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WORLD SCHOOLS DEBATE WORKSHOP

July 29-Aug 2       

10:00 AM-4:30 PM Central Time

$550 - Register before June 1st for early discount of $490!

Project Dialogue’s World Schools Debate Workshop uses the international standard of World Schools Debate to teach the foundations of effective communication and debate for beginner to intermediate-level students to be competitive at local, state, national, and international levels. Our intensive one-week, full-day experience will accelerate students’ understanding of both debate fundamentals (research/case-writing, crystallization, refutation, argument construction, etc.) and skills necessary to be successful at state, national, and international levels (cultural competency/debating social issues, speech structure & time allocation, etc.). Our curriculum is based on current practices at international tournaments and first-hand experience of USA Debate Team members, refined for beginner to intermediate-level debaters. 

**We are no longer taking additional students! Please check back next year.**

Worlds Debate Workshop: What We Do

WHAT DOES OUR ONLINE WORLD SCHOOLS DEBATE WORKSHOP INCLUDE?

Although COVID-19 presented exceptional circumstances for our typical in-person camp, we fully embraced the interconnectivity, flexibility, and collaborativity offered in 2020 by a virtual experience where students from all geographies can attend. To impart students with a solid foundation in World Schools Debate, our staff instructors (including 10 USA Debate Team members) have designed a hands-on, interactive curriculum modeled after Team USA’s online training through education-standard software (Google Classroom, Zoom, Dropbox, etc.). 

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In addition to live video lectures and small group breakout sessions, our online curriculum emphasizes more flexible practice opportunities through pre-recorded and live electives, practice debates/drills, office hours, and an entire virtual debate tournament at the end of camp. Because we recognize the challenges of engaging students through a laptop screen, we will always have designated instructors available to answer questions during lectures and even after lab sessions. Students will have 1 on 1 time with instructors during office hours and drill sessions, as well as access to individual feedback after practice debates and during the tournament.

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We guarantee a 6:1 student teacher ratio and cap registration to ensure all students of various learning styles can maximize interactions with staff. Based on the skill levels and students enrolled, there will be multiple, independent World Schools debate labs with separate classrooms and tailored instruction, but the same, unified approach to debate theory and practice will be utilized; we will teach to all students debate fundamentals (case-writing, crystallization, extensions, refutation, research) and skills to successfully navigate debate (cultural competency, analyzing history & politics, self-improvement strategies). Crucially, students will leave our workshop with the knowledge, drills, and strategies to prepare for tournaments and improve their success through their own initiatives.

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Last year, 94% of our students rated our workshop 8/10 or higher, and 75% said they strongly or somewhat agree that they “feel confident in their public speaking abilities” after camp, compared to only 52% before our debate camp. We are also pleased that 17.5% more students indicated they strongly agree that they “strongly identify with my heritage, family history, and culture” after debate camp. We hope to continue this record of success in 2021.

WHAT IS OUR TEACHING APPROACH?

Our workshop approach combines the international successes and personal experience of our staff instructors with an active and engaging teaching methodology. Our curriculum design is led by multiple USA Debate Team members with 15+ combined years of international debating experience (AND our Worlds Debate Director, Anh Cao, is the top-ranked female debater in the world with the highest speaker points of any female competitor at WSDC 2019!). Our drills and curriculum are implemented by current debaters and rising stars in Worlds Debate to include the best and most up-to-date practices.

We believe the best way for our students to learn is to actively engage them in both theory and practical applications of the material they learn. We recognize that rising 8th to 10th graders require unique support to continuously maintain their interest and inspire them to continue learning, and thus, we have built our curriculum around the attention and educational needs of our students. 

Our lab time consists of a balance between lectures (content/teaching material), applications to debate (short drills, videos, skill-focused activities), and review exercises or additional reinforcement. We tailor our curriculum to each lab based on research in learning sciences and gamification, incorporating game elements and unique incentives to keep students engaged. Too often, other debate camps and educational institutions employ hour-long lectures without breaks or practical applications to activate the content that students learn. Rather than talk at students, we believe in working with and alongside our students.

WHY WORLDS DEBATE?

For students looking to focus on persuasion and rhetorical skills in a large breadth of international topics, the international World Schools Debate may be a better choice than many American debate formats. As a common standard used by other countries as well as the USA Debate Team, World Schools Debate offers deeper discussions with active engagement on both sides through Points of Information and longer (8 min) constructive speech times. In addition, World Schools tournaments change motions (the topic of the debate) each round and alternate between prepared (the motion is released before the tournament) and impromptu motions (the motion is released only 1 hour before the debate starts), encouraging students to cover many different international topics and develop quick-thinking skills. 
 

For students seeking to compete internationally and/or alongside the USA Debate, our 6 Team USA instructors with over a dozen years of combined experience on USA Debate can offer both tips for applying to the national team and techniques for international success. More importantly, our curriculum covers strategies for debaters to develop the open-mindedness, diverse lines of argumentation, and global awareness necessary for success. We teach our students the skills that even internationally competitive teams struggle with, and we equip them with the foundational skills necessary even for the USA Debate Team. 

DO YOU HAVE A PREVIEW OF THE CURRICULUM?

Yes we do! Here are a few sample topics from our curriculum plan:

  1. Debate Fundamentals

    1. Impromptu Motion Preparation: Teamwork, Time Allocation, and Speaker Roles  

    2. Research Techniques & Analyzing the Topic 

    3. Case-writing & Substantive Arguments

    4. Claim, Warrant, Impact: Structure of Argumentation & Refutation

    5. Persuasion & Rhetorical Techniques 

    6. Word Economy & Efficiency

  2. Debate Theory 

    1. Constructive Speech Structure & Framing

    2. Refuting Assumptions in the 2nd Speech

    3. Principle and Practical Arguments

    4. Strategic Models & Countermodels

    5. 3rd Speech Organization & Strategy

  3. Skills for Successful Advocates

    1. Cultural Competency in Debate: Navigating Race, Class, Gender, and Social Identifiers

    2. The Path to Success: Tournament Preparation, Drills, and Self-improvement

    3. Debating Difference: Understanding Arguments from Multiple Perspectives

    4. Process & Product: Tournament Psychology & The Mindset of Champions

    5. Developing Round Vision & Executing Team Strategy

SAMPLE SCHEDULE

All times in CST Central Time

10:00 - 11:30 AM

LAB SESSION 

Lab sessions each day will begin with a warmup/drill activity and quick review to reinforce previously learned material. Each morning session will introduce new content and material.

11:30 - 11:45 AM

MORNING BREAK

Although each lab session incorporates active questions, games, and practices to engage students, we know everyone needs a break every now and then. To keep students engaged online, we break up morning sessions and give students time to transition to the next activity and class!

11:45 - 1:00 PM

ELECTIVES

Students can choose from a range of electives every day, ranging from beginner-oriented drill sessions for refining foundational techniques to more advanced content & strategy topics. This is the perfect time to explore your interests and learn from a different staff instructor!

1:00 - 2:00 PM

A longer break to accommodate student and parent schedules around lunch – can't forget to eat!

LUNCH

2:00 - 3:00 PM

AFTERNOON LAB

The second lab session will emphasize learning and applying new content with a special focus on drill sessions and practice activities for all students to activate their new knowledge.

3:10 - 4:30 PM

PRACTICE SESSION

Getting tired? Can't sit still? That's why we end each day with applied content and practice opportunities! Each drill and practice debate will emphasize new content covered that day. Every student will have at least one practice debate per day.

4:30 - 5:30 PM

OFFICE HOURS

Students will have open access to individual instructors for questions, additional drills, or other assistance as requested. While not required, students have found this unstructured time to be helpful to personally connect with instructors and ask about a lecture, do drills, or talk about non-debate related questions!

Worlds Debate Workshop: Schedule

"Too often, debate camps and educational institutions employ hour-long lectures without breaks or practical applications to activate the content that students learn. Rather than talk at students, we believe in working with and alongside our students."

Worlds Debate Workshop: Quote
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