B.E.S.T. Debate: The BEST Debate For the Classroom!
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Debate is an invaluable skill for students to learn. However, most debate formats ensure unequal participation for every student. In most competitive formats, one student will give an entirely pre-written speech and another will give a completely impromptu speech– it’s completely unbalanced! While this is fine in competition, it is problematic in the classroom. After twenty years of teaching debate, I’d like to propose The B.E.S.T. Debate which stands for: Balanced, Equitable, Scaffolded, and Teachable as an equitable, fair, non-competitive, and academic approach to classroom debates.
Balanced Student Engagement in Debates
The B.E.S.T. Debate format is designed to ensure balance in student participation. Unlike traditional debate formats, where roles and time allocations can vary, B.E.S.T. Debate gives every student equal opportunities to present arguments, cross-examine peers, and deliver rebuttals. This balanced approach allows all students to develop a comprehensive range of debate skills because they will have to prepare arguments ahead of time and think on their feet.
Promoting Equity in Classroom Debates
While I love competition, and I know how much competition can motivate us, it’s often a nerve-wracking burden for students in their first classroom debate. It’s crucial that classroom debates focus on learning rather than winning. B.E.S.T. Debate completely removes the traditional win/lose dynamic, replacing it with a rubric-based evaluation. There is no mechanism in this form of debate to assign a winner or a loser– it’s not even on the rubric. This approach shifts the emphasis from competition to intellectual growth, encouraging students to engage fully in learning debate skills, knowing their efforts are recognized for their substance rather than their ability to outmaneuver others.
Scaffolding for Debate Success
Traditional debate formats often overwhelm beginners with strategic complexity. Competitive debate today is full of fast talking, complex strategy, and jargon. Again, these things are well and good in a competition, but they do not well-suit students just learning the basics. B.E.S.T. Debate addresses this by scaffolding the process, allowing students to focus on mastering fundamental skills like CWDI argumentation structure and basic rebuttal formulation. This approach makes debates more accessible and ensures students develop the essential skills needed for more advanced debates and other academic pursuits.
Teachability for All Educators
The B.E.S.T. Debate format is not only effective but also highly teachable. Competitive debate today is very hard for students AND adults to learn. B.E.S.T. debate is very built to be user-friendly– its simplicity and focus on fundamental skills make it accessible for educators, especially those without a competitive debate background.
Incorporating B.E.S.T. Debate into Your Classroom
Bringing B.E.S.T. Debate into your curriculum will give students a cache of skills they will return to again and again. It provides these skills in an environment where all students can participate equally and develop their debate skills without the pressure of winning and losing. Moreover, it equips educators with a straightforward tool to teach critical thinking and persuasive argumentation. I hope you will agree that B.E.S.T. Debate is truly the BEST debate for the classroom!
