Debates
Debates covers two-sided arguments and negotiations, from private preparation to review.
The two templates
Debates is the pack for arguing a motion or negotiating an agreement between two sides. It includes Debate and Negotiation, each with four scenarios. You can assign a supplied situation or write your own.
Debate
Both templates start with Graded with a rubric and optional screen sharing. Feedback only, no grade is available for practice. Peer review and Self-review with the rubric start off.
Motions and negotiation scenarios
| Template | Scenarios |
|---|---|
| Debate | Label Every AI Ad?; Let the Agent Send?; Stop Buying the Data?; Friday Night Prices |
| Negotiation | The Yogurt Shelf; The Creator Contract; The Renewal; The New Camping Stove |
Label Every AI Ad? asks students to weigh greater trust against fewer clicks. Let the Agent Send? concerns a test that produced three times as many emails, a slightly lower reply rate, and two embarrassing mistakes.
The Creator Contract pairs a meal kit brand with a creator to discuss usage rights and exclusivity. The New Camping Stove concerns an exclusive launch between a retailer and a manufacturer.
Sides and timed rounds
Both templates start with randomly assigned sides. You can instead place students from the roster, let students choose, or assign them as they join. A reopened room preserves the assigned sides.
Debate displays the side that has the floor and the time remaining. Students give openings, respond in a rebuttal round, and give closing arguments. Students vote by name on which side argued better.
You or a teaching assistant can judge while watching the room or name the winner later from the report. The judge must be someone who argued neither side.
Negotiation teams prepare with private briefs and negotiate in timed rounds. Students record whether they reached an agreement and write its terms. The room's report holds that outcome.
An AI guide reads each step aloud enables a spoken reading of the agenda.
Reviewing contributions
The Debate rubric scores Argument, Rebuttal, Evidence, and Delivery at levels from 0 to 4. You check Delivery against the recording and voice measures. The report compares participation by side and by person.
Negotiation uses the General Discussion rubric. You review students' contributions and their recorded agreement. Release feedback makes held comments and scores available to students.
Questions
Students meet with their side in a private huddle before the recorded rounds. They then return to the main room and follow the speaking order shown on the stage.
Negotiation teams use private briefs to seek an agreement. Debate sides argue a motion before a judge names a winner.