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.…

Describes the increasing interest in high school debate teams among minority group students. Participation in debate, no longer the province of white students alone, can result in increased college admissions, thanks in part to the Urban Debate League. (SLD)

Suggests that debate not only offers teachers a way to integrate language, content, and critical thinking instruction but also prepares English-as-a-Second-Language learners with the types of communication skills they will need in academic and work environments. (Author/VWL)

Presents a method for analyzing the didactic strategies put forward to develop students' argumentation skills in biotechnology. Considers five supporting examples and focuses successively on the social characteristics at play and the procedures. Attempts to produce analytical tools to support designers and users of teaching materials in making…