Hey, Y'all! 
Thank you so much for your interest in this debate class. I am so excited to work with students on developing their critical thinking, public speaking, and confidence through the activity of debate. I have been training students for 13 years and I can't wait to see how students grow throughout our time together. I am a college professor whose full-time job is teaching and training in the art of argumentation and debate. I have been training students from middle school through college ages and I've been all over the world offering up my debate expertise. 

The style of debate that I teach at my university, and that my highly competitive and nationally recognized debate program competes in is called the British Parliamentary Debate (BP or Worlds). This is the only style of debate that is done all around the world. This style of debate focuses on persuasion and everyday communication styles. This was made to reflect the time of communication styles used in the House of Parliament in the United Kingdom. There is so speed reading or "spreading" of arguments. This is meant to focus on the quality of the argument you are presenting not the quantity. 

I personally feel that this style of debate is the best to help develop communication skills to go beyond competitive debates and allow individuals to gain useful critical thinking and persuasive speaking skills to take to any interpersonal interaction, job, etc. I think that debate is only worth doing if your audience can actually come, with little to no background, and can listen and understand the arguments you are trying to construct. 

The following is a breakdown of what will happen in the course:

1. What will be taught? 
- Debate and argumentation elements and structure. You will learn the three steps of an argument and the structure of our debate. 
- The students will be thought: 
     Logos, Ethos, and Pathos.
     Claim, Data, Warrant. 
     What a structured speech should look like. 
     How to respond to arguments. 

2. What topic will we cover? 
The debate will be on the following topic: 
Should we stop public funding of space exploration?   

3. How is this class structured? 
This will be a breakdown of how the class will be organized: 
1. I will teach you how to make an argument. 
2. I will teach you how the structure of the debate will go. 
3. I will randomly assign you a side of the debate and the order in which you will speak. 
4. You will have 10 minutes to prepare your best arguments.
5. Next, we will have a debate and each person will speak for up to 3 minutes. 
6. After the debate is over we will talk about how it went and how to improve. 

4. How will I teach this class? 
- I will start will a PowerPoint slide covering the major elements of arguments, structure, and tips of persuasion. 
- Next, I will watch and judge the debate.
- Finally, we will talk about what everyone did well and what everyone could work on. 

5. What is my teaching style? 
- I have been teaching in college for 10 years and I have been in debate for over 15 so I have learned through experience how to keep debates engaging and empowering for students. I love being positive and upbeat while also offering helpful and meaningful constructive criticism. 

6. How much will learners interact with each other? 
-This will be a highly interactive class and will have students engaging with each other and myself often. Students will have to ask each other questions along with also giving speeches and having to respond to what their fellow students are saying in their speeches. 

7. Are there any required experience of knowledge need? 
- No! This class is open to anyone with any skill set or knowledge. I will teach the basics of debate and how to make an argument