Environmental Geology - Geology 102 - Spring, 2002

Debates

Below is the debate schedule for Environmental Geology "labs".  The rationale for a debate approach to issues of the environment is given on an accompanying page.  The process is described briefly here.

Organization

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). A different student is designated as the primary speaker for the group in one of the four debates - the others assist in research and presentation. 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.

Format

The format of the debates is as follows:

• each side makes a 10 minute presentation establishing a position
• each side then has 5 minutes for a rebuttal
• the remaining class time is open for general questions from the “jury” (the groups not participating in the debate).

Seminal materials which support both sides of the arguments are provided by the instructor (news clippings, scientific articles, brochures, 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. Students are encouraged to prepare graphic supporting materials (view graphs or Power Point illustrations).  Note: Our computer will NOT read Mac disks.  It will read DOS-formatted 100 Mb Zip disks (if large graphic files are required).

Assessment

We use peer assessment in awarding credit for the debate. The “jury” consists of the remaining three 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:

• Use of evidence
• Mastery of concepts, facts
• Organization
• Response to opposing arguments
• Presentation-clear and concise
• Style (voice quality, eye contact, etc)
• Use of graphics or other visual aids
• Overall preparation
• Overall effectiveness of the presentation

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).

Conduct

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.

Schedule

See the Debate Summary page for a brief introduction to each of these issues, complete with some links.