Improve Debate's Impact

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How do we actually help people to improve at debating? Debating is a form of non-formal learning. Most of the time, debate is not taught by teachers or professionals – but by people who debate themselves. Now, this can be very powerful! But at the same time it is important to recognise that there is a difference - and that the best debaters don't always make the best teachers.  That is why I was delighted to have Przemek Stolarski on for this podcast. Przemek is a succesful coach, a Harvard postgraduate researcher into education, and the co-founder of the Think and Speak Academy, which offers online debate courses for high school students. He brings a wealth of practical coaching experience with a strong overview of the academic literature on improving how we teach debate. So this is a very important jumping-off point on how to get better at debating.  

Find out more about TASA Academy here: https://www.tasacademy.pl/  

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This podcast was made possible by a grant from Europe for Citizens.

Georgia (no, not the state - the country) is buiding debate across the country. What is the secret to its success? Join me to find out...

Do you want to offer feedback on this show? Mail us at [email protected]  This podcast was made possible by a grant from Europe for Citizens.

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Debating can be a stressful activity. A deeply competitive affair for some, and a passion for others. How do you deal with debating when you are frustrated with your progress? How do you maintain a happy face if you have to sandwich debate in between your busy school schedule? And how do you manage the transition to only seeing your friends from behind a screen?  Jessica Musulin wrote a well-received note with three other debaters that opened up these conversations. Today she's on the show to talk about what we can do to take better stock of mental health and well-being in the debating community.  

You can read the original note here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HFvPcwhmVF58h7HU2hXqZMtmHuvqFCXDUm-K3IVbpQo/edit?pli=1&fbclid=IwAR2wC_hYmNZVJggGDggioAB8LvovEnEcysQhaUeWsutz_NVBg8fS3wzKP80# 

The secret projects are: 

Debating Pop Posting: https://www.facebook.com/groups/855875501844942/

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Przemek Stolarski and Daniel Maier-Gant tell us all about how they organise coronaproof debating events - and how the advent of online debating has allowed for a unique experiment called "hybrid" tournaments, which could hold the key to unlocking globally inclusive and accessible tournaments.  

Do you want to offer feedback on this show? Mail us at [email protected]  This podcast was made possible by a grant from Europe for Citizens.

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Today we speak with Rolland Janairo.

When you think of Sillicon Valley, the thing that comes to mind are Google, Apple, Facebook and the tech billionaires that direct them. But what is less known is that there are many people living in the valley who have less starry futures ahead of them. The Urban Debate League wants to change these students' outlook. Through their debate and mentorship programs they increase their students' chance to go to college and land a dream job. And many also become determined activists. How does the Urban Debate League work? And what can other programs learn from their approach?

  Want to learn more? Go to: https://www.svudl.org/all-the-latest.

Do you want to offer feedback on this show? Mail us at [email protected]  This podcast was made possible by a grant from Europe for Citizens.

  Today we speak with Monica Forman. Monica was the Chief Adjudicator of Astana EUDC. Having organised such a large - and online - event, you'll learn everything you need to know for organising such an event from a motion-setter's perspective. But being a CA is more than coming up with motions. It is about finding and training the best judges. And it is about making everyone have a great time.  It also helps if the person who you are setting a motion about personally agrees with the motion and watches the debate!  

Want to learn more? Use this accompanying list of links:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1smMTV6I7cxnVZAs3QbdNKeprzxBxhbqJ?usp=sharing  

Do you want to offer feedback on this show? Mail us at [email protected]  This podcast was made possible by a grant from Europe for Citizens.

In the final episode of IDI's special focus on making debating inclusive, we speak with Tshiamo Malatji. 

 Tshiamo puts forward an important argument in reframing "development". We should not consider "developing" a debate circuit to mean that those with all the knowledge come to a community to dump their knowledge. Rather, he suggests, it is a mutual learning process, where the external trainer gets as much from the process as the people they train. 

 And Tshiamo's implication is that this horizontal development can radically alter how we develop circuits, suggesting that developing circuits can reach out to each other and learn and share together.  

We start this conversation with developing debate in Bloemfontein. But the contours of Tshiamo's approach to developing debate means we learn from a debate network that stretches from Latin America to the Middle East.  

Want to learn more? Use this accompanying list of links:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s47KmlT7IrgzmviEq3mJiMrVnQwAcazd 

Check out this video on UFS debate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h80dw8aEd-E&feature=youtu.be  

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Thus far the discussion about inclusion has focused a lot on university debate. And whilst the lessons are applicable across debate as a whole, prepare to expand your horizons by a lot in this conversation. Like, not just about schools debating. We're going to look at making debating more inclusive from Sweden to South Africa.  Paidamwoyo has a clear and structured mind, and this conversation lays down the groundwork of all the work we need to do to make sure everyone can reap the benefits of debate education. He's also incredibly constructive in his suggestions. We've managed to analyse the problems in depth, provide suggestions for solving outreach and funding, as well as offer another compelling framework for having the difficult conversations about perceptions and bias that need to become commonplace.  Listen and watch if you want to know more about issues of perceptions and economic exclusion - and how we can do more to solve these problems. 

 Want to learn more? Use this accompanying list of links: 

 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s47KmlT7IrgzmviEq3mJiMrVnQwAcazd  

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  All of us got into debating because we were inspired by someone. We saw a great speech or heard a new argument, and thought: "I want to do that too!"  So how do you become that person who inspires others? 

There's perhaps no better person to answer this question than Nae. Nae was a talented debater, but he is a truly remarkable debate trainer. He brings in fresh perspectives from pedagogy, and has helped to truly revolutionise training in Romania. And he would argue that the proof of that is nót in the fact that the Romanian national schools team is dominant across Europe. Rather, it is in how many students in Romania engage in debate and find it deeply meaningful and inspiring.  

But in the second half of the interview we move beyond debate in an educational setting. We talk about Argument Antrenant, the debate company he founded and which offers a refreshing perspective on using debate in a for-profit setting. And it shows all of us what whe can do with our skillset once we move out of university and into the 'real world'. 

Want to learn more? Use this accompanying list of links:

Learn more about Argument Antrenant:  

About the company: https://argumentantrenament.wordpress.com/what-is-it-about-english-version/  

Follow IDEA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iDebate  

IDI has been made possible by the Operational Grant of Europe for Citizens