Debate Moderator

So, CCSS requires that we "debate an issue from either side" - something that I always struggle with, because debating is hard! You have to think on your feet, have lots of research, and be brave enough to speak in class. Many students don't end up doing it, or doing it very well, because they need time to think; oh, and assessment is a NIGHTMARE! Donna Rasmussen and I co-teach this class, and we discovered a debate platform createdebate.com that has made it easier for us to have the debate in class. For our first try at this, we created some debate topics on current issues, and the students can choose to debate about these issues in a digital space, giving them time to think through their responses (and secretly practice their writing skills) and provide research to respond to one another. Here are the rules that we put forth -- would love input on them!

Debate Requirements:

1.  Must post a minimum of seven times during this week: April 21--April 28th at midnight.

2.  Posts must include (and cite)research as a way to support the opinion being expressed.

3.  Research must come from a minimum of five different sources.

4.  No fact, statistic, or quote may be used more than one time in support of an argument.

5.  Posts may be all for one debate, or divided among a maximum of four debates.

6.  Each post must be constructed in proper paragraph form, using mature sentence and paragraph structure. It is encouraged that students edit and proof read contributions prior to posting.  It might be wise to draft paragraphs in a google doc--or something similar--prior to posting.

7.  Students must turn in a "Works Cited" page with all sources for research listed in the correct format.

8.  Students misusing the debate platform will have their comments deleted and will be banned from further contribution by an administrator.

9.  This assignment will be worth 70 points--that is more than a test score, please write and contribute accordingly.

I think that in the future I would give them an option to start a debate of their own, but we weren't really prepared for how that would look, or how we would manage that from an assessment standpoint. Feedback is our friend! Let us know if there is something that you can notice that you might do differently that would make this assignment better! The community that we created is: americanlit.createdebate.com - we think that this is a semi-private community that will have mostly our students commenting. While I know it is valuable to have people outside of our walls connect with our students and share their opinions too...I wasn't sure how to manage that either...suggestions are always good! Or, join in!

What an adventure!