Learn to Debate - Live Tournament

During this class students will be put into partnerships and will engage in a debate tournament against their peers. The first session each week will address the topic and cover instructional material before giving students time to prepare for their debate rounds. In the later session each week students will engage in two policy debate rounds in a tournament style. After each round students will be given feedback, the opportunity to ask questions, and given tips on how to improve in the future. Students will have to defend both sides of the topic and will be taught good listening skills on top of speaking and argumentation skills. Rounds will be judged by a combination of current members of Binghamton's debate team, alumni, and the instructor. After three weeks of preliminary debates, the top four teams will compete in a elimination rounds to determine the course champion. It is recommended, but not required, for students to have participated in my "Intro to Debate" course on Outschool and at least one of my "Learn to Debate" courses before taking this tournament. Participation in the intermediate tournament is not required. Students who have done debate as part of a club or class in school previously can also feel free to take this course. Students new to debate but who are ready to learn should feel free to register for this course. This course can also be taken repeat times. The topics covered will vary based upon the students who are registered.

Week One, Class One: Introduction to format, creation of partnerships, introduction to the first week's topic, preparation time.

Week One, Class Two: Rounds 1 and 2.

Week Two, Class One: Skill lecture, speaking drills, research, introduction to the second week's topic, preparation time.

Week Two, Class Two: Rounds 3 and 4.

Week Three, Class One: Skill lecture, mini-debate activity, introduction to the third week's topic, preparation time.

Week Three, Class Two: Rounds 5 and 6.

Week Four, Class One: Preparation time for Quarter-Finalists, activity for students eliminated from the tournament, Quarter-Finals.

Week Four, Class Two: Semifinals and Finals.

Please note that the first class each week is designed to give students the ability to prepare with each other and talk about how they plan to divide work and argue their side of the topic. While the instructor will be present to assist students prepare, the purpose of the first session each week is to cultivate independent work by the students. About 30 minutes of each of these sessions will be allotted for partners to work independently together. The second session each week has more hands on instruction through judging. Each round will take about 45 minutes and students will compete in two rounds each week. This course is not good for students who cannot stay focused and do work without direct supervision.