If the forensics community has real choice between debate formats, there must be distinctions that justify the existence of each respective style or organization. While such differences can exist at any one of a number of levels, this paper examines differences in adjudicating in both parliamentary and team policy debate, generally known as CEDA…

The delivery of an argument in debate has been clearly shown to be important in facilitating the changing of attitudes favorably toward a message, in enhancing understanding of the material, and in increasing the speaker's ethos. Despite its importance, however, delivery has become dead as a communication concept in debate and is no longer a…

Examining the role of the debate judge reveals many differences between the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) and National Debate Tournament (NDT). One area in which CEDA differs is that of judge qualifications. At present CEDA is moving towards using more lay judges, while NDT has more strict requirements. It would be interesting to use…

Policy debate as an activity should be maintained but must be invigorated. Some reasons to save policy debate are (1) the benefit to large numbers of students who might otherwise fail to debate given the increased difficulty associated with learning how to play the game; (2) the shrinking size of policy tournaments, which makes it easier for…

This paper analyzes the components of an "ideal" debate using a non-policy proposition. It is argued that debates using non-policy propositions are currently plagued by a variety of problems. Value propositions on the college level are dissimilar to the value propositions used in high school Lincoln-Douglas debate. Many debaters are…

Using a framework of cognitive, social, and teaching presence, the nature of learning experiences in a three-dimensional virtual world environment (Second Life) and a text-chat learning environment without visuals (TeachNet) were investigated. A mixed method of code frequencies, coherence graphs, interviews, and a survey was used. The results…

Disability labels and other social categories in school arise out of an educational system which attributes learning problems, perceived weaknesses, and academic failure to individual students. Instead, this dissertation investigates how learning problems are produced and reinforced through cultural practices. Through a two-year, cross-context…

This reflective case study was based on our independent use of the debate as an online instructional approach and our shared interest in teaching strategies. In an interdisciplinary manner, using narrative inquiry and action research, we melded our data sources and analyzed the findings, including our individual experiences with the technique. Our…

In this second article on the theory of "ground rules for talk" I extend a debate between myself and Professor Neil Mercer over the introduction of "ground rules" into classrooms. I critique ground rules through the use of sociological theory and argue that advocates of the ground rules perspective need to recognise the ideological nature of their…

The TV broadcast of "Jamie's school dinners" in 2005 prompted action throughout the UK to improve the standards of school meals. A public debate continues across the media around changes, resistance to them and consequences. This article draws upon the findings of a one-year ESRC-funded project on the English school dinners debate, which…

As an alternative to the traditional practice of the instructor serving as judge to individual two-to-four-person debates in front of the class, a communication instructor holds in-class debate tournaments in which all students are involved in one-on-one debates at the same time. Such a format avoids difficulties involved in two-person teams, can…

Keeping debate communicative is a great and recurring concern. A study investigated whether debate format may influence debaters' communicative behavior, by comparing behavior in Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) Lincoln-Douglas debate (LD) and in CEDA Team debate. Videotapes of the two first affirmative speeches of each, at the…

Debate judge philosophy statements have been part of the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National Debate Tournament since the tournament's inception. Judges are asked to identify their preferred debate paradigm in the statement. The practice has raised the question of whether debate critics understand the debate paradigms as they are…

The Novice Debate Association (NDA) is an organization that is building unity, respecting diversity, and giving students and institutions alike a chance to participate in debate activity. The NDA began in 1987 as a strictly novice tournament. By 1993, the association had enlarged to 24 colleges and universities. The format of the NDA is designed…

The rate of speech in intercollegiate debate has been increasing and might have contributed to the proliferation of divisions in debate. The American Debate Association (ADA), National Parliamentary Debate Association (NPDA), American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA), Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA), National Education Debate…