You must take part in a debate in front of the class or an audience of at least 20 people. You must ask the audience their view at least a week BEFORE the debate so you can research and prepare. You must argue FOR the LEAST popular opinion for at least 5 minutes with someone debating the opposite view. The class take a vote and your argument wins.
Tick List for this Challenge (The Spec.)
- Was something important debated (something that some people felt strongly about?)
- Did you have an audience of 20 people or more?
- Did you ask the audience to vote FOR or AGAINST at least a week before the debate?
- Did you argue the least popular position (e.g. if most of the class voted AGAINST then you argued FOR)
- Did you research your argument to make sure your facts were true?
- Did you debate for at least 10 minutes or 5 minutes each?
- Did you ask the class for their vote again and did you win?
Assessment for this Challenge
Any challenge that requires learners to be well informed and have the facts to hand before they argue their case. They also need to know the arguments for and against so that nothing can take them by surprise during the debate.
Minimum Pass = You tick all of the points on the tick list
Excellent pass = You will have ticked all the items on the list AND all of the statements in the table below are also true.
If you have passed at least the minimum, upload it to Project Aspire and have it peer marked.
| What to prove | Statement | Examples to look for in the Debate Challenge | |||
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I can evaluate evidence
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I collect information although some of it is not relevant. From all this information I can choose pieces that help me answer the questions in my project. I can explain why I didn’t use some of the information if it is not obvious |
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You use lots of different sources of information. You look up answers for and against and choose information from the web that is relevant and useful |
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I can explore a question
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I have found out information about a topic that nobody else I know has studied. I started by asking different questions like ‘how’.’ what…’ and ‘why…”. |
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You come up with questions for your debate partner and you try to predict the questions they will ask you. You want to win the debate so you need strong arguments for and against |
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I can reach conclusions |
My project started with questions I wanted to know the answer to. Now I have finished my project I have found answers to some of my questions. If other people looked at my project they could see how I found these answers too. |
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You have good and well thought out answers to all of the topics that are likely to come up in your debate. You are clear on what you believe and why. |
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I stay objective |
When I am exploring a question in a project where there are at least two different opinions I spend the same time on each one. For example some people think we should eat meat and other people think we should not. I would explore both views equally. |
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You are really respectful of the other argument from yours in the debate. You don’t put them down. You have arguments in your debate that show you understand both sides and you can bring up both sides in the debate to help show yours as the logical choice. You have sources for your quotes. |
Learning By Ladders 