by Frances Stanford

Created on: November 15, 2008   Last Updated: March 25, 2009

Teaching in today's classrooms involves having students involved in their own learning as active participants. This is the reason why just about every lesson in every subject involves having students discuss the issues to present their opinions. The main objective of the curriculum is to encourage students to become active listeners and to learn how to understand and respect the opinions of others. Competitive debating is a great learning tool to help students achieve these goals. Students must feel empowered to learn and teachers play a significant role in encouraging them by allowing them the freedom to express their opinions on topics that are important to them. Taking part in debates encourages students to become critical thinkers.

There is a five-step process in developing competitive debates in the classroom. These steps are:

1. Identify or formulate objectives for a particular side of the debate

2. Define any terms or concepts that may need further clarification

3. Prioritize the positions in the debate

4. Share frames of reference among participants

5. Allow for equitable exchange of ideas and opinions

The students should be very clear on the topic of the debate. The members of a debating team should have a predetermined resolution that they discuss in the debate. All the members should have equal opportunity to present their opinions about the topic in a preliminary meeting so that they can all come to an understanding of the position they will take. In a competitive debate, after the statement of resolution has been presented, the debaters are called upon to explain the terms and concepts surrounding the topic. Students should be well versed in this aspect of the debate, which means they need to have done their research on the topic.

In order to have a competitive debate, there must be pros and cons to an issue. This issue should be discussed in the classroom so that students can see both sides of the issue in order to be able to take a stand for or against. They will realize that some issues are greater than others and some may have to be sidelined to make room for the more important ones. For some students who feel strongly about a part of the issue, this process will help them focus on the big picture, rather than individual details. They also learn how to compromise and make concessions by agreeing with some points made by the other side and sticking to their guns on others.

Debaters have to be able to support the claims they make in a debate. By discussing an issue, students may be able to make certain claims but they need to show proof to support this claim. In order to debate, research comes into play in this part of the process as well. In this way, competitive debating is a learning tool that helps students conduct research based on their own needs in which they can weed out information that is not applicable to their cause. It is also important for them to search the source of the information they find so that they can make sure it is reliable and relevant.

A competitive debate has a time limit for the full debate. Each speaker must be allowed a certain amount of time in which he/she present the case. This makes it equitable for all concerned. Students therefore must write their speeches to make them clear and concise to ensure that they get their point across as effectively as possible.

Before teachers can have students involved in competitive debates in the classroom, they must teach students the art of debating and allow them ample time to practice and receive feedback from their peers.

Learn more about this author, Frances Stanford.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.