| December 27, 2000 | D. W. Mogk | Return to Class Home Page |
Class debates are an effective way for students to engage scientific materials in the context of practical applications of concern to society. In preparing for the debates, students must take responsibility for a reasoned position on an issue, they must anticipate the arguments from the opposing side and prepare responses, and along the way develop interpersonal, problem-solving, and communication skills. Merritts and Shane (1992) note:
"…the debates are designed to force students to meet in groups outside of the class, to participate during class, and to learn to present and defend logical arguments. …the most important pedagogical purposes of the debates are to teach students to synthesize scientific articles and to analyze complex environmental issues that cut across the natural and social sciences."
We routinely do class debates in an environmental geology class with lab sections of 20 students. Four teams of five students each are formed and a round-robin debate schedule is established. Each group has one debate with each of the other groups, for a total of 8 debates throughout the semester (each group will engage 4 debates). Topics are assigned well in advance (the 8 sets of questions are published at the start of the semester) so that all students will know when their debates will occur, and what position they must defend. It is often the case that students are assigned to defend a position that is contrary to their own beliefs (or prejudice). This is good. It is important for students to consider many sides of these complicated issues. It may serve to strengthen the student’s original position, or it may cause the student to reassess her/his own personal values. In either case, the student has been required to learn some science, make some connections, and develop some life-long learning skills. Inquiry and discovery are at the heart of all debate presentations.
The debate topics track the material that is being covered in the lecture part of the class so basic principles and definitions should be familiar to the entire class. In the presentations, the students must clearly articulate the issue, provide appropriate background information (historical, geographical), address the underlying scientific principles, and defend a position about the best way for society (e.g. public policy) to respond to the issue. Debates often enter into the realm of economics, government, social policy, and related sciences (particularly the life sciences). Students have even been motivated to read the U. S. Constitution with respect to the 5th Amendment clause regarding "takings" while debating zoning issues! The open-ended format of the debates can lead students to produce some amazing presentations.
The format of the debates is as follows:
Seminal materials which support both sides of the arguments are provided by the instructor (news clippings, Web links, etc.). The topics chosen are always contentious, and every effort is made to provide fair representation of the valid arguments on both sides of the issue. The students must build on these materials and search for additional information from other sources (printed and electronic). In preparation for the debate, each group must meet outside of class to organize and prioritize the arguments. Each student is encouraged to be the primary presenter for one debate (as enrollment drops across the semester teams may be reshuffled). Students are encouraged to prepare graphic supporting materials (view graphs or Power Point illustrations - a Windows-based computer will be available). The presentations are made in front of the class to emphasize the serious nature of the topics addressed. [Merritts and Shane (1992), Journal of Geoscience Education, vol. 40, #4, p. 292] also suggest that a 3-5 page position paper be submitted that supports the facts and references used in the debate.]
One rule for the conduct of the debates is extremely important: no ad hominem attacks on another student will be tolerated. Any idea presented to the group surely is subject to scrutiny and refutation. However, any comment on another student’s person, character, beliefs, heritage or any other personal attribute is unacceptable.
The role of instructor is to help direct students to appropriate resources, and to help the students formulate their arguments. Otherwise, the responsibility for the development of the debate material lies strictly with the students.
I use peer assessment in awarding credit for the debate. The "jury" consists of the remaining groups who are responsible for evaluating the overall quality of the debate presentations. Both content and presentation style are evaluated on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) based on these criteria:
The jury is also encouraged to write narrative comments, both positive and critical, to help the groups emphasize their strengths and work on their weaknesses. I simply take the average numerical scores from the jury’s assessment and this is the basis for credit given. The jury must sign their reviews for credit (a means of taking attendance), and they do not get credit for the review unless they have made meaningful assessments and comments (i.e. giving a blanket scores of 5 without justification is not acceptable). This ensures that the jury is attentive and are active listeners and ultimately participants in the following discussions. I have found that these reviews are very consistent, right on target, and the students have been very fair and frank in their comments. There is typically a remarkable improvement in the presentations after the first round of debates and the whole class benefits. It appears that the students really don’t like to embarrass themselves in front of an audience of their peers.
It is necessary to cultivate a supportive atmosphere so that individual students don’t feel overly vulnerable or exposed. Course evaluations indicate that the debates are viewed by many students as the most interesting part of the course, as well as the part of the course that helped them the most. Many students indicated that they were terrified about the prospect of having to speak in front of a group, but eventually they were thankful to have the opportunity to do so in the relatively non-threatening class environment. Many students also commented upon their improved ability to find information (both electronic and printed), and many also commented that they didn’t realize how connected they (and society) are to the Earth system.
Class debates can be used in a wide variety of class settings. For example, reenactment of some of the great debates of geologic thought might be worthwhile in an Historical Geology class. Geologic resources, hazards, the conduct of science, interpretations of geologic phenomena (or places) all provide great material for students to engage in the give and take of scholarly discourse.
| January 24, 1999 | D. W. Mogk | Return to Class Home Page |