Middle School Ethics Bowl Rules

(updated September 2021)

1. For the sake of fairness, moderators are strict when enforcing the time limits. A one minute notice is given before time is up and teams should also be allowed to finish their sentences once time is over.

2. Teams are allowed to have one 3x5'' notecard (front only) per person, prepared in advance and brought to the round. Teams are also allowed to take notes during the round. Electronic devices are only allowed for keeping track of time.

3. Teams are allowed to present in any way that they want. Whether teams have only one speaker or let all members speak should not influence the judges’ evaluation.

4. Judges evaluate teams based on their performance during the rounds. Teams do not have to defend a specific position, and they also do not have to oppose each other. The goal of the ethics bowl is to articulate the best ethical analysis of the case in response to the given question. Breadth and depth of the analysis are the main criteria.

5. To emphasize the collaborative aspect of the ethics bowl, students are allowed to stay seated during the debates if they prefer. However, teams should agree in advance whether both stand or sit while speaking.

6. When one team speaks, the other team and audience members must remain silent, although writing and passing notes is permitted. The moderators should address any unacceptable behavior including, but not limited to:

• • Coaches, parents, or audience members communicating with (verbally or non-verbally), or demonstrably reacting to team members during a match.

  • Judges showing hostility or asking inappropriate questions to team members. Inappropriate questions include, but are not limited to any that highlight a participant’s race, religion, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, appearance, etc. Judges should direct their constructive questions to teams based on the discussion, not to individuals.

  • Anyone in the room who intentionally makes distracting noises while one of the teams, judges, or moderator has the floor.

  • Foul, insulting, or excessively graphic language or confrontational behavior by anyone in the room.

7. No dress code is in effect.

Ethics Bowl Structure (NEWLY UPDATED)

This year’s ethics bowl round structure will be formatted differently to better align with the program’s goals and to be developmentally and age appropriate. Only one case will be discussed during each round. Both teams will present on the same case and question. Then they will engage in an open dialogue with one another. Teams will know the cases and case questions in advance, and will also be expected to answer judges questions near the end of the round. During the “final question”portion of the round, which is new, each team will be asked to reflect on and share what they learned from discussing the case with one another.

Round Structure: (45 minutes)

• Conferral Time (2 minutes)

• Team A Presents (3 minutes)

• Team B Presents (3 minutes)

• Open Dialogue (10 minutes with Team A starting)

• Conferral Time (3 minutes)

• Judges’ Questions to Team A & Team B (12 minutes)

• Conferral Time (1 minute)

• Final Question for Team A & Team B (1 minute each with Team B starting)

• Scoring Time (5 minutes)

• teams will leave the room during this period and wait outside the room until called back in by the moderator

• Winner Announcement (1 minute)

Team Structure:

Each round includes two teams (five students per team, with up to two alternate students). While each team can have up to seven students, only five students are allowed to present during any given round. Team members can be switched with alternates at the start of a new round, but not during a round itself.

Each round will include three judges and one moderator. Family, friends and other audience members may also sit in the round as audience members.

At the end of the competition, the following awards will be given:

• First place – winning team

• Second place – finalist team that did not win

• Third places – two semi-finalist teams that did not advance to the final round

The winning team will compete in the Middle School National Ethics Bowl Championship. The teams in other Middle School Regional Bowls will attend the National Championships to compete.

Ethics Bowl Format

For the virtual event this year, the round structure will be different from previous years:

• • Teams will be randomly assigned as either Team A and Team B. Team A will start with presenting their response to the pre-determined case.

  • The name of the case to be discussed for the round and the case question will be announced by the moderator

  • Team A & Team B will have 2 minutes to confer in their separate breakout rooms.

  • Team A will present their answer to the case question for up to 3 minutes

  • Team B will present their answer to the case question for up to 3 minutes

  • Then both Team A and Team B will engage in an ethical conversation about the case question for 10 minutes. Team A will start this section of the round by asking a question in response to Team B's presentation. Then Team A will respond to Team B and ask another question to keep the conversation moving.

  • Both teams will have 3 minutes to confer in their separate breakout rooms.

  • Next the three judges will be given up to 12 minutes to ask question to both Team A and Team B

  • Both teams will have 1 minute to confer in their separate breakout rooms.

  • Both teams will be asked to respond to the final question and given 1 minute each to respond (with Team B starting): "How has your team's position developed during this round? Identify a point raised by the other team that made you think differently about the case."

  • Judges will complete their score sheet for the first half of the round (5 minutes). During this time, teams will leave the room (be placed in a shared breakout room)

  • Round winners will be announced

Ethics Bowl Scoring & Team Ranking

(Adapted from NJ High School Ethics Bowl, December 2018 | 2020-2021 Scoring is significantly different from year's past)

The moderator announces which case will be discussed, and the question each team will address. All sections of the match will be scored using the same general criteria ranging from “Excellent” to “Needs Improvement.”

During the round, each team receives points for:

• Presentation (10 points)

  • Did the team clearly and systematically identify and thoroughly discuss the case’s central ethical dimensions?

  • Was the team aware of and consider different viewpoints, including those most likely to be cited by those who disagree with the team’s position?

• Open Dialogue (10 points)

  • Did the team directly and critically answer questions posed by the other team, and propose original ideas?

  • Did the team build on the ideas of others, so as to meaningfully explore different ethical perspectives and positions relevant to the case question?

  • Did the team focus on ethical concepts during the dialogue?

• Judges Questions (10 points)

  • Were the team’s responses thoughtfully composed and well developed?

  • Did the team directly address the judges’ questions?

  • Did the responses indicate an awareness of the core ethical issues within each question?

• Final Question (5 points)

  • How has your team’s position developed during this round? Identify a point raised by the other team that made you think differently about the case.

• Respectful Dialogue (5 points)

  • Did the team exemplify (?) uphold the spirit of the ethics bowl by demonstrating open-mindedness, taking turns, listening actively, and maintaining civility especially when disagreements arose?

Scoring Scale:

All presentation, open dialogue, and judges’ questions will be scored using the same ten point scale:

• 9-10 = Excellent

• 7-8 = Very Good

• 5-6 = Good

• 5-8 = Fair

• 1-4 = Needs improvement

The Final Question and Respectful Dialogue which will be scored on a 1-5 scale:

• 5 = Excellent

• 4 = Very Good

• 3 = Good

• 2 = Fair

• 1 = Needs improvement

Scoring Procedure & Round Winner Calculation

1. Judges will add the scores on their score sheet and will vote for the team that has the largest total points. If there is a tie in the scores, then the judge's vote will be split between the two teams.

2. Teams win the round if they have the majority of votes. It is possible to win and have lower overall scores.

• For example:

3. A match can end in a tie–if all three judges score the match a tie, or one judge votes for Team A, one for Team B, and one has them tied.

4. Although the point differential is not a factor in determining the winner of an individual match, it is used as a tiebreaker when ranking teams at the end of the seeding rounds. It is therefore important that the teams are scored as accurately and realistically as possible to allow for comparable results in the overall ranking.

5. The moderator will announce the winner of the round and will only reveal the overall result. Individual scoring sheets are not shared during the match.