Kay Flewelling

The Debate Project

Project Abstract

The environment is continually revealing itself to be the crisis of our times. Everywhere you look, someone is telling you to “Go Green” – but what does this mean? Is any kind of “alternative” energy good for America? Are some sources of energy better than others?

In this project, students worked in partnerships to develop a case for and against a national shift towards alternative energy sources. We used competitive academic policy debate as a way of exploring these important issues. This project culminated in an all-day debate tournament where the students presented their cases and arguments to the community.

What did you teach and how did you teach it?

• • Reading Comprehension of Nonfiction Materials

  • Research

  • Persuasive Writing

  • Public Speaking

  • Cooperation and Working with Others

  • Critical Thinking

  • Note Taking

What concepts and skills did the students gain in this class through this project?

In addition to the skills listed above, students learned how to think from multiple perspectives (critical thinking) and make arguments on their feet, synthesizing information from a variety of sources, and convincing an adult audience to be persuaded to their opinion. We also explored the content area of renewable energy policy, and students developed a higher level reading comprehension through the discussion and utilization of complex texts.

How is the curriculum for this project academically rich and grade-level challenging?

This project meets numerous ELA standards by helping students get accustomed to public speaking, writing, reading and critical thinking skills. Additionally, the amount of student choice and ability to define their unique cases to support the topic provided an unlimited range of possibilities for students at different levels. All students wrote cases, and some wrote multiple cases and prepared arguments against all of the possibilities. The higher level thinking required for anticipating arguments, and speaking on your feet, provide a rich academic experience for all students.

To what extent was there integration across disciplines in your class through this project?

Within the Humanities class, students effortlessly synthesized a rich social science perspectives with English Language Arts requirements.

Additionally, as students explore the costs and benefits of alternative energy sources in America, they constructed a working wind turbine in their Math/Physics class. They learned the physics and calculations related to solar and wind energy. Additionally, students received several tutorials on the use of statistics, a common math connection in academic debate.

Which Habits of Heart and Mind (HoHM) and Design Principles were utilized in this project?

Habits of the Heart and Mind

• • Evidence

  • Perspective

  • Refinement

  • Cooperation

  • Perseverance

  • Mindfulness

  • Compassion

Design Principles

• • Personalization

  • Adult-World Connection

  • Common-Intellectual Mission

How did you incorporate refinement through this project?

All students submitted several drafts of their speeches both for and against the topic of debate. Their writing went through multiple stages, beginning with the outline and then submitting several more drafts. As students presented their cases, they continually refined them according to the arguments and weaknesses pointed out by classmates through structured activities like the Piranha Pack and Practice Debates. Finally, students prepared an opinion piece on the resolution at the end of the project that also went through several drafts before the final draft was submitted for their final grade. Debate encourages refinement naturally through the extensive use of presentation and the feedback provided by the judges to help students improve in their subsequent rounds.