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DAC Debates

To Get Started

A DAC debate begins with a consultation with one of the DAC faculty to design your students’ debate experience. ��We’ll discuss the instructional outcomes you’re pursuing and what subject matter would work best for a DAC debate. ��The DAC faculty will suggest a topic and focus that aligns with your goals.��

Design Debate Exercises

DAC will then work with you to design a debate exercise for your class according to your preferences. Our typical debate exercise involves three phases, each of which is led by a DAC faculty:

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  Preparation

  In the preparation phase, a DAC faculty visits your class to introduce the topic, assign students their advocacy roles and explain their responsibilities to prepare for their participation in the debate.

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  Debate

  ��A DAC faculty will return to your class to facilitate the debate. ��They’ll guide students turns, facilitate Q&A between the advocates and keep the debate on track so that you’re free to focus on the substance of the students’ arguments.��

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  Debrief

  In their final visit to your class, the DAC faculty will lead a debrief session that asks the students to reflect upon their experience. ��Students will be challenged to consider the arguments in the debate as well as the process of debating. ��We welcome your involvement in this phase to comment on the arguments exchanged relative to the course focus.��

There are nearly infinite variations on this base model of debate. ��For example, we’ve designed multi-sided debates for faculty who wanted to address material that doesn’t fit neatly into a Pro/Con debate. ��We also have worked extensively with faculty who want a more intense debrief experience, utilizing a digital platform to facilitate student deliberation on the question posed by the debate topic. You can read more about that in the “Deliberation” section below.��

Evaluation

Faculty may evaluate students’ participation in the debate in a host of ways. ��DAC faculty do not evaluate student debaters’ performances.��

• Reward Participation

  Some faculty choose only to reward students’ participation, preferring to use the debate as a means by which to focus and inspire discussion on course material. ����

• Evaluate Argumentative Brief

  Others may evaluate students’ argumentative brief produced in preparation for the debate.

  Brief Rubric.docx (14.46 KB)
• Evaluate Debate Performance

  Another alternative is to focus on student performance during the debate, evaluating their articulation of their position and their engagement with opposing arguments.

  Debate Rubric.docx (14.78 KB)
• Encourage Self-Critique

  Some faculty find that requiring students to write about their experience participating in the debate encourages them to engage in reflective self-critique. ��

  Debate Reflection Prompts.docx (15.54 KB)

Deliberation

Debates emphasize divergent reasoning, where advocates build a case for their side of the topic and do their best to challenge and refute their opponents' arguments. ��Deliberation employs convergent reasoning, where students seek consensus on a common opinion based on their efforts to persuade one another.

The traditional approach to deliberation takes the place of a debrief discussion following the debate. ��Rather than simply asking students to reflect upon their debate experience, the deliberation exercise asks each individual student to render a decision on the topic being debated based on the arguments exchanged in the debate. ��Those students then gather in small groups to explain their decision to their peers and to seek consensus on a common decision and rationale that all members of the small group support.��

• Reflect on Decision & Deliberation Experience

  Using deliberation extends the utility of the debate exercise by encouraging students to engage in critical self-reflection and deep thinking about the reasons behind their decision. ��Of particular utility is asking students to reflect upon the decision and deliberation experience to promote metacognitive development.��

  Deliberation reflection prompts.docx (17.23 KB)
• Argutopia

  ����̽��’s DAC program has a subscription to the Argutopia academic debating platform that allows faculty members to use the platform for their classroom debates.�� Argutopia provides support for debate-centered instruction, including a novel debate visualizer that enhances students’ ability to understand and explain their reactions to arguments exchanged in the debate.����

Other Resources

• Debater's Code of Conduct
• Debate Brief Example 1
• Debate Brief Example 2