For professors
SuperDebate for professors.
Bring a structured debate into your course, host one for your department, or judge a round. Your students argue the question, not each other.
A way to teach the argument, not just assign it.
One question, two prepared sides.
Both sides agree on the wording of the resolution and the division of ground before the first speech. Time is spent on clash, not on whether the question was fair.
A short exercise for one class.
Run one debate in a single session, then decide whether it belongs in your course. The classroom page sets out the exercise and how to draw sides.
See the classroom exerciseJudge, host, or invite your department.
Judges score each round on a standard scorecard and give written feedback. A department can host an evening of its own.
Become a judge
Try it in one session.
You do not need to change your syllabus to find out whether it works for your students.
Pick a resolution
Choose a question your students already have a stake in, ideally one the reading touches.
Assign sides
Assign them by draw, so no one argues only what they already believe.
Run the round and debrief
Time the speeches, let the audience score, then discuss where the real disagreement was.
A student who can state the other side fairly has understood the question.
Debate asks for exactly that, in public, in a few minutes.
Run one in your next class.
Start with the classroom exercise, or come judge a live round first.