by the opposing group.
Step 6
Both groups then present a rebuttal or response. You can plan to have one or several rounds of responses, depending on the size of a group.
Step 7
Allow time for discussions and a debrief of the process at the end of the debate.
