Surveyed former collegiate debaters to obtain a profile of their education and present occupation and to find out (1) their perceptions of debate and the NDT and (2) their recommendations for coaches and students. Discusses implications of the findings for debate as an educational activity. (PD)

Television debates provide a powerful stimulus for speech communication classes as students focus on the effectiveness of debate in the political forum. This report reviews ERIC documents on the nature, quality, and format of television debates. (PD)

Education's past is deceptively presented as a period of calm and consensus. There was no golden age of agreement in education. Recent cacophony is a more honest representation of opinion and may be less divisive. (MD)

The use of classroom debates in ESL classes combines student interest and meaningful dialogue with library research, documentation and written reports. Students select debate propositions, research them, organize teams and conduct structured classroom debates. (CHK)

University forensic programs offer original opportunities for small group communication research. Scholars have been calling for research in a naturalistic setting. A prime place for these studies exists in academic departments, within forensic programs. Forensic programs meet the standards set forth by prominent scholars for effective small group…

This paper reports a case study about argumentation and scientific practice in the 11th grade. The objectives of the study are to identify argument patterns and dimensions of the scientific practice in students' conversations and actions while engaged in an environmental management project in a wetland. The focus are the warrants that students…

Current complaints about academic debate can be answered by more careful coaching and judging, not by the elimination of debate programs. (CH)

Calls for debaters and judges to understand methodological analysis used in debate rounds. Examines several argumentation and debate texts for approaches to the use of statistical evidence. Offers suggestions for handling methodological challenges and a method for weighing such arguments. (PD)

Junior Statesmen of America is an extracurricular organization that gives high school students practical experience in self-government and enhances leadership and political education. (SK)

Includes citations from major speech publications and scholarly publications from other disciplines. (PD)

Arguments for and against extension of dental education to a mandatory five years because of current overcrowding of dental curriculum are presented in debate form. Affirmative arguments center on the inefficacy of restructuring existing curricula, and arguments against focus on current curricular inefficiency, costs, and other practical…

Discusses problems with using debate as a way of stimulating spontaneous speech in the ESL classroom. Presents six steps to aid in eliciting "controlled spontaneity," where the debate topic is known beforehand and students can prepare. The listeners, after asking the debaters questions, choose a winner. (PJM)

Evaluates the 1976 presidential debates as an innovation in political communication formats that might overcome existing gaps in electoral participation between the more and less active sectors of society. Examines the equivalence of effects of debate-watching and related behaviors for different levels of age, education, and politial interest.…